Civilization’s Era of its Greatest Advancements

As Observed Firsthand by My Grandfather

Have you ever wondered which generation of humanity had the most impactful and far-reaching innovation experiences and important events? Many people claim that we’re currently living in a Golden Age of innovation that’s unmatched. Maybe that’s right. Afterall, the list of recent inventions like smartphones, the internet, electric cars, streaming video, personal computers, 3D Printing, DoorDash, E-readers, Uber, robotics, video games, laser printing, Amazon, artificial intelligence, Airbnb, LED products, useful apps for just about anything, bitcoin, 5G networks, GPS, Elon’s Space X rocket landings, flatscreen smart TV, self-driving cars, gene editing, Zoom meetings, cloud storage and this list is probably missing a few more significant examples. When viewed in a broader product context like this, we are living in maybe the most wonderous of times. But maybe not.

My search for a better answer ended quickly when I began to recall some of the life changing inventions that my grandfather experienced during his 75 years, stretching from 1889 to 1963. As my list of major new innovations and events that he witnessed lengthened, the more compelling this story became. To be clear, it isn’t an article about my grandfather, Lupton Kaylor, but rather a timeline of when he experienced the new advances that I’m going to outline in this article. There were millions of “Lupton’s”. He lived a very traditional life, but as I built this article, I realized what a remarkable journey he had. For instance, he lived through the introduction of electricity. That’s just one of many game changers he witnessed.

So, here’s my compilation. It is lengthy, but that only supports my claim regarding how special his time in history was. I hope that you enjoy it and maybe it will help you to reflect back vicariously on your own family tree and their experiences.

1. Electricity — Virtually every innovation mentioned in this article was 100% dependent on both reliable access to electricity, as well as, having it delivered with the necessary power to interact with the products it was designed to power. Sounds complex and it was. Very complex. Late 1800s inventors like Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and others were major contributors to overcoming these complexities…