This Week in History: Energy, Science & Technology
1882 Electric lights came to New York City.
1885 The US gained its first gasoline pump.
1887 Thomas Edison received his patent for the kinetoscope.
1888 George Eastman received his patent for a camera with a roll of film. He called it “the Kodak.”
1897 The first city subway opened in Boston.
1903 A car crossed the North American continent (under its own power) for the first time.
1904 New York City became the first city to feature a hotel with air conditioning and heat in every room.
1935 Sir Malcolm Campbell became the first automobile driver to top 300 miles per hour … taking his “Bluebird Special” across the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
1951 Live television coverage could be seen simultaneously across the US … from the East Coast to the West Coast.
1955 The first sun-powered automobile was demonstrated in Chicago.
1962 The Trans-Canada Highway opened.
1977 Lead in paint was ruled illegal in the US.