[Illustration: GUTENBERG TAKES THE FIRST PROOF] Historic Inventions By RUPERT S. HOLLAND _Author of “Historic Boyhoods,” “Historic Girlhoods,” “Builders of United Italy,” etc._ PHILADELPHIA GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY PUBLISHERS Copyright, 1911, by GEORGE W. JACOBS AND COMPANY _Published August, 1911_ _All rights reserved_ Printed in U.S.A. _To J. W. H._ CONTENTS I. GUTENBERG AND THE PRINTING PRESS 9 II. PALISSY AND HIS ENAMEL 42 III. GALILEO AND THE TELESCOPE 53 IV. WATT AND THE STEAM-ENGINE 70 V. ARKWRIGHT AND THE SPINNING-JENNY 84 VI. WHITNEY AND THE COTTON-GIN 96 VII. FULTON AND THE STEAMBOAT 111 VIII. DAVY AND THE SAFETY-LAMP 126 IX. STEPHENSON AND THE LOCOMOTIVE 140 X. MORSE AND THE TELEGRAPH 168 XI. MCCORMICK AND THE REAPER 189 XII. HOWE AND THE SEWING-MACHINE 206 XIII. BELL AND THE TELEPHONE 215 XIV. EDISON AND THE ELECTRIC LIGHT 233 XV. MARCONI AND THE WIRELESS TELEGRAPH 261 XVI. THE WRIGHTS AND THE AIRSHIP 273 ILLUSTRATIONS Gutenberg Takes the First Proof _Frontispiece_ Palissy the Potter After an Unsuccessful Experiment _Facing page_ 46 Galileo’s Telescope " " 58 Watt First Tests the Power of Steam " " 72 Sir Richard Arkwright " " 88 The Inventor of the Cotton Gin " " 104 _The Clermont_, the First Steam Packet " " 120 The Davy Safety Lamp " " 136 One of the First Locomotives " " 156 Morse and the First Telegraph " " 180 The Earliest Reaper " " 194 Elias Howe’s Sewing-Machine " " 210 The First Telephone " " 222 Edison and the Early Phonograph " " 258 Wireless Station in New York City Showing the Antenna " " 268 The Wright Brothers’ Airship " " 281 I GUTENBERG AND THE PRINTING PRESS About 1400-1468