Inventions Category
Concorde
The concept of a supersonic aeroplane was first discussed in Britain in the late 1950s. By 2003,…
Tarmac
There were three people involved in the invention of tarmac (or tarmacadam), not counting John McAdam (1756-1836)…
Pitman shorthand
Sir Isaac Pitman (1813-97) of Wiltshire invented the Pitman shorthand system in 1837 when he was 24.…
The Bessemer Process
Sir Henry Bessemer (1813-98), born in Hertfordshire and mainly self-educated, gave his name to the Bessemer steel…
Alan Turing
Publicly recognised as a war hero long after his death, Alan Mathison Turing was born in London…
Railways
It is said that the railways were the supreme achievement of the Victorian era in Britain. Cornishman…
Red Buses
Red buses are a feature of the London street scene and an integral part of the public…
The Dyson
The Dyson vacuum cleaner was invented by Sir James Dyson (1947-) from Norfolk. It was the first…
Cash machines & PINs
Cash machines, or Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), were invented by James Goodfellow (1937-) of Renfrewshire. His employer,…
The first postmarks
The very first postmark in the world was the invention of Colonel Henry Bishopp (or Bishop or…
The Mini
In 1959 the British Motor Company (BMC) launched the Mini to meet public demand for smaller cars…
Stereo Sound
Alan Dower Blumlein (1903-1942) was born in London and became a pioneer in the field of sound…