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Invention and Technology
Illuminating Connecticut’s Past: The Bradley & Hubbard Legacy
Meriden’s Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company was an industry-leading American manufacturer of kerosene lamps and metal household items.
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Electric Boat: From Innovation Trials to WWII Submarine Leadership
US submarines accounted for 63 percent of all Japanese ships sunk during WWII—Electric Boat’s vessels were responsible for a significant number of these successful outcomes.
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Sophia Woodhouse Welles: Wethersfield’s World-Famous Bonnet Maker
Wethersfield’s Sophia Woodhouse Welles made a name for herself as an inventor and a businesswoman in antebellum America with her bonnets.
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Sarah Boone: First Connecticut Black Woman to Receive Patent
In1892, Sarah Boone of New Haven became the first Black woman in Connecticut to be awarded a patent—for an improvement in the use of an ironing board.
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New London Harbor Lighthouse: Connecticut’s First Official Lighthouse
New London Harbor Lighthouse, originally opened in 1761 and rebuilt in 1801, is Connecticut’s oldest surviving and tallest lighthouse.
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The Ives Manufacturing Company: Connecticut’s Foremost Toy Maker
The Ives Manufacturing Company—arguably Connecticut’s most famous toy company—became known for its variety of clockwork toys and trains.
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This Won’t Hurt a Bit! A Brief History of Anesthesia
After 1844, persons undergoing limb amputations, tooth extractions, and other painful procedures had reason to thank Dr. Horace Wells.
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The Stamford Foundry Company Made Notable Stoves
When it ceased operations in the mid-1950s after over 120 years, The Stamford Foundry Company was the oldest known stove works in America.
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The “Perfect Handle” Hatchet – Who Knew?
In the early 1900s, H.D. Smith and Company of Plantsville began the manufacture of a line of “Perfect Handle” hand tools.
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Yankee Ingenuity: Curtis Veeder, a Mechanical Genius and Shrewd Businessman
Curtis Veeder patented a bicycle seat he sold to the Pope Company, and later invented a cyclometer for measuring distances traveled by bicycles.
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David Bushnell and his Revolutionary Submarine
How a farmer’s son became the Father of Submarine Warfare during the American Revolution.
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A Different “Type” of Connecticut Industry
In the middle of the 1800s, the invention of the typewriter revolutionized the way Americans communicated, including in Connecticut.
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Boone Guyton Tested the Limits of World-Famous Aircraft
A long-time resident of Woodbridge, Boone Guyton was one of the most prolific test pilots in US aviation history.
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Elastic Web Expands Textile Manufacturing in West Haven
For the better part of a century, West Haven produced one of the more unique and innovative textile products in United States’ history.
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Elisha Root Changes Industry – Who Knew?
Elisha Root standardized production and made the Colt revolver the first handgun in the world with fully interchangeable parts.
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The Life of Chauncey Jerome: An Insider’s Look at What Made Early Bristol Tick
A glimpse at clock making in Connecticut from Chauncey Jerome’s 1860 autobiography
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The Steady Evolution of a Connecticut Family Business
Simsbury and Avon’s fuse-making helped build America’s railroads, mine her natural resources, expand the Panama Canal, and even blow up tree stumps in local farm fields.
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WDRC AM/FM – Connecticut’s Oldest Commercial Radio Station
WDRC is the oldest continuously operated commercial radio station in Connecticut that uses both AM and FM transmissions.
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Ferry Boats a Way of Life in Early Connecticut
From the 1600s on, Connecticut’s long coastline and river systems made ferry crossings a routine but sometime dangerous fact of life.
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The Story of Pineapple Cheese
On a farm in West Goshen, Lewis Norton made one of the more unusual and popular foods of the 19th century, pineapple cheese.
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Albert Augustus Pope, Transportation Pioneer
Pope’s bicycles and automobiles not only gave 19th-century consumers greater personal mobility, they also helped propel social change.
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Benjamin Dutton Beecher had a Penchant for Invention
Described by some as “eccentric,” Benjamin Dutton Beecher was a millwright and machinist with a knack for invention.
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Frank Duryea Drives the First Automobile in Connecticut
In 1893, Frank Duryea, along with his brother, built one of the first cars in the country to have an internal combustion engine.
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The “Fancy Chair” Craze of the 1800s: Lambert Hitchcock and the Story of the Hitchcock Chair
More than something to sit on, “fancy chairs” were emblems of social mobility for middle-class Americans.
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Edwin Land Inventor of the Polaroid Born – Today in History: May 7
On May 7, 1909, Edwin Herbert Land, founder of the Polaroid Corporation, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
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World-renowned Maker of Axes: The Collins Company of Canton
The New England factory town of Collinsville, which can still be toured today, once supplied the world with axes, machetes, and other edge tools.
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The Pike Family Lived a Life of Dyeing
The Pike family of Sterling, Connecticut worked in textile dying for four generations.
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Shakers Revolutionize Garden Seed Business – Who Knew?
Enfield Shaker-grown garden seeds, one of their best and most successful endeavors, were sold throughout the US in small packages.
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Road Signs of the Air
In the 1920s, most pilots navigated using road maps and by following highways, rivers, and other landmarks that they could see from the air.
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Benjamin Silliman and Soda Water – Who Knew?
Yale’s first professor of chemistry, Benjamin Silliman, was also the first American to produce soda water in bulk.
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Marking Time: Early Connecticut Innovations Transform Clock Making
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Connecticut played a major role in transforming clock making from a time-intensive handcraft into a mass-production industry.
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Charles Ritchel and the Dirigible
An entrepreneur’s design for a lighter-than-air vehicle takes flight in the late 1800s and inspires a new state industry.
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The Corbin Cabinet Lock Company and Patent Law: A Lesson in Novelty from a CT Perspective
New Britain, fondly known as the “Hardware City,” had numerous companies that contributed to modern industrialization.
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Town Patents the Lattice Truss Bridge – Today in History: January 28
On January 28, 1820, architect Ithiel Town was granted a patent for a wooden truss bridge, also known as Town’s Lattice Truss.
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Family Ties Bring Together North Branford Industry
In 1830, a resourceful industrialist opened a button making shop in what today is the Northford section of North Branford.
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Rubber Vulcanization and the Myth of Nathaniel Hayward
Colchester has a persistent myth that Hayward invented vulcanization—a process that helps make rubber useful for manufacturing—but did not receive the credit he deserved.
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Norwich’s “Volcanic” Past
With its water power, its location, and proximity to major port cities, Norwich has been attracting gun manufacturers since the American Revolution.
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Mohawk Mountain Made Snow for Winter Sports Lovers – Who Knew?
In the 1930s, skiing became a popular pastime at Mohawk State Park in Cornwall and became famous for documenting the first artificial snow.
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The First US Can Opener – Today in History: January 5
On January 5, 1858, Waterbury native Ezra J. Warner invented the first US can opener.
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Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia Originated in Stamford
In 1873, Charles H. Phillips patented Milk of Magnesia and his company produced the popular antacid and laxative in Stamford, Connecticut, until 1976.
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Horace Wells Discovers Pain-free Dentistry
This Hartford dentist played key role in the development of anesthesia but competing claims to discovery obscured his accomplishment.
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Daniel Curtiss: The Life of a 19th-Century Self-Made Man
Daniel Curtiss spent most of his life in Woodbury, thriving in business, pioneering the sale and distribution of commercial goods, and serving his town by holding political office.
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New Haven Gives the Lollipop its Name – Today in History: October 13
On October 13, 1931, the name “Lolly Pop” was officially registered to the Bradley Smith Company of New Haven by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
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The Whitney Armory Helps Progress in Hamden
Eli Whitney later established an armory in Hamden that not only produced weapons for the US government during the early 19th century but also contributed to the evolution of mass-produced firearms.
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American Architect Ithiel Town Born – Today in History: October 3
On October 3, 1784, prominent American architect and engineer Ithiel Town was born in Thompson.
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World’s First Helicopter – Today in History: September 14
On September 14, 1939, the VS-300, the world’s first practical helicopter, took flight at Stratford, Connecticut.
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Parachutist Snagged in Midair – Today in History: September 13
On September 13, 1966, Charles (Chuck) Alexander in Manchester, Connecticut became the first human to be captured by an aircraft in flight.
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A Diversified Mind: Hiram Percy Maxim
No matter his field of endeavor—from automotive design to wireless radio—this multitalented creator had a hand in key developments of the early 1900s.
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Wheeler & Wilson: A Stitchy Situation in Watertown
The Watertown firm of Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing produced one of the most successful products of the late 19th century.
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Roosevelt Rides in an Electric Car – Today in History: August 22
On August 22, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt rode through the streets of Hartford in an electric automobile.
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A Pie Tin’s Soaring Sales
Tins used to hold pies at William Frisbie’s pie company in Bridgeport in the late 1800s reportedly provided the inspiration for Wham-O’s most popular toy, the Frisbee.
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A World in Motion: Artist and Sculptor Alexander Calder
Most renowned for his invention of the mobile, an abstract sculpture that moves, Calder is considered a pioneer of kinetic art.
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Aristocratic Dental Cream Gets Squeezed
Taking advantage of his skills as a dentist and chemist, Dr. Washington Wentworth Sheffield, in 1850 at the age of 23, invented modern toothpaste.
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Erector Set Patented – Today in History: July 8
On July 8, 1913, the United States Patent Office issued a patent to Alfred C. Gilbert of New Haven for his “Toy Construction-Blocks.”
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John Howe Makes a Better Pin – Today in History: June 22
On June 22, 1832, John Ireland Howe (from Ridgefield, Connecticut) invented the first practical machine for manufacturing pins.
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The Blake Rock Crusher – Today in History: June 15
On June 15, 1858, Eli Whitney’s nephew, Eli Whitney Blake of New Haven was granted US patent No. 20,542 for a “machine for crushing stone.”
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Thomas Hall’s Electric Block Railroad Signal – Today in History: June 7
On June 7, 1870, Thomas Hall patented the electromagnetic signal apparatus for railroads–better known as the automatic electric block.
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The Inventive Minds of Connecticut Women: Patents in the 19th Century
Between 1790 and 1930, Connecticut residents were issued the most patents in the US per capita, many of them inventions by women.
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W. J. Squire’s Gill Net Manufactory in East Haddam
In the early 1870s, Wilbur J. Squire (1837-1890) built his factory for the manufacture of gill nets in East Haddam.
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First Woman to Receive US Patent – Today in History: May 5
On May 5, 1809, Mrs. Mary Kies of South Killingly became the first woman in the United States to receive a patent.
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Colt’s Submarine Battery – Today in History: April 13
On April 13, 1844, Samuel Colt blew up a schooner on the Potomac River to demonstrate the effectiveness of his invention.
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Charles Goodyear’s Machine for Making Rubber Fabrics
Credited with discovering the vulcanization process that fortified rubber against extreme temperature changes, Charles Goodyear received several patents over his lifetime.
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The Telescoping Fishing Rod – Today in History: March 8
On March 8, 1887, Everett Horton, a Bristol mechanic, patented a fishing rod of telescoping steel tubes.
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Rockwell Hardness Tester – Today in History: February 11
In 1919, Hugh Rockwell and Stanley Rockwell received a patent for the Rockwell hardness tester, one of the 20th century’s metallurgical innovations.
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Connecticut Transforms Aaron Draper Shattuck
Drawn to the landscapes of the Farmington River Valley, artist Aaron Draper Shattuck reinvented himself as a gentleman farmer and inventor.
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Pratt & Whitney Debuts Wasp Engine – Today in History: December 24
On December 24, 1925, aviation engineer and head of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company Frederick B. Rentschler debuted its first product: the Wasp engine.
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Barkhamsted Reservoir Construction Washes Away a Community
While the Barkhamsted Reservoir project proved successful, it cost 1,000 displaced residents their homes and livelihoods.
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Pierre Lallement and the Modern-Day Pedal Bicycle – Today in History: November 20
On November 20, 1866, mechanic Pierre Lallement, a temporary resident of New Haven, Connecticut, received a patent for an improvement in velocipedes.
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Helicopters, Guitars, and Guide Dogs: The Revolutionary Mind of Charles Kaman
Charles Kaman, an inventor and aviation pioneer, managed to combine all of his passions in life into successful business ventures.
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First US Detachable Electric Plug – Today in History: November 8
On November 8, 1904, Harvey Hubbell II patented the first detachable electric plug in the United States.
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Seth Thomas Works Around the Clock in Wolcott
Seth Thomas was a Connecticut native who became a pioneer in the mass production of high-quality wooden clocks.
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Igor Sikorsky Dies – Today in History: October 26
On October 26, 1972, aviation pioneer Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, founder of the Sikorsky Aviation Corporation, died at his home in Easton.
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Portland Improves the Steam Engine
Thomas R. Pickering, an engineer, ran a factory power plant in the mid-1800s and made improvements.
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Airborne Pioneers: Connecticut Takes Flight
Daring flights and first-of-a-kind inventions mark the state’s 200-plus-year history of taking to the skies.
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Improving Sea Transportation: Guilford Goes About it the Light Way
Approximately 3 ½ miles off the coast of Guilford lies the Faulkner’s Island Lighthouse.
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USS Nautilus Passes Under North Pole – Today in History: August 3
On August 3, 1958, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) made history by becoming the first ship to pass underneath the North Pole.
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North Branford Vied for the Title of “Shredded Coconut Capital of the World” – Who Knew?
Patents granted to North Branford residents included one for a device used for paring coconut meats in 1875.
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Levi Pease, Stage Route and Transportation Innovator
Somers, Connecticut, a small town near the state’s border with Massachusetts, was the site of a revolution in 18th-century transportation.
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Cleopatra’s Needle and Groton’s Captain Davis – Who Knew?
Cleopatra’s Needle, the Egyptian obelisk erected in Central Park across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, arrived safely from Egypt due to the ingenuity of Noank’s Henry E. Davis.
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New England’s Grand Ambition: The Farmington Canal
Connecticut took leading role in waterway that transformed the region’s commerce.
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A Revolution On Two Wheels: Columbia Bicycles
Albert Pope’s company not only played a prominent role in developing improved bicycle designs, it also developed the market for them.
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Horseshoe Nail Capital of the World – Who Knew?
In the late 19th century, George Capewell formed the Capewell Horse Nail Company, which mass produced horseshoe nails.
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Furniture Caster Patented – Today in History: June 30
On June 30, 1838, the US patent No. 821—the first for a furniture caster—was granted to the Blake Brothers of New Haven.
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Samuel L. Clemens Receives Scrap-book Patent – Who Knew?
Writer and humorist Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, invented more than tall tales and novels.
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Flying High with Early Dirigible
In what would later be described as “the first flight of a man-carrying dirigible in America,” aeronaut Mark Quinlan piloted a machine designed and patented by Charles F. Ritchel.
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Albert Pope Pioneered Bicycles for Women
Hartford-based inventor Albert Pope saw his first bicycle at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and was so impressed that he went to Europe to study how bicycles were made.
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Jacob Schick Invents the Electric Razor – Today in History: May 13
On May 13, 1930, Colonel Jacob Schick obtained patent No. 1,757,978 for his dry electric shaver.
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First American Medicine Patent – Today in History: April 30
On April 30, 1796, Samuel Lee Jr. of Windham, Connecticut, received a Letters Patent for his composition of bilious pills.
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USS Tullibee – Today in History: April 27
On April 27, 1960, the USS Tullibee, the first atomic submarine to use turbo-electric propulsion, was launched.
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The Coaster Brake – Today in History: April 9
On April 9, 1907, Harry Pond Townsend patented the driving and braking mechanism for cycles, the first device to combine driving, braking, and coasting.
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Amateur Radio Comes of Age in Connecticut
In April 1914, inventor, scientist, and amateur radio operator Hiram Percy Maxim encouraged the Radio Club of Hartford to organize amateurs into a self-reliant network.
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Connecticut’s First Municipal Electric Utility
The first municipal electric plant in Connecticut began operating in the City of South Norwalk in 1892 to provide low-cost electricity.
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The Revolving Gun – Today in History: February 25
On February 25, 1836, Samuel Colt received a patent for a “revolving gun” US patent number 138, later known as 9430X.
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North and South: The Legacy of Eli Whitney
After studying to become a lawyer, Eli Whitney actually helped further American industrial production methods through his numerous clever inventions.
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First Commercial Telephone Exchange – Today in History: January 28
On January 28, 1878, the Boardman Building became the site of the world’s first commercial telephone exchange, the District Telephone Company of New Haven.
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John Fitch Born – Today in History: January 21
On January 21, 1743, John Fitch, an inventor and pioneer in steamboat construction, was born in Windsor–a settlement in the British colony of Connecticut.
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Clarence Dickinson Carries Printing Innovation into the 20th Century
Clarence Dickinson was a long-time Haddam resident and pioneer in offset lithography—a process using printing plates on chemically treated flat surfaces.
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Igor Sikorsky and his Flying Machines
This Russian émigré not only invented a machine capable of controlled vertical flight, he also re-invented his aviation career along the way.
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Noble Jerome’s Clock Patent Model
Noble Jerome submitted this clock patent model to the US Patent Office along with his patent application in 1839, a common requirement up until the 1880s.
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Phineas Pratt’s Machine for Making Combs – Today in History: April 12
On April 12, 1799, Phineas Pratt of Ivoryton, Connecticut, a deacon, silversmith, and inventor, received a patent for a “machine for making combs.”
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The Portable Typewriting Machine – Today in History: April 12
On April 12, 1892, the first US patent for a truly portable typewriter was issued to George C. Blickensderfer of Stamford.
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Alfred Carlton Gilbert, Inventor of the Erector Set – Today in History: February 15
A. C. Gilbert, a successful Olympic athlete, invented the Erector Set after being inspired by the structures he saw while on a train ride from New Haven to New York in 1911.
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Reel Lawn Mower Patent – Today in History: January 28
On January 28, 1868, Amariah Hills of Hockanum, Connecticut, received the first US patent for a reel-type lawn mower and sold the patent in the 1870s.
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Connecticut Patents
From the time the federal government first began issuing patents in 1790, Connecticut was a national leader in patenting its abundant innovations.
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[Archived] Patents – Bloomfield’s Inventive Minds
From the time the federal government first began issuing patents in 1790, Connecticut was a national leader in patenting its abundant innovations.
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Government Orders Horse Pistols – Today in History: March 9
On March 9, 1799, the government issued its first contract for 500 horse pistols to Simeon North of Berlin at $6.50 each.
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Heart Pump out of an Erector Set – Who Knew?
Yale medical student William Sewell Jr. built the first artificial heart (partly out of Erector Set pieces), and conducted successful bypass experiments in 1949.
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Silas Brooks, Balloonist
This Connecticut native, Silas Brooks, earned fame as a crowd-pleasing musician, showman, and aeronaut.
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Charles Goodyear and the Vulcanization of Rubber
Obsessive dedication transformed rubber into a viable commercial material and made the town of Naugatuck one of its leading manufacturing sites in the 1800s.
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The Turtle Submarine – Today in History: September 6
On September 6, 1776, the first functioning submarine, called the Turtle, attacked the HMS Eagle anchored in New York Harbor.
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Halladay’s Revolutionary Windmill – Today in History: August 29
On August 29, 1854, Daniel Halladay a machinist, inventor, and businessman patented the first commercially viable windmill—Halladay’s Self-Governing Windmill.
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The Colt Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company
Samuel Colt, the man who revolutionized firearms manufacturing in the United States, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on July 19, 1814.
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Hubbell’s Pull-Chain Electrical Light Socket – Today in History: August 11
On August 11, 1896, Bridgeport inventor and industrialist Harvey Hubbell patented a socket for incandescent lamps.
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Christopher Miner Spencer, 19th-century Arms Manufacturer
Christopher Miner Spencer, from Manchester, obtained 42 patents during his lifetime and created the first successful breech-loading repeating rifle.
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First Human Test of a Nylon Parachute – Today in History: June 6
On June 6, 1942, Adeline Gray made the first jump by a human with a nylon parachute at Brainard Field in Hartford.
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Thread Your Needle – Today in History: March 2
On March 2, 1866, the Excelsior Needle Company of Wolcottville was organized and produced machine-made sewing needles by a new method called swaging.
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When the World Ran on Connecticut Time
The success of the clock- and watch-making industries in Connecticut came about in an era when the state was just beginning to realize its industrial potential.
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The USS Nautilus: The World’s First Nuclear Submarine
On January 21, 1954, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower launched the world’s first nuclear submarine at the General Dynamics Shipyard in Groton.
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The League of American Wheelmen and Hartford’s Albert Pope Champion the Good Roads Movement
How the 19th-century cycling craze led to improved roads and paved the way for future federal highway construction.
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Salisbury Iron Forged Early Industry
Connecticut’s bucolic northwest corner, with its Taconic Range, Berkshire Hills, and pastoral valleys, harbored a major iron industry in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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Amasa Goodyear and Son Re-Invent Naugatuck
Born in New Haven, Amasa Goodyear was an inventor, manufacturer, merchant, and farmer.
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The Automatic Gallows – Today in History: June 18
On June 18, 1895, Jabez L. Woodbridge of Wethersfield patented an automated gallows.
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