SortStack #2242 — 2032-07-29

By year · Order from earliest to most recent.

1. James Watt patents his improved steam engine 1769

   Watt also coined 'horsepower' as a marketing tool — comparing his engines to the draft horses customers would be replacing. The watt unit is named for him.

2. Humans fly for the first time aboard a Montgolfier hot-air balloon 1783

   The first balloon passengers, weeks earlier, were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster — sent up before King Louis XVI to test whether the air aloft was breathable.

3. Britain passes the act abolishing slavery across most of its empire 1833

   The government borrowed a colossal sum to compensate slave owners — not the enslaved. The loan was so large it was only fully paid off in 2015.

4. The first modern Olympic Games are held in Athens 1896

   Just 14 nations and 241 athletes competed — all men — and winners received silver medals, not gold.

5. The Wright brothers achieve the first powered airplane flight 1903

   The first flight lasted twelve seconds and covered about 37 meters — shorter than the wingspan of a modern jumbo jet.

6. DeepMind's AlphaGo defeats Go champion Lee Sedol 2016

   AlphaGo's 'Move 37' was so alien that commentators assumed it was a mistake. Lee won a single game back with a move fans dubbed 'God's touch.'

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