First crossing of the English Channel in a balloon--Blanchard, 1785. First successful dirigible balloon--La France, Renard and Krebs, France, 1884. First successful motor-driven aeroplane--Wright Brothers, United States; date of patent, 1906. First crossing of the English Channel by an aeroplane--Blériot, 1909. First air-ship in regular passenger service--Count Zeppelin, Germany, 1910. Agriculture Plough with cast-iron mold-board and iron shares--James Small, Scotland, 1784. Grain-threshing machine--Andrew Meikle, England, 1788. McCormick reaper, first practical grain-harvesting machine--Cyrus H. McCormick, United States, 1831. Self-raker for harvesters--McCormick, 1845. Inclined platform and elevator in the reaper, to enable men binding the grain to ride with the machine--J. S. Marsh, United States, 1858. Barbed-wire fence introduced--United States, 1861. Self-binder, first automatic grain-binding device for the reaper--Jacob Behel, United States, 1864. Sulky plough--B. Slusser, United States, 1868. Twine-binder for harvesters--M. L. Gorham, United States, 1873. Improved self-binding reaper--Lock and Wood, United States, 1873. Barbed-wire machine--Glidden and Vaughn, United States, 1874. Rotary disk cultivator--Mallon, United States, 1878. Steam-plough--W. Foy, United States, 1879. Combined harvester and thresher--Matteson, United States, 1886. Automobile mower--Deering Harvestor Company, United States, 1901. Automobile First steam-automobile--Cugnot, France, 1769. First chain transmission of power in an automobile--Gurney, England, 1829. Application of gas-engine to road vehicles, beginning of the modern motor-car--Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz working independently, Germany, 1886. Daimler's invention consisted of a two-cylinder air-cooled motor. It was taken up in 1889, by Panhard and Levassor, of Paris, who began immediately the construction of the motor-car. This was the beginning of the motor-car industry. Bicycle First bicycle--Branchard and Magurier, France, 1779. Rear-driven chain safety bicycle--George W. Marble, United States, 1884. Bicycles first equipped with pneumatic tires--1890. Electrical Inventions William Gilbert, England, 1540-1603, called "the father of magnetic philosophy," first to use the terms "electric force," "electric attraction," "magnetic pole." First electrical machine, a machine for producing electricity by friction--Otto von Guericke, Germany, about 1681. Discovery of conductors and insulators--Stephen Gray, England, 1696-1736.