William B. Purvis patented the electric switch on railways that would shut off the electric supply after carriages pass the contact device.
The Chicago Times-Herald sponsored the United States' first-ever car race, with the winning car going an average of 7 miles per hour.
George B. Selden was granted the patent for a gasoline internal combustion engine car.
Karl Benz patented the gasoline-operated motor car.
A gasoline-powered car was tested in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the first time in the US.
The Melbourne cable tramway system opened the Victoria Bridge line in Melbourne, Australia.
Mechanical engineer Karl Benz drove his first automobile in Mannheim, Germany.
German engineer Carl Benz patents the first modern automobile.
German engineer Gottlieb Daimler unveiled the world's first motorcycle, referred to as the Daimler Reitwagen.
Inventor Gottlieb Daimler filed for a patent for a two-wheel 'riding car,' or in other words, 'motorcycle.'
Gottlieb Daimler patents his engine design.
The Orient Express started its first journey from Paris to Istanbul.
The first Orient Express leaves Paris.
George Selden filed for the first patent for a gasoline-driven automobile.
Jesse James and the famous James-Younger Gang robbed the Missouri Pacific Railroad near Otterville, Missouri, US.
Andrew Hallidie introduced the cable car to San Francisco after witnessing a horse and carriage accident.
The Transcontinental Railroad linking up the East and West halves of the US was completed in Colorado.
The Tower Subway in London became the first underground tube railway to open.
The Golden Spike was driven.
The first traffic lights were installed in London.
Charing Cross Railway Station opened in London, England.
London Underground was opened, making it the world’s oldest underground railway system.
The first railway line in Pakistan opened, with trains running from Karachi to Kotri.
London launched its first tram, built by George Francis Train from NYC.
Abraham Lincoln received a patent for a device that would lift a boat over shoals and obstructions.
The first wagon train arrived in California after having left Independence, Missouri, in May 1841.
Ephraim Morris patented the car brake for railroads.
The Dublin and Kingstown Railway officially opened.
The Portage Railroad Line in Pennsylvania built the first railroad tunnel in the US.
The New York and Harlem Railroad became the first railroad to operate in the US.
The first train passenger service began.
The US celebrated the opening of the country's first railroad station in Baltimore.
Locomotion No. 1 became the first passenger-carrying steam-powered locomotive and was driven by George and Stephenson.
A steamboat patent was granted to the American engineer and inventor Robert Fulton.
The Clermont steamboat by Robert Fulton made its maiden trip up the Hudson River.
The world's first railway journey takes place in Wales.
Jean Pierre Blanchard flew the first hot air balloon in the US.
HMS Pandora sank at The Great Barrier Reef after a voyage to hunt down the Bounty mutineers in 1790.
Isaac Briggs & William Longstreet was awarded a patent for the first steamboat in the US.
Hot air balloon crosses the English Channel.
French aviator Élisabeth Thible became the first woman to fly an untethered hot air balloon.
French chemistry and physics teacher Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier made his first successful balloon flight.
Aviation pioneers, the Montgolfier brothers, made the first human ascent in a hot air balloon.
Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers released the first-ever unmanned hydrogen balloon.
The English transport ship Duke William sank in the North Atlantic, killing over 360 people.
Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tried to fly his famous Flying Machine invention for the first time.
