A (Brief) History of Innovation

From Communications to Transportation…

In 3000 BC in Egypt, people began to write on papyrus, a reed growing on the banks of the Nile River. This allowed people to communicate beyond the moment and resulted in the first known writings outside of carvings on clay and stone (an impractical way to communicate).

In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press, causing printed information to circulate across borders and be distributed to the masses. The increased access to knowledge pulled people out of the dark ages into a world of innovation. People began to communicate through paper, literacy grew, and revolutionary ideas were shared with the world.

In the 19th century, people were tired of living in the dark. Thomas Edison created the lightbulb for the masses so people could communicate, read, and write during the night hours. Interestingly enough, the lightbulb became the symbol of innovation.

During that same time, global transportation was evolving rapidly: people began using passenger trains in Liverpool, England in 1830, which were improved upon when Karl Benz invented the first combustion engine car in 1886 in Stuttgart, Germany. Then, flight became a possibility in 1903 when the Wright brothers created their first airplane flight in North Carolina. Transportation began to…