Game Timeline

(Starred items are correspond to historical occurrences, for those who are interested in such things...)

Start of game: January 1935 (4997 AP, according to the Angels)

1934 - Permanent colony on Mars (joint American, British, German, Italian, French). It is simply a launching and landing station for future visits. This is good because the bickering between its administrators could not allow much more.

1933 - Germans establish a permanent colony on Venus.

1932-4 - An uprising breaks out in British controlled Uganda. After two years of costly battles, but fearing to set a precedent of capitulating to the rebels, the British government sells the territory to Germany for a pittance. Germany, which had actually financed the rebels, grants the province some autonomy, while keeping all major decision making in Berlin. A small, secondary rebellion is brutally crushed.

1930 - Germans land on Venus. Its southern pole is found to be close to habitable.

1930 - Speech recognition reaches 95%.

1930 - Citing trade disputes, the Philippines, supported by the United States attempts to take the island of Formosa from Japan. Japan "offers support to the island's defenses. In effect, this becomes a proxy war between the two powers. At first the British come to the aid of the Americans, but when the Japanese threaten to take Shanghai, the British withdraw. Battles continue for 4 months before the US are repulsed. In reparations, Japan demands that all processing of vulcanite from the Batenes deposits be performed on Formosa, effectively ending the vulcanite boom for the Philippines.

1929-30 - Aided by the French military, the Portuguese suppress two rebellions in Suriname. French clockwork soldiers are again used, although recent improvements make them more effective.

1928 - First successful attempt at Mars (Brits led by Chesterfield)

1928 - First attempt at Venus (Germans, there and back no landing, led by Reinkopf)

1928 - Japan starts a moon colony. Unlike the previous attempts, Japan is the sole investor.

1927-8 - The French, citing communist influence, invade Siam and attempt to seize Bangkok. In a major embarrassment, the Siamese government, using weapons purchased from British arms dealers, repulse the attack. Encouraged by this defeat, rebellion breaks out in French Indochina. France is able to keep control of their southern holdings, but the Hanoi and much of the north is lost.

1925-6 - The discovery of vulcanite off the Batenes Islands just north of the Philippines nearly leads to a major war as Japan, the US, the Dutch, and the French, who all have nearby colonies, attempt to claim the area. Britain, Italy, and Germany join in a limited fashion for the purpose of being involved in peace talks when they occurred. After gradually increasing conflict, the governor of the Philippines, in a desperate attempt to keep his province from being sucked into a gradually growing war, convinces all parties to sign the Laoag Accords. In this an Italian company (having the most experience) would harvest the crystals which would then be divided among the combatants. The accord is a financial windfall for the Philippine merchants which benefited from the employment and shipping the mining created.

1924 - An uprising in Egypt is suppressed by a combined Italian and British force. Britain regains control and assumes direct control over the province. Italy is given free use of the canal in perpetuity.

1924 - Brits attempt Mars (failed - tried to return, supplies low etc, returns to Earth with all but 10 crew members dead)

1923 - Using a stolen ornithopter, a Chinese rebel explodes a bomb in the British portion of Hong Kong harbor, killing 13 soldiers and heavily damaging 2 ships. Britain engages in a house-to-house search for collaborators which further enrages the populace.

1923 - The United States, citing growing communist influence, annexes Haiti.

1923 - France, with American and Italian investment, begins a fifth moon colony. However, construction is stopped after only a year do to lack of funds.

1922 - First attempt at Mars (Germans, failed on way, wrecked in eddy)

1921 - Russia is established as a communist nation. Most Western powers react with immediate, albeit not physical, hostility. Russian demands for the return of its former possessions are ignored.

1921 - Autonomous clockworks are used as combatants for the first time by the French army when putting down an insurrection in French Guiana. The devices used are called Centaurs. They have 6 legs, are capable of traversing fairly difficult terrain. They use a dorsally mounter machine-gun as their primary weapon and can carry almost 1000 rounds of ammunition. They can walk for half an hour before requiring to be re-wound, but the targeting system can operate for much longer. They are occasional left at a particular location to guard it and only move to return to a resupply point when low on ammunition. They use limited visual perception to spot targets. As their visual resolution is mediocre, French soldiers deactivate the device using a long semaphore code flashed to it with high power lights from outside the device's range. The inability of the device to distinguish between combatants and civilians is viewed as a minor flaw. While initially successful, the insurgents discovered that the devices fired at movement and would often use scarecrows attached to strings to distract the devices while others snuck close and disabled it.

1920 - Speech recognition technology reaches 93%.

1920 - Japan launches its first Aether going ship.

1919 - An uprising in India is crushed by British forces in 5 days.

1918 - The first ornithopter battle takes place between the out-riders of German dirigible and a Japanese warship. The skirmish is not significant in any other respect. Onithopters are now capable of 13 minutes of continuous flight.

1918 - The Austro-Hungarian Empire declares war on Italy. Italy convinces Germany, technically an ally of both nations, to assist in its defense. Faced by the combined nations, AH withdraws.

1918-21 - Taking advantage of the chaos in Russia, Japan, America, and most Western nations with any capability to do so all begin making inroads into Russia's possessions. With the exception of Japan, all are under the pretense of protecting these colonies from insurrection or foreign conquest. Skirmishes occur between Western nations and Japan and, more infrequently, between the western powers themselves as choice colonies are bickered over. Mostly, however, nations choose to take uncontested targets.

1917 - Japan develops sky torpedos. These are basically clockwork planes with an explosive payload that can be used against aerial targets. In fact they are fairly ineffective due to a limited ability against targets at a higher altitude and the relative ease with which they can be shot down. Despite (or possibly because of) these limitations, they are successfully sold to a number of western militaries.

1917 - Vulcanite is discovered off the coast of Hawaii. Due to several slip-ups, word gets out leading to a "gold rush" like fever of vulcanite prospectors heading to the islands.

1917 - Germany with the aid of American, Italian, and French interests establish the fourth moon mining colony.

1916 - The Tsar of Russia is assassinated by his own troops. Over the next several years various governments will rise and fall in Russia.

1915* - The Panama Canal is completed.

1915 - A string of uprisings in Algeria and Tunisia are put down by their French overlords. However, in eastern Tunisia, the rebels, aided by the Italian government are victorious, only to become an Italian colony.

1914 - An explosion on the first British moon colony cripples the compound. More than 50% of the workers, over 1000 people, die from suffocation as the air in the compound is replaced by the surrounding aether. The British blame sabotage, but appear unable to decide whether to blame the communists, Luddites, anarchists, Jews, Germans, Japanese, or some other more obscure party. The matter eventually dies down with no definitive culprit named. It takes more than a year for the operation to return to full capacity.

1914 - An assassination attempt is made on Archduke Ferdinand*. After several months in seclusion, the duke resumes his post. Aided by German air units, Austro-Hungarian Empire attacks Serbia, defeating it quickly. Italy (which had a long running naval arms race with the AH Empire) almost intervenes but is dissuaded by Germany, the mutual ally of both nations. Russia begins mobilizing but is hesitant to deal with the superior military technology of Germany. When Japan attacks Germany's colony on Shantung in August, Germany offers Russia military aid in the far east in return for neutrality in Serbia. Russia accepts.

1913 - Britain's moon colony become fully operational, dispatching regular shipments of refined TCA (Tetra-carbon aniline, formerly called Edwardite) to earth. The factory can produce more than a ton of refined TCA per day. The facility utilizes a number of semi-autonomous clockworks capable of performing tasks outside the controlled environment.

1912 - The HMS Cainsley is lost in space when, on a current-charting expedition, it falls behind the Earth and is unable to catch up again.

1912 - Japan reinvents clockwork torpedos. (Original torpedo designs were clockwork powered, but did not have the endurance to be effective. The new designs are almost as effective as steam, but do not leave the telltale path back to their point of origin as steam torpedos do.)

1912 - American companies finance a moon colony with some British and Italian backing.

1911-2 - The Chinese Republican revolution.* This led to a proxy war between Britain, France, Germany, and Russia on the side of the Qing Dynasty and Japan who backed the revolutionaries. Despite being well financed by sympathizers in several countries (including countries whose governments backed the Qing) and the powerful Japanese war machine, the rebellion was crushed. The two results of this war were increased colonial influence over mainland China (more than before) and the recognition that Japan's military was easily on par with any of those in the West.

1911 - Japan discovers deposits of vulcanite in the seas of the Kyushu region of southern Japan. Wishing not to bring attention to this discovery, they gradually decrease their purchase of Italian vulcanite over the next few years.

1911 - The German exploratory ship "Sigrund" becomes the first ship to leave the Earth's eddy and venture into interplanetary space.

1911 - Germany, with Austro Hungarian, Polish, and Italian financing, create their first moon colony.

1910* - Japan officially annexes Korea.

1910 - Germany begins using zeppelins as launching platforms for combat aircraft. (Done to support and protect the zeppelin in its role as a bomber.)

1909 - Speech recognition reaches 88%.

1909 - First moon colony is established. The colony is British controlled with French, Italian, and American investors.

1908 - Germans land on the moon. Accomplish trip in 23% less time than previous British attempt.

1908* - Percival Lowell publishes Mars As the Abode of Life

1906* - France has 60 submarines and Britain almost as many. Germany, initially doubtful of the concept, launches its first.

1906* - Percival Lowell publishes Mars and Its Canals

1906 - Japan begins selling household clockworks. These are somewhat less sophisticated than the clockworks produced in Europe, but are more aesthetic, not to mention exotic, than their western counterparts. Within a few years, Japan controls a small but significant amount of the global clockwork trade.

1905* - The first German U-boat is launched.

1905 - First Moon landing (Brits). Samples returned yield several important discoveries including a type of stone that burns like coal only hotter and longer. This is hailed as the power source of the future and the major powers all begin plans for mining colonies. This stone is named Edwardite after the current king of England.

1905 - Japan begins using their Kumo (giant spider) clockworks as guards in some of their holdings. They are about the same size as guard dogs.

1904-5 - The Russo-Japanese war. Superior Japanese naval forces eventually defeat the Russians.

1903-4 - The German-Italian aether ship Unternehmen crushes previous endurance records by remaining in space without supply runs for 4 months.

1902 - A German guard dog is introduced. It is capable of spotting moving targets even in fairly low light.

1902 - Speech recognition accuracy reaches 80%. Some doorkeeper/guard clockworks begin using speech recognition as part of an entry key. (Usually there is a manual override such as a regular key.)

1901* - First successful trans-Atlantic radio communication.

1900* - George Eastman's Brownie camera (sold for $1) makes photography available to virtually all levels of society.

1900 - The Master is demonstrated. A significantly more sophisticated version of The Artist, The Master actually performs decent shading. The result is still not photographic quality, but is easily recognized as the intended subject.

1900* - The Boxer Rebellion. When the movement is put down by the colonial powers these powers also grant themselves the right to base troops in the Chinese capital.

1900* - The US, Britain, and several other nations have, or have on order, submarines. (The British remain somewhat reluctant to use them, however, as they see the vessels "underhand, unfair, and damned UnEnglish." (Rear Admiral A. K. Wilson)

1900 - Nicoli Tortovelli becomes the first human to leave the earth's atmosphere using an Italian vulcanite drive.

1899 - The Boer War*. British combat ornithoptors prove surprisingly useful in the conflict for their ability to provide close cover support to troops. Other nations begin investigating using ornithoptors in their armies.

1899 - An improved speech recognizer is developed. The process is not significantly faster, but boasts an accuracy of 65%.

1898* - The United States officially annexes Hawaii at the request of the nation's plantation owners.

1898 - First Aether-going ship is launched from France. It stays outside Earth's atmosphere for 20 minutes before returning. It holds a crew of one monkey who does not survive the experience.

1898* - H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds

1898* - First zeppelin airship is built.

1898* - The French 148-foot, 266-ton "Gustav Zede" successfully torpedos an anchored ship in trials.

1898 - Two French clockwork companies gain a major advantage in the international marketplace when they introduce voice activated appliances. Despite rapid duplication by other companies, Renault and Maison remain the dominant companies in clockwork for the next three years. After this, most simple purpose clockworks can be purchased with voice control options.

1898 - Spanish American war. The US acquires Guam, the Philippines, and Cuba (although Cuba nominally becomes independent)*. American air squadrons are used with some success during the conflict although hampered by poor organization among the American armed forces.

1896 - A French team successfully make a word recognition clockwork. The clockwork has a small built in vocabulary. When a person issues a single word command, the device checks its vocabulary against the word. Recognition takes only a few seconds and has an 80% accuracy on average (the ability to determine the difference between commands is linked to how differently those commands sound). The French team demonstrate this by building a verbally controlled horse.

1896 - Italy successfully uses vulcanite to push a set of scientific instruments into the upper atmosphere and than retrieve the vehicle safely.

1895 - Improvements to the Right flyer allow them to carry two crew members, significantly enhancing their usefulness. One serves as pilot while the other serves as gunner or grenadier.

1895 - An improved British ornithopter features a recumbent pilot and a built in rifle. This proves to be much more effective than previous designs. Flight times are up to 6 minutes.

1894-95* - Sino-Japanese War. Japan wins easily and acquires Taiwan. Russia, France, and Germany force Japan to return other territories. Despite vast evidence to the contrary, most western powers continue to view Japan (and the whole East) as technologically backwards.

1894 - A German mechanical speech recognizer is demonstrated. The device stores a small set of recognized voices on recording cylinders. When a person speaks to the device, the sound is recorded on a separate wax cylinder. The device than compares the new voice against those in its library looking for matches. The process takes about 10 minutes (although the number of stored voices doesn't matter as they are all tested in parallel) and has a 40% success rate. The stored phrase and spoken phrase must be the same. The device is quickly copied in other countries.

1894 - The Artist is demonstrated. It is capable of rough outlines of scenes placed in front of it. The Artist has trouble with areas of low contrast but is capable of producing decent silhouettes.

1893 - George C. Baker demonstrates his submarine for a US Navy contest. His submarine included a dual power mechanism of steam on the surface and clockwork underwater. A clutch between the steam engine and the clock spring rewound the clockwork when the boat was on the surface. Baker lost the contest but complained to friends in the government who had the whole contest declared null. (* True, except in the real world the steam engine recharged a battery.)

1893 - The first mechanical guard dog is developed. The dog is designed to travel a fixed circuit and sound an alarm if an intruder is detected. Unfortunately, it proves highly flawed as it can only spot intruders in a very bright environment, and than only if they are moving. Nonetheless, the US government signs a contract with the designer for a few hundred of the devices for use patrolling military bases making this the first mass produced clockwork of its level of sophistication. Over the next decade, numerous companies appear marketing simple clockwork devices for home, office, and military use. 1891 - The prototype for a combat ornithopter is demonstrated for the British army. It can hold one pilot and can fly for 5 minutes. The aircraft is unarmed, but the pilot is supposed to use a pistol while flying.

1890 - The Deer is demonstrated at fairs. It is a simple clockwork that walks around in circles, but when a bright light is shined in its eyes it stops and turns toward the light. It continues to track the light until the light is turned off at which point it resumes its walk.

1889 - Existence of Aether is demonstrated by Michelson-Morely experiment

1889 - The first squadron of combat aircraft enter service as part of the US Army. These aircraft are designed both for dropping small bombs (really just sticks of dynamite with impact detonators) on enemy trenches, as well as for shooting down enemy blimps.

1889 - France begins experimenting with using levity to lift large weights. Due to several accidents they are unable to maintain the material's secrecy. Late that year, Italy announces the sale of vulcanite. Virtually all nations with any resources to spend acquire at least a little bit of the material for research. Italy uses the wealth to enhance their navy in case anyone might be thinking of acquiring the source.

1888 - Alexander Thomas develops the capillary steam engine, marking the next quantum leap in steam engine development. The capillary engine is capable of even greater power, but more importantly, requires just over half the fuel of previous steam engines to perform the same amount of work. Subsequent years provide incremental improvements.

1888* - Heinrich Hertz produces and detects radio waves.

1888* - George Eastman develops the Kodak camera, the world's first point-and-click camera.

1888 - Gustave Zede builds "Gymnote" for the French Navy* - a 60-foot, clockwork-powered boat capable of 8 knots on the surface, it lacked any real internal method for rewinding the spring.

1887* - Heinrich Hertz determines that light can be used to facilitate conduction.

1887* - Alexander Graham Bell improves of Edison's phonograph resulting in the possibility of longer recordings and significantly improved sound quality. A commercial recording industry starts within the next few years.

1886 - A British piloted ornithopter sets an endurance record for its 2 minute flight. The British military commissions additional research for armed variants.

1885 - A French industrial spy discovers the Italian work on vulcanite. After some military flexing, France is able to secure access to quantities of the material.

1885* - George Eastman and William H. Walker develop rolled paper film, again simplifying the photographic process.

1884 - Orson Right manages to travel 2 miles using an improved version of the Right flyer. The craft is launched from a high hill using a catapult and flies as a glider except with the clockwork is engaged to increase the altitude. The US government commissions the brothers to develop military variants. Other governments begin their own airplane development.

1883* - Nikola Tesla invents the electric motor.

1883 - A French mechanic develops a clockwork called The Gentleman capable of walking stably over smooth terrain. This is the first mobile clockwork to simulate human walking.

1882* - Hiram Maxim invents the machine gun. The British army dismisses it as being of little use.

1881 - Both the Catholic Church and the Church of England condemn reanimation of deceased animals (especially humans) despite the fact that no one has publicly done this.

1881* - Michelson and Morley's first attempt to detect the aether fails when they find no relative difference between the earth and surrounding aether using inferometry. Michelson interprets as supporting George Gabriel Stokes's hypothesis that the aether in earth's immediate vicinity moves with the same velocity as the earth itself.

1881 - Poissin develops a stable 4 legged steam powered walker capable of traversing difficult terrain.

1880 - The Germans begin integrating Babbage-like difference engines with artillery fire controls on their ships. A spotter estimates the distance and direction by which the previous volley missed and the guns compute a corrected aim. Later versions are even able to take movement of the firing ship into account automatically.

1880 - Vulcanite is discovered by the Italians off the coast of the island of Vulcano. The crystal's ability to invert gravity fields is discovered shortly thereafter. The Italian government keeps the discovery secret while continuing to explore the material's properties.

1879 - Degaul is able to demonstrate a refined ornithopter with enough control to take off and land within 10 foot squares. The flight lasts 18 seconds.

1878* - Frenchman Paul Bert publishes that decompression sickness is caused by nitrogen bubbles and suggests gradual ascent to combat it.

1877* - Thomas Edison invents the phonograph allowing sounds to be recorded and played back.

1877* - Giovanni Schiapparelli reports "canali" on mars ("channels")

1876* - Thomas Edison invents the incandescent light.

1876* - Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone.

1875 - Anault Degaul successfully flies the worlds first piloted ornithopter. It flies for 10 seconds.

1872 - Orson and William Right successfully fly the world's first powered heavier than air aircraft. The device is powered by clockwork and is launched using a sled catapult. The aircraft stays in flight for 20 seconds. Over the next few years, the design is refined, although flights remain brief due to the limits of clockwork springs.

1871* - Dr. Richard Maddox replaces the standard glass medium used for storing photographs with one based on gelatin (producing early negatives that could be developed later, as opposed to glass "wet-plate" photography which required immediate developing). This significantly simplifies the process of taking a photograph.

1870-1* - Franco-Prussian War. Germany, aided by its sophisticated tanks and dirigible, achieves victory faster than anyone anticipated. Other governments begin looking into such devices and copying them. Italy takes the advantage of the distraction to seize the Vatican from France, completing its unification.

1869* - Suez canal is completed.

1869* - The US navy begins manufacturing the Whitehead steam torpedo for use by surface ships. The torpedos are largely ineffectual.

1868* - The last shogun is overthrown in Japan. The Meiji Dynasty is established and the country begins rapid westernization (as least as far as technology is concerned).

1868 - Babbage Inc releases a smaller and faster difference engine. This engine is only 500 lbs. Over the next several years, the company will continue to innovate on its designs. Engines will continue to be large, but improve in both speed and complexity. However, the company will only see modest profits as their customers remain governments and universities.

1866* - Alfred Nobel invents dynamite.

1865* - Frenchmen Benoit Rouquayrol and Auguste Denayrouse patent the first SCUBA gear. It consists of a low pressure tank the diver wears on their back and a mouthpiece that only supplies air when the diver inhales. The tank was fed by air pumped from the surface, but the feed hose could be detached underwater allowing the diver free movement for a few minutes before the connection needed to be reestablished.

1864* - Ernest Bazin was the first to use electric lighting underwater in one of the earliest underwater observatories.

1864* - The CSS H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel, the USS Housatonic. The Hunley only makes it 1000 yards from its victim before becoming swamped and sinking with all hands. The submarine was powered by a hand-crank and technically operated "awash" rather than submerged.

1864 - Tic Tok Inc. begins selling simple clockwork devices (bed makers, mixers, cutters, etc) for home use. After meeting with rapid success several other similar companies appear over the next few years.

1863 - Germany develops dirigible bombers.

1862* - R.J. Gatling invents the Gatling gun.

1862 - Germany fields an early version of the tank. It is basically a steam tractor with oversized wheels with a single cannon mounted on top.

1861 - Alec Poissin develops the octopede, the first articulated, walking, steam powered, vehicle. The vehicle has 8 legs and moves like a spider. It is designed for travel over terrain too rough for wheeled or tracked vehicles. Initially viewed as too clumsy for practical use, the design is refined significantly over the next decade. It seats one operator.

1857 - After several false starts, Babbage's third generation difference engine is completed. He begins selling his devices under the company name, Babbage Inc. His company also sells punchcard programs. Hundreds of young women find employment in punchcard design.

1856* - Henry Bessemer develops a process to make steel in large quantities.

1855* - Leon Scott de Martinville develops the phonautograph, a device for recording, although not playing back, sounds.

1853-6* - Crimean War. Steam powered tractors are used in war for the first time, albeit in non-combat roles. The infamous Charge of the Light Brigade happened here as well.

1852* - The first steam powered dirigible is built.

1851* - Frederick Scott Archer introduces the Collodion process allowing photos to be taken using exposure times of as few as 2-3 seconds.

1850-64* - The Taiping Rebellion is started by Hung Xiu­quan who believes himself to be the younger brother of Jesus sent to found the Heavenly Kingdom on Earth. During the period of this rebellion, the rebels capture and hold large areas of inland China. The Chinese government, aided by British and French colonial forces, eventually crush the insurrection.

1850 - There are 30,626 miles of railroad in the United States. (* For those who are interested, the US didn't actually reach this level until 1860)

1850 - Ada Lovelace and Babbage collaborate in designing a third generation difference engine. This engine, when finished, will be capable of receiving user input and displaying output (using a series of switches) as the machine is running.

1849 - Using recent advances in materials, the Roc is developed. A large version of the Eagle, the Roc is capable of carrying up to 35 pounds of goods for almost 20 minutes.

1849* - The California gold rush starts.

1848* - Marx and Engles write the Communist Manifesto

1847 - Babbage's second difference engine comes "online". A clockwork device on the inside, the spring is kept wound using a water wheel. The engine is more than 4 times as fast, and only a little larger than the original model. It is also capable of running a wider range of programming.

1846-48* - The Mexican-American War. America gains additional territory from Mexico.

1846 - The new Watt engine is used in a practical application for the first time in an articulated crane.

1845-72* - Britain fights against a series of Maori uprisings in its New Zealand territories.

1844 - Thomas Watt, great grandson of James Watt, using more advanced manufacturing and materials than available to his predecessor, invents the bifurcating steam engine. This engine allows much finer control than would be allowed by earlier engines, which had to make do with regular piston motion. Instead, through a complicated set of valves, precise pressure could be applied to one of any number of joints as directed by the operator.

1843 - The Good Dog becomes the first demonstrated wire controlled clockwork. Using a telegraph wire and a simple set of coded signals, an operator was able to cause the dog to move about and perform several simple tricks on cue.

1842* - C. W. Long introduces ether for surgical anesthesia.

1841 - Babbage's first version of his difference engine comes "online".

1840* - There are 2,808 miles of railroad in the United States.

1840* - Steam powered tractors begin widespread production for agricultural use.

1839-42* - The Opium war ensures that British opium (produced in India) continues to be sold in China, despite the Chinese government's objections.

1839* - Vulcanized rubber is invented by Charles Goodyear

1839* - Louis Daguerre develops commercial photography

1837* - Samuel Morse patents the electric telegraph (and Morse code)

1836 - Tic Tok Inc. attempts to market a humanoid torso clockwork that is capable of moving a small path and miming other activities such as drinking from a glass or looking through a book. Their idea is that this can be used to deter thieves by making it appear that a home's occupants are awake and moving around. The device is not terribly convincing and fails to catch on.

1835* - The revolver is patented by Samual Colt

1834* - Charles Babbage begins designs for his difference engine.

1833 - Clockwork burglar alarms begin showing up in houses of the wealthy in major cities.

1831 - An improved version of the Albatross, called The Eagle, is created. Smaller and more intricate than its predecessor, the Eagle uses small punched cards to define relatively complicated flight plans.

1830* - There are 23 miles of railroad in the United States.

1829 - The Millipede is demonstrated. An improvement over the centipede this clockwork is significantly faster and more agile. It also displays, for the first time, limited decision making abilities in that, if a particular path is too difficult for the device, it will back up and attempt to go around that particular obstacle.

1826 - The Albatross is shown at fairs. This is a large clockwork bird that could fly a short defined path, turn around, and then retrace its steps. The path could undergo simple modifications between flights at the hands of its operator.

1825* - The first true railroad begins service carrying goods and people.

1824 - The Centipede is demonstrated. This clockwork device demonstrates inverse kinematics for the first time as it is able to walk over uneven terrain reliably.

1823* - Declaration of the Monroe Doctrine.

1821* - The Catholic Church lifts its ban on teaching the Copernican system.

1818* - The Savannah becomes the first steamship to cross the Atlantic (taking 26 days).

1816* - Mary Shelley begins writing Frankenstein, completing it in 1817.

1815* - The first steam powered warship, the USS Fulton, designed by Robert Fulton, enters service in the US Navy.

1807* - Robert Fulton invents the Clermont, the first successful steamboat.

1805 - King-shu's magpie is reinvented. Supposedly first developed for King-shu of China in 500BC*, this is a mechanical bird that was capable of simple flight.

1804* - Richard Trevithick builds the worlds first locomotive. (Actually a steam tractor since it did not travel on rails.)

1804* - Joseph Marie Jacquard creates a loom that uses a punched card to define a woven pattern. The loom could then create large and complicated textiles more-or-less automatically.

1793* - Alessandro Volta creates the first batteries.

1788* - John Smeaton builds the first diving bell whose air supply is replenished using force-pumped air.

1780* - Luigi Galvani causes dead frog legs to twitch with static electricity thus theorizing "animal electricity".

1773* - Pierre Jaquet-Droz completes The Musician, a clockwork piano that included an artificial female player who moved as if playing the music. The model was so detailed that the woman even appeared to breathe as she played.

1769* - The Turk, a chess playing automata, is built by Baron Wolfgang von Kemelen. Its impressive skills at chess are later shown to be due to a human operator.

1769* - Nicolas Cugnot demonstrates his steam powered tractor. It travels at 2 mph for 15 minutes. (Cugnot is later discredited when a later design is is unable to display fine enough control to avoid an inconveniently placed brick wall.)

1769* - James Watt redesigned the Newcomen steam engine. The resulting design, with minor improvements, is used for nearly a century and is used for the first time for powering mobile devices.

1745* - Pieter van Masschenbroek invents the Leyden jar, or capacitor.

1735-37* - Jacques de Vaucanson creates two full sized human automata, a flute plater and man playing the flute and drum. Both are capable of playing many different songs and simulated correct movements for their instruments. He also created a brass swan that swam, drank, ate, cackled, and (probably unnecessarily) excreted.

1712* - Thomas Newcomen improves on the Savery engine. This became the most popular design for steam engines for the next half century. This model is also designed for removing water from mine shafts.

1698* - Thomas Savery patents his steam engine (used for pumping water from mine shafts). (The theory of steam powered machines had existed since before 300AD, but this is the first widely used model.)

1690* - Edmund Halley develops the first "modern" diving bell. (Basically an inverted cone.) Air was recirculated by a pair of buckets that could be raised and lowered to bring fresh air to the bell. Halley claims that using this design he and four other divers remained on the bottom for an hour-and-a-half at a depth of nine or ten fathoms.