List of Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks

One of the most complicated cable-car systems to run from a single station.

Unusual triple-expansion, three-crank "rocker" engine, driving high-capacity, high-speed pumps.

The most advanced low-lift drainage pump in use in the early 20th century, later used worldwide.

First US naval shipyard, achieving notable firsts in technology and producing many well-known US naval vessels.

Two of the oldest surviving water turbines, probably the largest and nearly the most powerful ever built in the United States for mechanical drive. Located at Harmony Mills.

The most powerful steam turbine-generator in the world at the time of its construction.

Reconstruction of the first successful commercial ironworks in North America.

A replica of the first successful commercial oil refinery in the US West.

19th-century steam pumps at the (former) summit of the ship canal.

Last reciprocating marine engines installed in a naval ship.

First US typography machine to set, justify, and distribute foundry type from a common case using one operator.

Early 20th-century water pump driven by a Corliss steam engine.

Early 20th-century hydroelectric plant incorporating innovative technologies.

First US plutonium production reactor placed in commercial operation.

First air-conditioned mine in North America.

Highest railway in the US and highest rack railway in the world.

Power-generation station with one of the world's only high-pressure topping turbines, which set new records in the late 1920s.

World's first cog railway.

One of the first successful uses of hydroelectric power in the world, including the first successful long-distance transmission of power.

Two of the largest ground vehicles ever built, including automatic load-leveling systems.

First large-scale application of steam pumping, later water power, to public water supply.

Two of the first vertical triple-expansion marine engines.

Last US pit-cast jib crane to operate in the casting of iron pipe.

World's largest electric-power generator for nearly 25 years, achieving many design firsts.

The oldest steam-generating plant of its kind in the Northeastern United States.

First US passenger incline.

Second US passenger incline.

First major US water power system and basis for integrating urban planning with industrial development.

First Edison hydroelectric central station. Coperating landmark by ASME IEEE and ASCE.

Early 19th-century textile mill and machine shop.

The first fully electrically signaled railroad in the United States and the first practical subway in New York City.

First US railroad in public service.

Surviving 18th-century iron manufacturing center.

Early 20th-century ironworks demonstrating the adaptability required for industrial survival.

Typical beam steam engine of the mid-19th century, directly connected to sugar crushing rolls.

First rocket engine to use high-energy liquid hydrogen as fuel.

Prototype of the automated factory; dubbed the 'Mechanical Marvel.'

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Early reaction, or Scotch, turbine, a type that later found widespread application.

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World's first nuclear power plant to demonstrate the breeder concept.

First practical oil recovery system using salt-well drilling techniques and modern pipe-driving methods, marks beginning of US petroleum industry.

First US armory noted for machinery for mass production of small arms, including the Blanchard lathe.

Pilot plant for US development of pulverized-coal firing in power-plant boilers.

The best preserved 19th-century woolen mill in North America.

First fusion-welded boiler drum, tests on which led to widespread acceptance in industry.

Steam plant with early Curtis turbines, marking the beginning of the end of the reciprocating steam engine as the central station prime mover.

First large commercial building in the United States to pioneer the use of heat pumps for heating and cooling.

First US commercial central electric-generating station to use nuclear energy.

One of six dynamos from Edison's Pearl Street Station, the prototype for US central-station power generation.

Sole surviving engine-generator set marking the beginning of large-scale electric power generation in the United States.

Pioneer variable-compression laboratory engine for testing fuels.

The world's most thermally efficient steam plant for many years.

Three sites (Texas, Florida and Alabama) were simultaneously designated (via satellite) in July 1980.

Three sites (Texas, Florida and Alabama) were simultaneously designated (via satellite) in July 1980.

Three sites (Texas, Florida and Alabama) were simultaneously designated (via satellite) in July 1980.

The first commercial human-blood heat exchanger for controlling hyperthermic temperatures during open-heart surgery.

Early example of the pumped-storage principle, at a power plant.

One of the first three Kaplan-type hydraulic turbines in the United States.

First US diesel-powered, stainless-steel streamlined train.

Typical US municipal steam water-pumping engine of the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Earliest track-type gasoline-powered tractor, influencing designs worldwide.

An early, extremely large-scale, low-head hydropower plant using many small turbines.

Example of the final phase of US steam locomotive development in size and power.

One of the few surviving shot towers for making spherical lead shot.

One of a few survivors of typical US mill machinery with wood as the principal material.

Early model of outboard motor for small boats, first commercially successful.

Unique telescope mirror support and use of mercury flotation to reduce friction.

The first integrated pump-turbine to be installed in a US power plant and also the largest and most powerful in the mid-20th century.

The world's first practical sound recording machine.

The most powerful steam hammer in the world for many years.

Direct descendant of Thomas Newcomen's first atmospheric steam engine.

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One of the world's largest fabrication tools, dominant in aircraft and aerospace development.

The world's first model-test facility to conduct maneuverability and control experiments for surface ships, submersibles, and airships.

The world's first turbine-driven ship.

The world's first continuous-stream automation of the cooking and cooling system for canned food.

Early 20th-century test facility for current meters, aircraft propellers, ships' logs, pitot tubes, and mine-sweeping paravanes.

Pioneering venture in mainline railroad electrification. The Cos Cob plant operated until October 1986.

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Corliss-driven pump, typical of early 20th-century US practice.

Prototype of the first mass-produced diesel-electric locomotives used for US freight service. Located at Museum of Transportation as Southern Railway Locomotive #6100.

The first practical example of crawler-tread vehicles now used in agricultural, construction, and military equipment. Located at the Lumberman's Museum.

The world's first large-scale, fully instrumented ballistic range for producing data on aerodynamics.

Earliest example of the machine that automated light-bulb manufacture.

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Early example of machines that automated extraction of juices from fruit.

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Locomotive prototype for use on electrified lines in eastern US, also exceptional for its flexible suspension system.

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Typical late 19th-century western-US stamp mill.

World's first high-speed, dockside container-handling crane.

1988: Rededicated in conjunction with Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society.

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World's first automated bottling machine that introduced cheap and plentiful supply of glass containers.

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The world's first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship.

Early models of revolutionary dry-copying process at the Battelle Memorial Institute.

One of the world's largest fabrication tools, influencing aviation and aerospace technology.

World's first computer storage device with random access to large volumes of data.

Artifacts now at Computer Museum; plaque not on display.

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One of the US's oldest surviving examples of the wind-driven Archimedes screw-pump.

Unique electromechanical devices and systems in the longest accelerator in the world.

The world's first long underwater tunnel designed for motor vehicles, with innovative ventilating system.

The last survivor of US coal-fired passenger locomotives, considered among the most advanced of any 4-8-4.

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The first practical US helicopter, pioneering the single-main-rotor concept.

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The world's largest mine hoist.

The world's first iron-hulled, screw-propelled ship to cross any ocean, leading to Britain's world leadership in maritime commerce.

One of only two operating survivors of the US emergency-cargo fleet known as Liberty Ships.

Typical 19th-century small-scale, low-head run-of-the-river hydroelectric plant.

The first gas turbine used for electric utility power generation in the United States.

The oldest surviving interurban-urban passenger rail transport system in the United States.

First launch vehicle for the US space program.

Early examples of fabrication vessels using gas pressure and temperature to produce advanced alloy and ceramic products.

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Vessel that introduced the basic oxygen process to the United States.

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Early example of typical US district heating plant.

Typical 19th-century US charcoal-fueled blast furnace, fully intact.

Early major US water-power system and the first Francis inward-flow water turbine placed in service and oldest in existence.

The first practical mechanism for braking large trucks with engine compression as they descend long, steep grades at controlled speeds.

The first commercial geothermal electricity-generating station in North America.

Example of a late 19th-century 350-hp Corliss-type steam engine.

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Oldest surviving operable rotative steam engine by Boulton and Watt.

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Mid-19th-century horizontal compound marine steam engine with return connecting rod.

One of the last mammoth gold dredges in the United States accessible to the public.

Early model of world's first commercial postage meter.

The first commercial Wenner-Gren monorail system.

Test facility with unequalled capacity to simulate a wide range of climatic conditions from arctic cold to jungle moisture for full-scale equipment testing.

The world's oldest and largest refrigerated icing wind tunnel, with unique heat exchanger and spray system.

Hoists representative of bygone practice, including a waterwheel for ore hoisting and a mechanism to hoist workers.

Site of first machine shop to achieve interchangeable manufacture on a practical scale.

Site of the first US integrated system to supply water for public safety.

Site of the first US district heating steam-heating system.

First and still-operating Kingsbury thrust bearing in hydroelectric service, later used worldwide for all types of large machinery.

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Late 19th-century steeple compound-condensing engine and one of the largest at the time.

Earliest known survivor of the fleet of heavyweight, all-steel sleepers built by the Pullman Company.

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An early and long-running malleable ironworks.

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One of the world's largest power shovels.

The world's first privately owned and operated nuclear power plant to deliver significant quantities of electricity to a public utility grid.

Major 19th-century US industrial center for paper and textile industries, known for its machine shops and water-power system.

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Oldest existing steam generator in a US cotton mill.

Early developmental models of distributor-type injection pump for controlling engine speed.

Innovative railroad yard machine shop for first railroad linking Chicago and the Mississippi River.

Earliest surviving example of the first successful traction ditching machine for laying agricultural drainage tiles.

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Early examples of small slow-speed 19th-century geared locomotives.

The world's first successful electricity-generating gas turbine to go into commercial operation.

The first and only railroad dynamometer to test track wheels using vertical and lateral loads as well as thermal braking at the wheel rim.

The sole surviving example of the earliest form of "superpower" steam locomotives.

The first comprehensive standard for the design, construction, inspection, and testing of boilers and pressure vessels, greatly influencing public safety.

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The only remaining Roebling machine, largest wire-rope closing machine in 1893.

The world's first large-scale testing facility for jet and rocket engines in simulated high-speed flight conditions.

Collection of sporting and military firearms designed by John Moses Browning.

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The world's first implantable heart pump to receive widespread clinical use.

The sole survivor of the fleet of river gunboats built by the Union during the US Civil War.

The first steam turbine electric-generation station.

The first computer system to be applied to the design of natural-gas pipeline systems.

The world's first full-size laboratory for tillage tools and traction equipment in all types of soils.

The first USRA freight locomotive built, representing the first standardized family of US locomotives.

An early example of USRA passenger locomotives representing the first US standardization program.

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Early example of propeller innovations, including variable-pitch control and feathering capability.

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Early model of first successful price-marking, tag-attachment machine for US retail merchandising.

Mid-19th-century wind-powered gristmill of Dutch turret-mill style.

Early four-wheel drive, multipurpose field vehicle representing an unusual combination of modern vehicle design.

19th-century steam pumping station that drained the Haarlemmermeer.

The first fully outdoor turbine-generator to be placed in commercial operation.

The first US air-conditioned high-rise office building.

19th-century 3-rail incline.

Collection on the origins of the Pelton turbine and its principle of the "splitter" bucket.

19th-century example of the scraper whose design served as the basis for most giant earth-movers.

The earliest surviving hot-blast furnace in the United States.

The world's first practical production machine for the assembly of integrated circuits, making possible their economical production.

One of the first machines to produce master rolls for player pianos by recording actual performances.

Apollo command module incorporating many innovations to allow safe transport of humans to moon and back.

Early safety device for introducing odor into natural-gas lines to make leaks apparent.

Collection of Rhode Island steam engines, including one of the few surviving built at the Corliss Works.

The oldest operating smock-type windmill in the United States.

A water pump which reduced the concentration of pollutants in an urban stream had the world's greatest capacity.

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Example of automated peeling and slicing machine that led to commercial pineapple production.

Earliest surviving example of the prototype engine for vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jets, namely Harriers and AV-8Bs

The largest cryogenic system ever built, providing benchmark for superconducting magnet designs.

Unique cooling system for the testing of aerospace engines.

The two most intelligent machines ever built by NASA space program.

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The last remaining dredge in the United States with unique propulsion system, designed for a wetlands environment.

The earliest known survivor of an integrated cotton ginning system widely used in the southern United States.

One of two surviving automated machines that founded the bottling industry.

A collection of operational steam engines and auxiliary equipment from the 19th century to the 1940s.

Two heavy-tonnage locomotives incorporating the best features of the day.

The only known example of a Barker hydraulic turbine, the earliest practical reaction type.

Prototype of the Boeing 707 and most jet transport systems, establishing economic feasibility of commercial air travel.

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The second and earliest surviving automobile shredder for recycling scrap metal.

One of the world's steepest vehicular inclines, typical of several built in the 19th century in Western Pennsylvania.

The oldest steam powdered cider mill in the US. A rare survivor of a once-commonplace rural US industry.

One of the earliest US water-powered foundry-machine shops, including Knight impulse turbines.

Early example of the "modern" wind tunnel for aircraft-model testing.

The earliest known coal feeder, representing innovations that influenced nearly all industries using coal-fired boilers.

Experimental model of the industrial air preheater, now used worldwide.

Prototypical ore boat on the Great Lakes.

R&D facility for testing of supersonic aircraft and spacecraft.

Unique experimental facility for hydrodynamic research and testing.

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First heavier-than-air human-carrying aircraft to achieve controlled piloted flight.

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Earliest known internal-combustion-engined agricultural tractor in the United States.

One of the last operating American steam lake boats with reciprocating engines and coal-fired boilers.

Earliest known refrigeration unit for trucks, having worldwide impact on food preservation.

Prototype of all tracked ship-to-shore landing vehicles.

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Five notable 19th-century Cornish beam engines for municipal water supply.

The most advanced automated urban rail transit system incorporating many innovations, marking a new generation of rail travel.

An early example of the successful conversion of steam engines to internal-combustion engines.

Among the world's largest test facilities for the development of ship design.

First apparatus to consistently produce industrial diamonds, demonstrating fundamentals of producing and containing very high pressures and becoming the basis for the industrial-diamond production that followed.

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The largest and oldest surviving example of a highly efficient materials-handling machine unique to the Great Lakes that revolutionized ore handling and led to its rapid adoption throughout the lower-lake ore ports.

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The oldest operating vessel with a diagonal, compound steam engine, with disc valve gear.

Engines from the collection are among the oldest surviving agricultural steam engines, from 1860 to 1883, showing the conversion to mechanized farming.

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Representative of steam-powered rolling-mill-engine drives early in the transition to electric drive and typical of the largest work pieces produced by U.S. foundries and forges.

Direct predecessor of the modern automobile.

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The largest collection of American turbine development.

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The world's highest operating hydraulic lift lock, operating on the balance principle.

Innovative method of wheel balancing (on the vehicle) adopted worldwide.

A private collection that represents many of the advances in mechanical refrigeration for US residential and commercial use from the late 19th century up to 1960.

The earliest (perhaps only) existing example of early high-compression, cold-start, full-diesel engines developed in the United States for isolated or rural power generation machinery before widespread electrification was available.

An experimental submarine that pioneered the teardrop-shaped hull, high-strength steel, and many other test concepts affecting speed, depth changes, and underwater maneuvering.

An early flight simulator representative of the first truly effective mechanical device used to simulate actual flight processes.

The world's first high-speed railway, which operated at about 210 km/h (130 mph).

The first successful mining device to replace human labor in removing the rubble from underground hard-rock blasting.

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Leader in transforming mechanical engineering education from a shop-based, vocational program to a professional one built on rigorous academic and analytical methods.

A good example of a typical early 19th-century (US) water-powered, Evans-type flour mill, restored into operating condition.

An impressive variety of internal combustion engines, built primarily between 1890 and 1920 and consisting mainly of stationary engines used in industrial applications.

The largest single-aperture radio telescope ever constructed.

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One of the largest movable stages in the world with innovative hydraulic equipment and controls, a forerunner of other stage designs as well as early aircraft carrier elevator systems.

First piloted vehicle designed to operate solely in the vacuum of space.

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The largest wood-constructed and the largest wingspan airplane ever built.

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The world's steepest cog railway.

The largest U.S. maker of explosive black powder, a once-important and now-obsolete 19th-century technology.

The first mechanized, compact service-line trencher.

Pioneering developments in solar-energy applications, with global accomplishments in training and innovation.

The first practical airplane.

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Produced a line of agricultural equipment that played a vital role in the evolution of farming.

The second U.S. (earliest extant) supercritical steam-electric generating unit, pioneering significant increases in steam pressure, steam temperature, and unit size.

First ram-type blowout preventer, which sealed the wellhead and controlled pressure during drilling and oil production operations.

The world's first commercial supercritical steam-electric generating unit.

The oldest-surviving Electro-motive Company (EMC) gas-electric rail motorcar and the oldest with Lemp control.

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For decades, the elegantly simple Model A has proven to be the most effective and widely used method of automatic shrimp peeling, despite attempts by others to develop alternative approaches.

This innovative scraper moved four times as much earth as conventional machines of the era which required a tractor and two operators.

The world's largest collection of 19th-century kinematic mechanisms.

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15 millionth Model T to come off the assembly line, marking the end of its production.

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The first US system of standardized screw threads.

One of two surviving square-base linotypes.

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First ballpoint pens; utilized the concept of a quick-drying ink whose flow is controlled by gravity and a metal ball housed in a socket.

Most accurate to date drop-test device and wind tunnel to measure drag on falling objects of various shapes.

First functional wing-folding mechanism, enabling aircraft to take up less space on ships.

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A deep-sea drillship platform initially built for the United States Central Intelligence Agency Special Activities Division secret operation Project Azorian to recover the sunken Soviet submarine, K-129, lost in April 1968.

Providing efficient compression energy for natural gas, petrochemical, refinery, and power industries around the world.

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A set of seventeen large water wheels operating on the River Orontes as they have for many centuries.

The first apparatus able to directly generate a complete dynamic (high-rate) stress-strain curve in a single experiment.

Modulating digital light pulses using up to 2 million micromirrors.

The first automated temperature control system for multi-zone applications.

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The first steam engine to utilize oscillatory cylinders. Installed in the steamboat Diesbar.

Key technology that allowed drilling through medium and hard rock, tapped vast oil reservoirs much deeper below the surface than previously possible, and significantly improved the efficiency and cost of drilling.

The oldest operating “western rivers” steamboat.

One of the few remaining intact 20th-century railroad locomotive facilities in the United States.

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Represents the first commercially successful typewriter to be manufactured in quantity for sale to the public.

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The first offshore drilling rig that was fully transportable, submersible and self-sufficient.

Represents some of the most significant collection of 19th century tools and machinery for the manufacturing of textiles.

The first wave pool in North America to consistently generate 3–5 foot spilling waves suitable for surfing.

The largest crane of the hammer-head or "Titan" type.

The Collection contains many early windmills.

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Model A7L was the primary suit worn by astronauts on Project Apollo.

The first car to officially exceed the speed of sound, the ThrustSSC Supersonic Vehicle.

The first machine to reliably remove deeply packed snow from railroad tracks.

The world's preeminent museum of photography with many important artifacts.

The first funicular to employ a single, two-rail track, with a short side track for the two cars to pass at midpoint. The passing track used turnouts with no moving parts known as Abt Switches.

The Wasp R-1340 was a significant improvement to the radial aircraft engine design, making commercial aviation viable as early as the 1920s.

First commercially available 3D Printer, developed by Charles Hull.

The pumps built by the firm of Worthington & Baker with worldwide industrial applications.

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An important competition in the early days of steam locomotive railways. Five engines competed along a mile length of level track.

Museum of Engines and Mechanisms: Stationary and transportation power units, with an emphasis on automotive and aircraft engines.

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Single crystal turbine blades have no crystalline boundaries, resulting in greater resistance to fracture and corrosion as well as vastly improved creep performance than conventional multi-crystalline nickel-cobalt alloy blades. Developed by Pratt & Whitney.

Invented by Ernest Moench, the machinery featured a durable needle that punched loops of thick fabric through a web of backing material, resulting in the reliable, high-speed tufting of carpet. Descendants of the apparatus fabricate more than three-quarters of the carpets produced in the US.

Recognized for its impact on rail safety and its technological significance. The interlocking coupler, which resembled a curled human hand, was the successor to the “link and pin” coupler, a device that required rail workers to stand between train cars while joining them-—a dangerous procedure that resulted in numerous injuries and deaths.

The laboratory has been at the forefront of the quest to develop magnetically controlled fusion energy since its founding by Lyman Spitzer, who invented the stellarator, or “star generator.”

Gutenberg's movable type system reduced the time and cost of producing the printed word, resulting in the widespread availability of books and the advancement of literacy. His system incorporated a fast-drying ink; a durable easy-to-cast metal alloy for making type; a screw press designed for rapid operation; and an adjustable mold for the quick casting of metal type.

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The devices used at Cornell between 1885 and 1905, exemplify Robert Henry Thurston's vision of the central role of the engineering laboratory in training mechanical engineers

The earliest known analog computer, an inscribed astronomical and calendrical device, designed to predict astronomical phenomena such as lunar and solar eclipses, as well as other functions.

Major American ironworking and machine shop site, operating from 1818 to early 20thC. It became most famous for its production of Parrott rifle artillery and other munitions, although it also manufactured a variety of iron products for civilian use.

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In 1869, George Westinghouse patented an automatic air brake system for railroads. It had a built-in safeguard to apply the brakes on the entire train should it separate. It made possible longer and faster trains and improved the safety of rail transportation.