Industrial Era

1750 – 1900

621 inventions from this era

The Industrial era represents the first time humanity harnessed energy beyond human and animal muscle at scale. Coal, steam, and iron created a positive feedback loop: steam engines pumped water from coal mines, enabling deeper mining, producing more coal, powering more engines. Britain's population doubled from 8 million (1801) to 17 million (1850) as productivity soared. This era resembles the Cambrian explosion—a sudden diversification enabled by keystone innovations. Path dependence locked in choices that still constrain us: standard railway gauge, electrical frequencies, industrial city layouts. The textile industry pioneered factory organization; railroads pioneered corporate management. The biological parallel is metabolic revolution—just as photosynthesis transformed Earth's energy budget, steam power transformed civilization's. By 1900, electricity promised even greater transformation.