• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Motion Control Tips

Automation • Motion Control • Power Transmission

  • News
    • Industry News
    • Editor Blogs
  • Controls
    • HMIs
    • PC-Based Controllers
    • PLCs + PACs
    • Stand-Alone Controllers
    • Software
  • Drives
    • Servo Drives
    • Stepper Drives
  • Encoders
    • Absolute Encoders
    • Incremental Encoders
    • Rotary Encoders
  • Mechanical
    • Bearings
    • Brakes + Clutches
    • Belt + chain
    • Couplings
    • Gears + Gearing
    • Lubrication
    • Shock + Vibration Mitigation
    • Springs + Rings + Seals
  • Linear
    • Actuators
    • Linear Motors
    • Linear Encoders
  • Motors
    • AC Motors
    • DC Motors
    • Brushless Motors
    • Gearmotors
    • Piezo Motors
    • Servo Motors
    • Stepper Motors
  • Systems
    • Conveyors + linear transport systems
    • Gantries + Stages
    • Rotary Tables
    • Grippers + End Effectors
    • Robotics
  • Networks
    • Connections + Sliprings
    • Fieldbuses
    • I/O
    • Sensors + Vision
  • Resources
    • FAQs
      • Motion Casebook
      • Motion Selection Guides
    • Suppliers
    • Video
You are here: Home / Featured / Editor Blogs / 1914: Five Engineering Milestones

1914: Five Engineering Milestones

January 17, 2014 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

The year 1914 was momentous for many reasons, most of which had to do with the beginning of World War I and the death and devastation it caused across Europe and much of the world.

But a look back 100 years ago also reveals some of the changes that were afoot in the engineering, science and technology world. Here’s a look at five significant milestones in the world of engineering and technology that would change the world.

1) The Panama Canal is inaugurated with the passage of the SS Ancon

One of the biggest engineering projects of all time, begun in 1881 by France and completed in August of 1914 by the U.S., the Panama Canal opened in 1914. The canal dramatically shortened the distance for maritime traffic between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and meant that ships no longer had to use the far southern passage around the tip of South America.

SS_Ancon_entering_west_chamber

 

2) Robert Goddard begins building rockets

Goddard had been working on and developing the mathematics for rockets and flight trajectories for a number of years, but in 1914 he began the serious work of attempting to construct a flying rocket. This would lead ultimately to the first flight of a liquid-fueled rocket in 1926, shown in the photo. 

Goddard_and_Rocket

 

3) First electric traffic light installed in Cleveland, Ohio

On August 5th 1914, the first electric traffic signal was installed in Cleveland, Ohio on the corner of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue. It had two colors, red and green, and a buzzer to provide a warning for color changes. This was a significant first step in the eventual adaptation of traffic lights all over the U.S. and the world.

105th-Euclid_2

 

4) Radiation treatment of cancer

Also in 1914, Irish physicist John Joly developed a method of extracting radium and applied it in the treatment of cancer. In collaboration with others, this paved the way for the so-called “Dublin method” of using a hollow needle for deep radiotherapy, a technique that would later be used around the world.

1911_Joly1

 

5) Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a wage of $5 for a day’s labor

Though not strictly an engineering milestone, it is a significant event in the history of labor and, one could argue, for the beginnings of the making of America’s middle class. The nearly doubling of wages that Ford instituted meant that workers now had the buying power to purchase the flood of consumer products that would largely come to characterize the 20th century and America’s rising economic dominance.

You Might Also Like

Filed Under: Editor Blogs

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

LEARNING CENTER

Design World Learning Center

Motion Control Handbook

“mct
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for Design Engineering Professionals.

RSS Featured White Papers

  • Robotic Automation is Indispensable for the Logistics Industry’s Continued Growth and Success
  • Reliable Linear Motion For Packaging Machines
  • Polymers Outperform Metals In Precision Gearing

Footer

Motion Control Tips

DESIGN WORLD NETWORK

Design World Online
The Robot Report
Coupling Tips
Linear Motion Tips
Bearing Tips
Fastener Engineering.
Wire and Cable Tips

MOTION CONTROL TIPS

Subscribe to our newsletter
Advertise with us
Contact us
About us

Copyright © 2025 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy | RSS