1865:   Jules Verne publishes From the Earth to the
Moon, anticipating a lunar expedition.
  If one were to select the century most appropriate for inspiring steampunk imagery, it would likely be the one hundred years extending from 1801 to 1901. While any designated time frame of history is inherently arbitrary, this period comfortably begins with the creation of the first steam-powered automobile. It ends not only with the death of Queen Victoria but also with the introduction of Oldsmobile's Curved Dash, the first mass-produced and affordable gasoline-powered automobile. A certain latitude may be taken here.  One might just as validly date the century from the invention of the first practical steamship in 1802 to 1902, when the Curved Dash was first produced in the thousands. If a century is too long for comfort, as it may well be, one could date the period from the first all-steam railway of 1830, and perhaps even close it in the 1870s, 80s or 90s with the rise of internal combustion engine.  For the sake of convenience, many people prefer to specify the Victorian era as the time period best corresponding to a real world "steampunk era."  While this oversimplification ignores the impressive technological innovations of the early 19th century, it still encompasses the heyday of steam power. When examining the history of technology it is important to remember the difference between capacity and implementation, between the cutting edge and the mainstream.  Scientific discoveries often predate their resulting technologies by years or decades, sometimes even requiring centuries to come to fruition. The steam engine, which traces its history back to the 1st century, was developed in earnest in the 18th century.  In spite of this lengthy history, steam power did not become a common feature of life until the 19th century. Furthermore, even when the technology is available it often requires some time for it to enter common use and the public mindset, as in the case of the internal combustion engine and the gasoline-powered automobile.  While the later half of the 19th century saw the development of these machines, they remained little more than curiosities for the rich and the scientific until the 20th century. Even from the perspective of retro-futurism, one must be careful not to underestimate less advanced technologies only to replace them with more modern inventions.  It must be remembered that from the perspective of the time, this technology was not "limited," but incredibly advanced. During its development in the 18th century the steam engine was truly cutting edge.  The very concept of a machine that could produce mechanical power from boiling water was as advanced in its age as the locomotive and steamship would be in the 19th century or the aeroplane would be in the early 20th.  From the viewpoint of a steam age individual, a steam-powered carriage would have been more reasonable an idea than a 20th century automobile, just as a steam-powered balloon would have been more natural than a Zeppelin or a steam-powered glider more plausible than a First World War biplane. When creating steampunk imagery, it is important to recall the look and feel of society, aesthetics and technology present during the historical period providing the inspiration.  While the archetype of an early 19th century explorer, a late 19th century explorer and an early 20th century explorer are all based on similar kinds of people, the attitudes, clothing and equipment of these individuals will not be the same.  There is certainly something very appealing about the look and feel of the pulp adventures of the 1920s and 30s, but embracing Zeppelins, aeroplanes, automobiles and death rays as "steampunk" does a grave disservice not only to the pulp adventure era, by ignoring its status as genre, but also to the age of steam itself, which produced fantastic works of technology well worthy of the title "steampunk." Let the glory days of steam technology be remembered in ironclads held aloft by balloons, steam-powered gliders and carriages, and Wells' Martian Heat-Rays.  19th century technology was a glorious thing, and it deserves its rightful place as the heart, soul and being of steampunk.  -G. D. Falksen It should be noted that this timeline, while intended to be thorough, is far from exhaustive. It is meant to highlight major developments in the real-world technology that inspires both steampunk and pulp adventure. The timeline will likely be updated and expanded upon, both in content and commentary, in the future. 1623:Wilhelm Schickard constructs the first mechanical calculator, limited to addition and subtraction. 1671:   Gottfried Leibniz constructs an early mechanical calculator capable of multiplication and division as well as addition and subtraction. 1698:   Thomas Savery's early industrial steam engine, used for removing water from mines. 1712:   Industrial steam engine constructed by Thomas Newcomen. 1769:   James Watt's more advanced industrial engine. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot creates the first self-propelled transport vehicle, a steam-powered wagon. 1770’s:  Tentative beginning of the first phase of the Industrial Revolution, which may have had its roots as early as the 1750s. 1771: Richard Arkwright installs a water-powered mechanical spinning machine in a cotton mill, creating one of the first factories. 1776:   First successful steamship, the Palmipède constructed by the Marquis de Jouffroy. 1783:   The Montgolfier brothers accomplish the first successful ascent in a balloon. 1785:   Jean-Pierre Blanchard crosses the English Channel in the first manually-powered balloon. 1794: First military use of aerial reconnaissance, utilizing balloons. 1801:Richard Trevithick constructs and demonstrates what was likely the first steam-powered road carriage. Joseph Marie Jacquard invents a programmable powered loom that uses punch cards to direct the weaving of textiles. 1802:   First practical steamship, the Charlotte Dundas, used to tow barges. 1804:   Earliest steam locomotive. 1806:   François Isaac de Rivaz creates the first internal combustion engine powered by hydrogen. 1807:   First commercially viable steamship, the North River Steamboat. 1812:  First commercially viable steam locomotive, The Salamanca. 1815:   First steamship crosses the English Channel. 1820s-1840’s:    Steam-powered buses and carriages provided regular transportation between cities.  The use and development of these early steam cars was hindered by legal restrictions, and ultimately the more efficient and reliable railways replaced large-scale road travel. 1820:   Hans Christian Ørsted discovers electromagnetism. 1822:   Charles Babbage proposes a "difference engine," a form of mechanical calculator. 1825:   First permanent public railway, Stockton and Darlington Railway. William Sturgeon invents the electromagnet. 1829:   First modern steam locomotive, Stephenson's Rocket. 1830’s:  Development of electromagnetic telegraphs. Penny Dreadful stories, precursors to the Pulp genre, introduced to provide cheep literary entertainment to the poor. 1830:   First passenger railway driven entirely by steam power, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. 1831:   Michael Faraday discovers electro-magnetic induction. 1833:   Charles Babbage begins work on his "analytical engine," a form of mechanical computer of a far more advanced nature and purpose than the difference engine.  He was never able to successfully construct one. 1837:   Queen Victoria's reign begins. 1838:   First regularly scheduled trans-Atlantic steamship crossings begun on the SS Great Western. 1849:   Austria launches a balloon to bomb Venice from the ship Volcano, marking the first offensive use of an aircraft carrier.  After this attempt failed, the Austrians then launched a number of unmanned bomb-laden balloons, marking the first successful use of aerial bombing. 1850’s:  Discovery of the Bessemer process for mass-producing steel sets the groundwork for the second part of the Industrial Revolution. 1850:   First steam battleship, Le Napoléon, is launched. 1852:   Henri Giffard conducts the first powered flight in a steam-powered dirigible. 1853:   Sir George Cayley conducts the first flight of a manned, but not powered or controlled, glider aircraft. 1854:   First efficient internal combustion engine patented by Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci. 1859:   The first ironclad warship, La Gloire, is launched. 1860’s:  Second part of the Industrial Revolution begins. 1860:   First widely produced internal combustion engine patented by Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir. Beadle's Dime Novels introduces the dime novel genre, an evolution of the Penny Dreadful that featured a collection of serialized stories in one publication, a clear ancestor to the Pulp genre. The first iron-hulled warship, the HMS Warrior, is launched. 1861:   The Confederate States of America attack the United States of America at Fort Sumter, starting the American Civil War. The Union Army Balloon Corps becomes the first military air force in recorded history.        First transcontinental telegraph system established by the United States. Johann Philipp Reis creates an early version of the telephone capable of transmitting sound, including music, but not speech. 1862:   The Battle of Hampton Roads sees the first engagement between two ironclad warships, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. 1863:   First mechanically powered submarine, the Plongeur. The Metropolitan Railway becomes the first subterranean urban mass transit system, using steam locomotives. Jules Verne publishes Five Weeks in a Balloon, a scientific adventure story. 1864:   James Clerk Maxwell presents a series of equations describing the relationship between electric and magnetic fields. 1865:   The American Civil War ends. Jules Verne publishes From the Earth to the Moon, anticipating a lunar expedition. 1866:   First transatlantic telegraph line. 1867:   The Ictineo II converted into the first steam-powered submarine. 1870:   Antonio Meucci creates a telephone capable of transmitting speech. Jules Verne publishes Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, describing a highly sophisticated modern submarine. 1872:   Paul Haenlein uses the first combustion engine powered airship, fueled by coal gas. 1874:   Félix du Temple's steam-powered glider Monoplane performs the first successful powered flight, although it lands soon after. Pinwheel mechanical calculators, capable of four function calculations, developed and made available for sale. 1876:   Nicolaus Otto develops the first practical four-stroke combustion engine.Alexander Graham Bell succeeds in receiving the first telephone patent. Pavel Yablochkov patents an arc lamp initially used for electrical street lighting, heralding the impending replacement of gaslights by electricity. 1877:   First unmanned helicopter, created by Enrico Forlanini, flown under steam power. 1878:   David E. Hughes transmits Morse code over a basic wireless system. Charles Brush invents a significantly improved arch lamp. 1884:   Charles Parsons patents the steam turbine engine. First key-driven mechanical calculator. 1885:   Karl Benz receives the first patent for a gasoline-powered car, known as the Motorwagen, running on an internal combustion engine. The Home Insurance Building of Chicago becomes the first building to use steel in its frame.  It is generally considered the first skyscraper, although it still relied on load-bearing walls. 1889:   George A. Fuller constructs the Tacoma building, the first skyscraper supported entirely by an internal metal frame. 1890:   The City & South London Railway becomes the first electrified subway system. 1891:   Nikola Tesla demonstrates wireless transfers of electricity. 1893:   Rudolf Diesel patents the design for what will become the Diesel Engine. 1895:   H. G. Wells publishes The Time Machine. 1896:   Frank Munsey's pulp-printed Argosy Magazine published in an all-fiction format, laying the groundwork for the Pulp fiction genre. 1897:   First turbine powered boat, the Turbinia. 1898:   Alberto Santos-Dumont uses the first gasoline-powered dirigible. H. G. Wells publishes The War of the Worlds, presenting among other things the concept of a "Heat-Ray" weapon. Nikola Tesla demonstrates a radio-controlled boat. 1900:   First Zeppelin flight, the LZ1.  It was ultimately unsuccessful, but it established the image of rigid-framed dirigibles powered by combustion engines now almost synonymous with the term "airship" in popular culture. 1901:   Queen Victoria dies, succeeded by Edward VII.  The Victorian Era ends and the Edwardian Era begins. The Oldsmobile Curved Dash introduced.  It would become the first mass-produced automobile, the product of the assembly line introduced a year later. 1905:   The Wright brothers perform the first sustained long-range flights in a heavier-than-air aircraft. 1906:   Ferdinand von Zeppelin's LZ2 flies, but is eventually forced to land due to engine failure and finally is destroyed.        The Royal Navy launches the HMS Dreadnought, the world's first all-big-gun warship, effectively rendering all earlier warships obsolete and ironically reducing the overwhelming superiority of the Royal Navy over competing navies. 1907:   First manned helicopter flight by Paul Cornu. 1908:   The Model T Ford introduced, generally marking the dominance of the private automobile. The German military becomes interested in the possibilities of the Zeppelins. H. G. Wells publishes The War in the Air, anticipating the large-scale use of aerial combat in warfare. 1909:   The German Airship Travel Corporation founded as the first commercial airline.        France forms the first air force to use aeroplanes rather than observation balloons. 1910:   King Edward dies, succeeded by George V.  The Edwardian Era ends. 1911:   First aerial bombing, by Giulio Gavotti during the Italio-Turkish War. 1912:   Second aerial bombing, by Christo Toprakchiev during the Balkan War. 1914:   After a lengthy period of European posturing and paranoia, the First World War begins, effectively re-beginning the Twentieth Century. The Japanese seaplane carrier Wakamiya conducts the first ship-launched air attack. 1915:   First Zeppelin raids against England. Fokker synchronization gear developed, allowing for airplane-mounted machine guns to be fired forward through the propeller. First tank developed, the "Little Willie." 1916:   First tanks used in combat. 1919:   The First World War ends.        First non-stop transatlantic flight. 1920s-1930’s:    The "golden age" of Pulp. 1920:   Black Mask, a pulp magazine encompassing a wide range of topics including mysteries and adventure stories, first published. 1921:   Karel Capek first uses the term "robot" to describe machines that emulate humans. 1923:   Weird Tales, a weird fiction and horror pulp magazine, first published. 1924:   Harry Grindell Matthews claims to have invented a "death ray" and attempts to sell it to the British Government. 1925:   Edwin R. Scott claims to have invented a "death stroke" weapon, which does not use a ray. 1926:   Amazing Stories, founded by Hugo Gernsback, becomes the first magazine devoted exclusively to science fiction. 1927:   Fritz Lang's film Metropolis released, depicting massive skyscrapers and an anthropomorphic robot. 1929:   First around-the-world journey by an airship, the Graf Zeppelin. 1930:   First regular airship service from Europe to the Americas. 1936:   Alan Turing describes the concept of a "Turing machine" to examine the possible limitations of computers. 1937:   Nikola Tesla presents the first technical description of a charged particle weapon, essentially a realistic ray gun. 1938: Konrad Zuse constructs the first programmable binary computer. 1940’s-1950’s:    The "golden age" of film noir. 1940:   Stranger on the Third Floor, widely regarded as the first noir movie, is released. 1944:   Double Indemnity, a classic example of film noir and the femme fatale archetype, is released.        The Messerschmitt Me 262 becomes the first jet aircraft to enter service. 1954:   The microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, or "maser," is invented.  It is a precursor to the later laser. 1959:   Gordon Gould coins the term "laser" to describe the new light amplification technology he has invented, but fails to obtain the patent. http://www.myspace.com/gdfalksenshapeimage_3_link_0
HOME