Tech & Science · 1920
The Dawn of Radio, Robots, and Physics
The year 1920 heralded a bold new era of modern communication, medical convenience, and atomic exploration as a world embracing peace sought technological transformation. From the airwaves of Pittsburgh to groundbreaking cosmic debates, science laid the foundation for the modern century.
- November 2, 1920 | Radio
KDKA Makes First Commercial Radio Broadcast
Westinghouse station KDKA made history by broadcasting the Cox-Harding presidential election returns, ushering in the era of mass public radio broadcasting.
- April 26, 1920 | Astronomy
The Shapley–Curtis Great Debate
Astronomers Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis clashed at the Smithsonian over the scale of the universe and whether spiral nebulae were distant standalone galaxies.
- August 1920 | Nuclear Physics
Ernest Rutherford Names the Proton
Physicist Ernest Rutherford officially named the positively charged hydrogen nucleus the proton during a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
- 1920 | Engineering
William Potts Invents the Tri-Color Traffic Light
Detroit police officer William Potts created the world's first four-way, three-color traffic signal, introducing the amber light to control growing automotive congestion.
- 1920 | Medical Innovation
Earle Dickson Invents the Band-Aid
Johnson & Johnson cotton buyer Earle Dickson created the first self-adhesive bandage to quickly treat his wife's kitchen cuts, revolutionizing consumer wound care.
- 1920 | Astrophysics
Meghnad Saha Formulates the Ionization Equation
Indian astrophysicist Meghnad Saha published his landmark equation relating a star's spectral class to its thermal state, unlocking the chemistry of distant stars.
- 1920 | Chemistry
Hermann Staudinger Proposes Polymer Theory
Chemist Hermann Staudinger published his radical hypothesis that materials like rubber consist of long chains of small molecules, founding modern macromolecular science.
- 1920 | Science Fiction
Karel Čapek Introduces the Word 'Robot' in R.U.R.
Czech writer Karel Čapek published the science-fiction play Rossum's Universal Robots, coining the term 'robot' and forever altering humanity's vision of artificial life.
Enjoyed your trip back in time?