Samuel Bentham invents plywood
In his patent applications, he described the concept of laminating several layers of veneer with glue to form a thicker piece — the first description of what we now call plywood.
1790s C.E.
The Japanese surgeon Hanaoka Seishū is the first to use general anaesthesia
Hanaoka Seishū was a Japanese of the Edo period with a knowledge of Chinese herbal medicine, as well as Western surgical techniques he had learned through Rangaku.
Joseph Bramah invents the hydraulic press
A hydraulic press is a machine press using a hydraulic cylinder to generate a compressive force.
Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, revolutionizing the production of cotton
In 1794, U.S.-born inventor Eli Whitney (1765-1825) patented the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber.
France becomes world’s first country to adopt universal suffrage for all men
Universal suffrage (or franchise) ensures the right to vote for as many people who are bound by a government’s laws as possible, as supported by the “one person, one vote” principle.
Mozart begins works on his famous “Requiem”
Mozart’s Requiem is a choral masterpiece whose genesis is shrouded in mystery — one that makes the piece all the more fascinating and emotionally stirring.
Thomas Paine publishes Rights of Man
Rights of Man (1791), a book by Thomas Paine, including 31 articles, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people
Cao Xueqin’s Dream of the Red Chamber, perhaps China’s greatest novel, is published
Dream of the Red Chamber, also called The Story of the Stone, composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels. It was written sometime in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty.
Thomas Saint invents the sewing machine
In 1790, the English inventor Thomas Saint invented the first sewing machine design, but he did not successfully advertise or market his invention. His machine was meant to be used on leather and canvas material.