Timeline of Science Fiction Inventions
(sorted by Publication Date)

Most of these items are linked to information about similar real-life inventions and inventors; click on an invention to learn more about it.

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1600-1899  1900-1949  1950's  1960's  1970's  1980's  1990's  2000's

Date Device Name (Novel Author)
1638 Weightlessness (Godwin) - first discovery of concept (from The Man in the Moone by Francis Godwin)
1726 Geometric Modeling - eighteenth century NURBS (from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift)
1726 Knowledge Engine - machine-made expertise (from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift)
1726 Bio-Energy - produce electricity from organic material (from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift)
1726 Laputa - a floating island (from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift)
1866 Paper Steel (from Robur-the-Conqueror by Jules Verne)
1867 Launching Facility - in Florida (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867 Water-Springs (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867 Light Pressure Propulsion - first use of this idea (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867 Communicate with Extraterrestrials - first use of concept (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867 Retro-Rockets - Verne invented them! (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867 Weightlessness - true science fiction discovery (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867 Projectile-Vehicle - Verne's spacecraft (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867 Free Return Trajectory - first mention (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867 Spashdown - the original idea (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1867 Columbiad - 900 foot cannon (from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne)
1869 Flywheel Launcher (from The Brick Moon by Edward Everett Hale)
1875 Diving Apparatus - scuba diving in the 19th century (from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne)
1875 Nautilus - Captain Nemo's ride (from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne)
1875 Leyden Ball - grandfather of the taser (from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne)
1875 Electrify the Rail - repel boarders! (from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne)
1877 Telepomp (from The Man Without a Body by Edward Page Mitchell)
1880 Apergy (Apergion) - antigravity substance (from Across the Zodiac by Percy Greg)
1888 Mall (Great City Bazaar) - Wal-Mart foreseen (from Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy)
1888 Credit Card - why carry cash? (from Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy)
1888 Telephonic Music Room (from Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy)
1889 Atmospheric Advertising - write it on the clouds (from In the Year 2889 by Jules Verne)
1889 Live News - prediction of newscasts (from In the Year 2889 by Jules Verne)
1889 Phonotelephote - earliest reference to videophone (from In the Year 2889 by Jules Verne)
1889 Recorded News - Tivo for radio in 1889 (from In the Year 2889 by Jules Verne)
1893 Air-to-Surface Missile - first use of concept (from The Angel of the Revolution by George Griffith)
1893 War-Balloon (Navigable Aerostat) (from The Angel of the Revolution by George Griffith)
1893 Air-Ship (VTOL Airship) (from The Angel of the Revolution by George Griffith)
1894 Instantaneous Kodaks (Traffic Control) (from A Journey In Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV)
1894 Magnetic Eyes (from A Journey In Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV)
1894 Vehicle Energy Reclamation (from A Journey In Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV)
1894 Rooftop Windmill - renewable energy vision (from A Journey In Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV)
1894 Electric Protection-Wires (Electrified Fence) (from A Journey In Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV)
1894 Global Climate Control (from A Journey In Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV)
1894 Wind Power Generation (from A Journey In Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV)
1894 Magnetic Railroads (from A Journey In Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV)
1894 Marine Spider (Hydrofoil) (from A Journey In Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV)
1894 Electric Phaetons (Electric Cars) (from A Journey In Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV)
1894 Aeriduct (Rain Maker) - watch for showers (from A Journey In Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV)
1895 Time Machine - the original (from The Time Machine by H.G. Wells)
1895 Government Lethal Chamber (from The Repairer of Reputations by Robert W. Chambers)
1895 Atomic Bomb - very early reference (from The Crack of Doom by Robert Cromie)
1895 Atomic Microscopy (from The Crack of Doom by Robert Cromie)
1896 Monsters Manufactured - chimeras described (from The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells)
1897 Invisibility - now you see it - (from The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells)
1898 Heat Ray - concept of the laser (from The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells)
1898 Biological Warfare - first use of the concept in fiction (from The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells)
1898 Tripod - inhuman robotic ships from Mars! (from The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells)
1898 Aerial Telegraph (from Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Serviss)
1898 Air-Tight Dress (from Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Serviss)
1898 Steel Tentacle (from The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells)
1898 Disintegrator (from Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Serviss)
1899 Moving Picture Player - like a video iPod (from When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells)
1899 Moving Roadway - like a baggage conveyor (from When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells)
1899 Kinetiscope Appliance - like a PDA (from When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells)
1899 Individualized Clothing Manufacture - clothes just for you (from When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells)
1899 Automatic Door - like a roll top desk (from When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells)
1899 Town In One Building - like an arcology (from When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells)
1899 Babble Machine - you know (from When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells)
1899 DVD/VCR (Entertainment Player) (from When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells)
1899 Networked World (from When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells)
1899 Eadhamite (from When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells)
1899 Automated Surface Measurement - 100 years before cgi needed it (from When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells)

1600-1899  1900-1949  1950's  1960's  1970's  1980's  1990's  2000's

Technovelgy.com is devoted to the creative inventions of science fiction authors and movie makers. Look for the Science Fiction Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary of Science Fiction Inventions, the Timeline of Science Fiction Inventions, or see what's New.
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SF in the News

Robotic Busboy Like R2D2
re: George Lucas
(9/7/2008)

La Princesse Mechanical Spider
re: Various
(9/7/2008)

Google Navy: Water-Based Data Centers
re: Bruce Sterling
(9/6/2008)

Spy Satellite Gait Analysis ID's You
re: Various
(9/5/2008)

Blood From Stem Cells: Tru Blood For Real?
re: Charlain Harris
(9/5/2008)

Personal Wind Turbines And Rooftop Windmills
re: John Jacob Astor
(9/4/2008)

Genealogy DNA Databases Trek-Style
re: Gene Roddenberry
(9/4/2008)

Lower Limit Of Quantum Communication Speed
re: E.E. 'Doc' Smith
(9/4/2008)

Lunar Contour Crafting - 'Print' A Moonbase
re: Various
(9/3/2008)

LifeBed System Like Star Trek Sick Bay
re: Gene Roddenberry
(9/3/2008)

Microgrippers Grab, Cut Tissue Internally
re: Neal Stephenson
(9/2/2008)

Double-Taker (Snout) Offers Trans-Species Eye Contact
re: Various
(9/2/2008)

Toshiba LED Pico Projector
re: Jack Vance
(9/1/2008)

Robot Helicopters Learn By Watching Experts
re: Various
(8/31/2008)

Digital Daewoo Folding Screen DID-FS
re: Vernor Vinge
(8/31/2008)

Space Marines Idea Takes Off
re: Robert Heinlein
(8/29/2008)

Deep Sea Mining Tube Worms
re: Larry Niven
(8/29/2008)

Draganflyer X6 Helicopter Has HD Camera
re: Philip K. Dick
(8/28/2008)

Medical Exoskeleton Helps Paralyzed Man To Walk
re: Fritz Leiber
(8/28/2008)

MS InPrivate Browsing May Cut Off Google's Air Supply
re: Various
(8/27/2008)

What Apple Could Learn From SF: iPhone As Mediator
re: Frederik Pohl
(8/27/2008)

ContactPoint Database To End Anonymity In UK?
re: Buck Rogers
(8/26/2008)

Seek Map Wrist Navigation Concept
re: Stanislaw Lem
(8/26/2008)

'Virtual Space Station' NASA Software Psychologist
re: James Blish
(8/26/2008)

Dubai Ziggurat Carbon Neutral Pyramid Arcology
re: H.G. Wells
(8/26/2008)

Zephyr Solar Plane Sails For Days
re: Roger Zelazny
(8/25/2008)

Intel Wireless Power Transmission
re: John W. Campbell
(8/22/2008)

Robot Aircraft To Ride Thermal Air Currents
re: Roger Zelazny
(8/21/2008)

Shock Absorbers For Orion: NASA Turns To Verne
re: Jules Verne
(8/20/2008)

Emily Lifelike Animation Sets New Standard
re: William Gibson
(8/19/2008)

Solar Power Necktie (Clip-On Only)
re: David H. Keller
(8/18/2008)

reCAPTCHA Old Manuscripts Now!
re: Harry Harrison
(8/18/2008)

(See More Science Fiction in the News)

 

 

 
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