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

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

14th century

• Caid (precursor to modern Gaelic football).[3]
• Whiskey[4]

17th century

• 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]

18th century

• 1730: The concept of an entrepreneur - Richard Cantillon.[9]

19th century

• 1805: Beaufort scale created by Francis Beaufort.[10]
• 1809: Milk of Magnesia discovered by James Murray.[11]
• 1813: Clanny safety lamp created by William Reid Clanny.[12]
• 1820: 30 January, Edward Bransfield discovered the Antarctic Continent (mainland, islands were discovered earlier).[13]
• 1820: Modern meat curing and the Bacon Rasher were invented by Henry Denny, a Waterford butcher, in 1820[14]
• 1821: The development of "Extra Stout" beer by The Second Arthur Guinness and others.[15]
• 1831: Column still design enhanced and patented by Aeneas Coffey.[16]
• 1831: William Brooke O'Shaughnessy pioneered the cure for cholera through Intravenous therapy
• 1832: The Kyanizing process for preserving wood, created by John Howard Kyan.[17]
• 1834: The game of Croquet.[18]
• 1836: Induction coil created by Nicholas Callan.[19]
• 1843: Quaternion (a mathematical entity) first described by Sir William Rowan Hamilton.[20]
• 1844: Hollow needle in syringe created by Francis Rynd.[21]
• 1846: Seismology founded by Robert Mallet, who used dynamite explosions to measure the speed of elastic waves in surface rocks - pioneering and coining the word 'seismology'.[22]
• 1848: Kelvin scale created by William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin.[23]
• 1851: Binaural stethoscope created by Arthur Leared.[24]
• 1856: Icosian calculus discovered by Sir William Rowan Hamilton.[25]
• 1859: Greenhouse Effect theory proven by John Tyndall.[26]
• 1865: The first Transatlantic telegraph cable pioneered by William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin on Valentia Island.[27]
• 1866: The Standard drop method of hanging developed by Dr Samuel Haughton.[28]
• 1874:
  • Electron introduced as a concept by George Johnstone Stoney.[29]
  • Brennan torpedo created by Louis Brennan.[30]
• 1879: The rules of Hurling first standardized with the foundation of the Irish Hurling Union.[31]
• 1880: Boycott triggered by Charles Boycott over a dispute with the Irish Land League.[32]
• 1884: Steam Turbine: Compound Steam Turbine developed by Anglo-Irish engineer Charles Algernon Parsons.[33]
• 1885: The Cream Cracker was invented by Joseph Haughton in his home in Dublin and first manufactured by William Jacob in his bakery in Dublin.[34]
• 1888: Gregg Shorthand created by John Robert Gregg.[35]
• 1894: Joly colour screen created by John Joly.[36]
• 1894: cohesion-tension theory proposed by John Joly and Henry Horatio Dixon at Trinity College Dublin[37]
• 1897: Modern submarine design created by John Philip Holland.[38]
• Saccharimeter created by Rev John Jellet from Cashel, County Tipperary (1817–1888).[39]

20th century

• 1901: Reflector sight created by Howard Grubb.[40]
• 1914: Radiotherapy developed by John Joly.[41]
• 1928: Three point linkage, patented by Harry Ferguson.[42]
• 1930: Nickel-zinc battery created by James J. Drumm.[43]
• 1931: Sudocrem was developed by Dublin-based pharmacist Thomas Smith.
• 1930s: The first disintegration of an atomic nucleus by artificially accelerated protons (splitting the atom) discovered by Ernest Walton et al.[44]
• 1946: Ejection seat - first live test of a reliable, successful modern ejection seat developed by James Martin[45]
• 1940s: World first duty free airport shop at Shannon Airport, created by Brendan O'Regan
• 1950: Joseph 'Spud' Murphy and his employee Seamus Burke produced the world's first seasoned crisps: Cheese & Onion and Salt & Vinegar.[46] Companies worldwide sought to buy the rights to Tayto's technique.[47]
• 1954: Clofazimine first synthesized by a medical research team led by Cork man Vincent Barry at Trinity College, Dublin.[39]
• 1965: Portable defibrillator created by Frank Pantridge.[48]
• 1967: Pulsar discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell.[49]

See also

• List of Irish dishes

References

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. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
9. "How Entrepreneurship Theory Created Economics". Mises Institute. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
10. "Beaufort scale". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
11. "Stomach upset innovator honoured". BBC News. 25 February 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
12. Brief History of the Miner's Flame Safety Lamp Archived 26 August 2003 at the Wayback Machine
13. "Edward Bransfield - British explorer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
14. https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/10-world-changing-irish-inventions/
15. Yenne, Bill (2007). Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint. John Wiley & Sons. p. 205. ISBN 9780470120521.
16. Carlton, Carla Harris (2017). Barrel Strength Bourbon: The Explosive Growth of America's Whiskey. Clerisy Press. p. 113. ISBN 9781578605767.
17. Standards, United States National Bureau of (1927). Standards and Specifications in the Wood-using Industries: Nationally Recognized Standards and Specifications for Wood and Manufactures Thereof Including Paper and Paper Products ... October 5, 1927 ... U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 76.
18. "An Irishwoman's Diary". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
19. "History is made as Darver man gets science award". Independent.ie. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
20. "Sir William Rowan Hamilton - Irish mathematician and astronomer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
21. "The Irish doctor who invented the syringe". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
22. Mulvihill, Mary (2003). Ingenious Ireland: A County-by-County Exploration of the Mysteries and Marvels of the Ingenious Irish. Simon and Schuster. p. 81. ISBN 9780684020945.
23. "Discoveries - Lord Kelvin - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
24. Prynne, Miranda (201). "A history of the stethoscope". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
25. Weerden, Anne van (2017). A Victorian Marriage: Sir William Rowan Hamilton. J. Fransje van Weerden. p. 232. ISBN 9789463230025.
26. Graham, Steve (8 October 1999). "John Tyndall : Feature Articles". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
27. "Atlantic Cable". special.lib.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
28. Galvin, Anthony (2016). Old Sparky: The Electric Chair and the History of the Death Penalty. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. p. 33. ISBN 9781510711358.
29. "George Johnstone Stoney - Irish physicist". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
30. Everett, H. R.; Toscano, Michael (2015). Unmanned Systems of World Wars I and II. MIT Press. p. 33. ISBN 9780262331760.
31. "How Dublin Saved Hurling". www.dublincity.ie. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
32. "Charles Cunningham Boycott - British estate manager". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
33. "Sir Charles Algernon Parsons - British engineer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
34. "Cream Crackers – An Authentically Irish Snack". Irish American Mom. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
35. "John Robert Gregg - American stenographer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
36. Hirsch, Robert (2014). Exploring Color Photography Sixth Edition: From Film to Pixels. CRC Press. p. 21. ISBN 9781317911159.
37. "John Joly,Trinity College Dublin biography". Trinity College Dublin. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
38. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
39. Irish Scientists and Inventors. Irish Patents Office.
40. Aukstakalnis, Steve (2016). Practical Augmented Reality: A Guide to the Technologies, Applications, and Human Factors for AR and VR. Addison-Wesley Professional. p. 29. ISBN 9780134094359.
41. "The Irish man who brought radiotherapy forward". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
42. "Harry Ferguson: Planes, tractors and automobiles". BBC Timelines. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
43. "Flashback 1931 - first journey of battery-powered train - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
44. Cambridge Physics - Splitting the Atom
45. "British History - Ejection Seat". BBC - Primary History. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
46. "Joe 'Spud' Murphy: The Man Who Gave Potato Chips Flavor". HuffPost. 20 April 2012.
47. Hochman, Karen. "A History of the Potato Chip: Page 4: The First Salted & Flavored Potato Chips". The Nibble.
48. Crutchley, Peter (3 October 2016). "'Father of emergency medicine' celebrated". BBC News. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
49. "Jocelyn Bell Burnell - British astronomer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 March 2018.