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Victorian Inventions

There were many inventions that came about during the Victorian era, both in England and across the globe. However, Victorians lead the way for some key inventions, including significant advancements in transportation, engineering, industrialization and technology.

 

Transportation

Railroads were springing up across England starting in the early in the 1800’s with the first train introduced in 1804, and continued to grow and expand into and throughout the Victorian era. Slowly, with the expansion across the country, numerous railroad stations were built, along with 35,000 miles of railway during Victoria’s reign. With this monumental change in travel, it allowed for great economic growth.

Another advancement in transportation occurred within the shipping industry. With the introduction of iron and steel, ships were built better, bigger and stronger to accommodate larger cargo areas for commerce and trade. Isambard Kingdom Brunel was one of the great engineers of his time and built one of the largest ships to date in July of 1843. It was the debut of the SS Great Eastern—which some call Brunel’s greatest accomplishement. The Great Eastern was made completely of iron and was the first propeller ship to travel in the ocean. The Great Eastern made many important journeys during the Victorian era, ranging from carrying up to 730 passengers at a time, traveling to Australia and a voyage to New York. Many future advancements in ship building orginated from the Great Eastern and Brunel’s ingenuity.

Engineering and Industrialization

Joseph Bazalgette created a much more sanitary place during the Victorian era. In 1858 Bazalgette put into place a sewage system in London. Consisting of 82 miles of sewer pipes with an additional 1,000 miles of interconnected street sewers, which all allowed for removal of wastes and disease from the city—including cholera, a deadly disease during the Victorian era. Bazalgette served as chief engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works in London.

 

Inventions for daily life

Not all Victorian inventions were about transportation. Some inventions made daily life easier as well. One of which includes the vacuum cleaner created by Hubert Cecil Booth. Booth received his patent in 1901 for his vacuum, which did not blow away the dirt and debris like other prior models—this vacuum actually removed the dirt with suction. To accompany the invention of the flush toilet and the newly implemented sewer system, toilet paper was created. The British Perforated Paper Company in 1880 distributed what was then called “therapeutic paper” where the acronym used today “T.P.” comes from. Along with the invention of the light - bulb by Joseph Wilson Swan and Thomas Edison, also came the incredible invention of the telephone from Alexander Graham Bell.