Timeline of Irish inventions and discoveries

Full timeline of Irish inventions and discoveries

Irish inventions and discoveries are objects, processes or techniques which owe their existence either partially or entirely to an Irish person. Often, things which are discovered for the first time, are also called "inventions", and in many cases, there is no clear line between the two. Below is a list of such inventions.

## Pre-history

[edit]

* Ogham prehistory.[1]
* Iomániocht (Scuaib/Camán/Ioman) - precursors to modern Hurling[2]

## 6th century

[edit]

* Penitential

## 7th century

[edit]

* Irish scribes begin adding word spacing to texts.

## 14th century

[edit]

* Caid (precursor to modern Gaelic football).[3]
* The Northern Reginians Anthem[4]
* Whiskey

## 17th century

[edit]

* Irish road bowling.[5]
* 1661: Modern chemistry founded by Robert Boyle with the publication of The Sceptical Chymist.[6]
* 1662: Boyle's law discovered by Robert Boyle.[7]
* 1680s: European adaptation of Drinking chocolate \- Hans Sloane.[8] However, this "adaption" is highly disputed. According to historian James Delbourgo, the Jamaicans were brewing “a hot beverage brewed from shavings of freshly harvested cacao, boiled with milk and cinnamon” as far back as 1494.[9]

## 18th century

[edit]

* 1730: Concept of entrepreneurship discovered by Richard Cantillon.[10]

* 1759: Invention of Guinness by Arthur Guinness

## 19th century

[edit]

* 1805: Beaufort scale invented by Francis Beaufort.[11]
* 1809: Milk of Magnesia discovered by James Murray.[12]
* 1813: Clanny safety lamp invented by William Reid Clanny.[13]
* 1820:
* Trinity Peninsula discovered by Edward Bransfield.[14]
* Modern meat curing and the Bacon Rasher invented by Henry Denny, a Waterford butcher.[15]
* 1821: The development of "Extra Stout" beer by Arthur Guinness II and others.[16]
* 1830: Coffey still invented by Aeneas Coffey.[17]
* 1831: Method of treating cholera patients discovered by William Brooke O'Shaughnessy.[18]
* 1832: Kyanising invented by John Howard Kyan.[19]
* 1834: The game of Croquet.[20]
* 1836: Induction coil invented by Nicholas Callan.[21]
* 1838: Screw-pile lighthouse invented by Alexander Mitchell.[22]
* 1843: Quaternion discovered by William Rowan Hamilton.[23]
* 1844: Hypodermic needle invented by Francis Rynd.[24]
* 1846: Cup anemometer invented by Thomas Romney Robinson.[25]
* 1848: Kelvin scale invented by William Thomson.[26]
* 1851: Binaural stethoscope invented by Arthur Leared.[27]
* 1856: Icosian calculus discovered by William Rowan Hamilton.[28]
* 1857: Modern isoseismal map invented by Robert Mallet.[29]
* 1859: Proof of the greenhouse effect discovered by John Tyndall.[30]
* 1864: Capnography invented by John Tyndall.[31]
* 1865: The first Transatlantic telegraph cable pioneered by William Thomson on Valentia Island.[32]
* 1866: Standard drop method of hanging discovered by Samuel Haughton.[33]
* 1871: Fireman's respirator invented by John Tyndall.[34]
* 1877: Brennan torpedo invented by Louis Brennan.[35]
* 1879: The rules of Hurling first standardised with the foundation of the Irish Hurling Union.[36]
* 1881: Stoney units discovered by George Johnstone Stoney.[37]
* 1883: Method of producing electromagnetic waves discovered by George Francis FitzGerald.[38]
* 1885: Cream cracker invented by Joseph Haughton.[39]
* 1886: Graphophone invented by Chichester Bell.
* 1888: Gregg shorthand invented by John Robert Gregg.[40]
* 1889: Length contraction discovered by George Francis FitzGerald.[41]
* 1891: 'Electron' coined by George Johnstone Stoney.[42]
* 1894:
* Cohesion-tension theory discovered by Henry Horatio Dixon and John Joly.[43]
* Joly colour screen invented by John Joly.[44]
* 1897:
* Holland VI invented by John Philip Holland.[45]
* Townsend discharge discovered by John Sealy Townsend.

## 20th century

[edit]

* 1900: Reflector sight invented by Howard Grubb.[46]
* 1905: Underground conveyor belt invented by Richard Sutcliffe.[47]
* 1909: Irish logarithm invented by Percy Ludgate.[48]
* 1914: 'Dublin method' in radiation therapy discovered by John Joly.[49]
* 1926: Three-point linkage invented by Harry Ferguson.[50]
* 1927: "Variant colonies of staphylococcus aureus" discovered by Joseph Warwick Bigger and his students.[51]
* 1931:
* Drumm Battery Train invented by James J. Drumm.[52]
* Sudocrem invented by Dublin pharmacist Thomas Smith.
* 1932: Disintegration of an atomic nucleus by artificially accelerated protons (splitting the atom) discovered by Ernest Walton.[53]
* 1946: Ejection seat – first live test of a reliable, successful modern ejection seat invented by James Martin.[54]
* 1947: Duty-free shopping invented by Brendan O'Regan.[55]
* 1950: Flavoured potato crisps invented by Joseph Murphy.[56]
* 1954: Clofazimine discovered by a medical research team led by Vincent Barry.
* 1960s: Portable defibrillator invented by Frank Pantridge.[57]
* 1967: Pulsars discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell.[58]
* 1970s: Avermectin discovered by William C. Campbell.[59]

## 21st century

[edit]

* 2003: Sugru invented by Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh.[60]
* 2010: Spice bag invented by Sunflower Chinese Takeaway in Templeogue, Dublin.[61]

## See also

[edit]

* List of Irish dishes

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The ancient Irish alphabet Ogham explained". IrishCentral.com. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
2. ^ Association, Gaelic Athletic (15 December 2015). "GAA: Hurling History and Evolution". www.gaa.ie.
3. ^ Foxall, Damian (2011). Ocean Fever: The Damian Foxall Story. The Collins Press. p. 41\. ISBN 9781848899490.
4. ^ Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland, p.785, footnote for year 1405. This is likewise in the Annals of Connacht entry for year 1405: Annals of Connacht.
5. ^ "Road Bowling". Culture Northern Ireland. 2 February 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
6. ^ Principe, Lawrence (5 January 2011). "In retrospect: The Sceptical Chymist". Nature. 469 (7328): 30–31\. Bibcode:2011Natur.469...30P. doi:10.1038/469030a.
7. ^ "Boyle's law - chemistry". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
8. ^ "More than just the chocolate man: The story of Hans Sloane". The Irish News. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
9. ^ Eveleth, Rose (12 February 2014). "Chocolate Milk Was Invented in Jamaica". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
10. ^ "How Entrepreneurship Theory Created Economics". Mises Institute. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
11. ^ "Beaufort scale". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
12. ^ "Stomach upset innovator honoured". BBC News. 25 February 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
13. ^ Brief History of the Miner's Flame Safety Lamp Archived 26 August 2003 at the Wayback Machine
14. ^ "Edward Bransfield - British explorer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
15. ^ "10 Irish inventions that changed the world".
16. ^ Yenne, Bill (2007). Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint. John Wiley & Sons. p. 205. ISBN 9780470120521.
17. ^ Carlton, Carla Harris (2017). Barrel Strength Bourbon: The Explosive Growth of America's Whiskey. Clerisy Press. p. 113\. ISBN 9781578605767.
18. ^ O'Shaughnessy, W. B. (1831). "Proposal of a New Method of Treating the Blue Epidemic Cholera by the Injection of Highly-Oxygenised Salts Into the Venous System". Lancet. 17 (432): 366–71\. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(02)94163-2.
19. ^ Standards, United States National Bureau of (1927). Standards and Specifications in the Wood-using Industries: Nationally Recognised Standards and Specifications for Wood and Manufactures Thereof Including Paper and Paper Products ... October 5, 1927 ... U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 76.
20. ^ "An Irishwoman's Diary". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
21. ^ "Milestones:Callan's Pioneering Contributions to Electrical Science and Technology, 1836". ETHW. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
22. ^ Kenneth L Mitchell (30 June 2015). "Alexander Mitchell: the blind Irish engineer who enabled seafarers to see in the dark". Engineers Journal Ireland. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
23. ^ "Sir William Rowan Hamilton - Irish mathematician and astronomer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
24. ^ "The Irish doctor who invented the syringe". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
25. ^ "History of the Anemometer". Wind Logger. 18 June 2012.
26. ^ "Discoveries - Lord Kelvin - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
27. ^ Prynne, Miranda (2010). "A history of the stethoscope". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
28. ^ William Rowan Hamilton (1856). "Memorandum respecting a new System of Roots of Unity" (PDF). Philosophical Magazine. 12: 446.
29. ^ Mallet, Robert (1862). Great Neapolitan Earthquake of 1857: The First Principles of Observational Seismology as Developed in the Report to the Royal Society of London of the Expedition Made by Command of the Society Into the Interior of the Kingdom of Naples, to Investigate the Circumstances of the Great Earthquake of Demember 1857. Royal Society.
30. ^ Graham, Steve (8 October 1999). "John Tyndall : Feature Articles". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
31. ^ Jaffe, M. B. (2008). "Infrared Measurement of Carbon Dioxide in the Human Breath: "Breathe-Through" Devices from Tyndall to the Present Day". Anesth. Analg. 107 (3): 890–904\. doi:10.1213/ane.0b013e31817ee3b3. PMID 18713902. S2CID 15610449.
32. ^ "Atlantic Cable". special.lib.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
33. ^ Galvin, Anthony (2016). Old Sparky: The Electric Chair and the History of the Death Penalty. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. p. 33\. ISBN 9781510711358.
34. ^ Tyndall, John (1873). "On Some Recent Experiments with a Fireman's Respirator". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 22: 359–361\. Bibcode:1873RSPS...22R.359T. ISSN 0370-1662. JSTOR 112853.
35. ^ "Brief History of the Torpedo". Retrieved 27 June 2013.
36. ^ "How Dublin Saved Hurling". www.dublincity.ie. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
37. ^ Ray, T. P. "Stoney's fundamental units". Irish Astronomical Journal, Vol. 15, p. 152, 1981 15 (1981): 152.
38. ^ Fitzgerald, George (1883). "On a Method of producing Electro-magnetic Disturbances of comparatively Short Wave-lengths". British Association for the Advancement of Science: 405.
39. ^ "Cream Crackers – An Authentically Irish Snack". Irish American Mom. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
40. ^ "John Robert Gregg - American stenographer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
41. ^ FitzGerald, George Francis (1889). "The Ether and the Earth's Atmosphere" . Science. 13 (328): 390. Bibcode:1889Sci....13..390F. doi:10.1126/science.ns-13.328.390. PMID 17819387. S2CID 43610293.
42. ^ Stoney, G. Johnstone (1894). "Of the "Electron," or Atom of Electricity". Phil. Mag. 5. 38: 418–420.
43. ^ Dixon, Henry H.; Joly, J. (1894). "On the ascent of sap". Annals of Botany. 8: 468–470.
44. ^ Hirsch, Robert (2014). Exploring Color Photography Sixth Edition: From Film to Pixels. CRC Press. p. 21\. ISBN 9781317911159.
45. ^ "John Holland Father of the Modern Submarine". Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
46. ^ Lockyer, Norman (1902). Nature. Macmillan Journals Limited. p. 227. Retrieved 13 April 2018 - via Internet Archive. "grubb for sighting devices for guns"
47. ^ Bailey, Seth (27 October 2020). "Who Invented the Conveyor Belt?". SpanTech. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
48. ^ Coghlan, Brian (10 June 2020). "Percy Ludgate's Logarithmic Indexes" (PDF). treasures.scss.tcd.ie. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
49. ^ "The Irish man who brought radiotherapy forward". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
50. ^ "Harry Ferguson: Planes, tractors and automobiles". BBC Timelines. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
51. ^ Bigger, J. W.; Boland, C. R.; O'Meara, R. A. (1927). "Variant colonies of Staphylococcus aureus". The Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology. 30 (2): 261–269\. doi:10.1002/path.1700300204. ISSN 0022-3417.
52. ^ "Flashback 1931 - first journey of battery-powered train - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
53. ^ Cambridge Physics - Splitting the Atom
54. ^ "British History - Ejection Seat". BBC - Primary History. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
55. ^ "Tributes paid to Clare man who pioneered duty free at Shannon". The Irish Times. 4 February 2008.
56. ^ "Joe 'Spud' Murphy: The Man Who Gave Potato Chips Flavor". HuffPost. 20 April 2012.
57. ^ Crutchley, Peter (3 October 2016). "Father of emergency medicine celebrated". BBC News. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
58. ^ Hewish, A.; Bell, S. J.; Pilkington, J. D. H.; Scott, P. F.; Collins, R. A. (24 February 1968). "Observation of a Rapidly Pulsating Radio Source". Nature. 217 (5130): 709–713\. Bibcode:1968Natur.217..709H. doi:10.1038/217709a0. S2CID 4277613.
59. ^ Campbell, W. C. (May 2012). "History of avermectin and ivermectin, with notes on the history of other macrocyclic lactone antiparasitic agents". Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. 13 (6): 853–865\. doi:10.2174/138920112800399095. PMID 22039784.
60. ^ "Kilkenny woman invents best thing since blu-Tack and Sellotape". Kilkenny People. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
61. ^ Geraghty, Liam. "Who invented the spice bag?". SoundCloud. Retrieved 21 December 2020. (Originally broadcast on The Business on RTE Radio 1 on 27/08/2016.)

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