Skip to main content

1957

Skid Steer Loader
Society: ASABEMain Category: Agricultural & BiologicalSub Category: MechanizationEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1957Bonanzaville Historic MuseumWest FargoState: NDZip: 58078Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/skid-steer-loader-43.aspxCreator: Keller, Cyril and Louis

Brothers Cyril and Louis Keller designed and built the first small, lightweight, three-wheel, front-end loader in their machinist-blacksmith shop in Rothsay, Minnesota. A local farmer wanted to mechanize cleaning manure from his obstacle-filled, two-story turkey barn. The machine, first used in 1957, was able to turn completely around within its own length. Melroe Manufacturing Company, Gwinner, ND purchased the rights to the Keller loader and hired the Kellers to continue development of the loader in 1958.

YearAdded:
2004
Image Credit: Courtesy WikiCommons/Tennen-Gas (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: A modern skid steer loader, Toyota Jobsun 4SDK6 model
frozen foods
Society: ACSMain Category: ChemicalSub Category: Food ProcessingEra: 1950sDateCreated: 1957Western Regional Research CenterAlbanyState: CACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/frozenfoods.htmlCreator: Western Regional Research Center

Frozen foods have become a staple of the modern diet. Freezing allows consumers to have access to foods previously unavailable or available only seasonally, and it provides convenience for many families. But frozen foods became commonplace only after World War II, in part due to research conducted at the Western Regional Research Center which helped determine the proper time and temperature at which various foods should be frozen to insure their quality and stability.

 

The plaque commemorating the research reads:

YearAdded:
2002
Image Credit: Courtesy USDA/Scott Bauer (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Examples of frozen foods
Society: SPIEMain Category: OpticsSub Category: Lasers & ElectroopticsEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1957600-700 Mountain AvenueMurray HillState: NJZip: 07974Country: USAWebsite: http://spie.org/Creator: Gould, Gordon , Bell Labs
As ideas developed, they abandoned infrared radiation to instead concentrate upon visible light. The concept originally was called an "optical maser". In 1958, Bell Labs filed a patent application for their proposed optical maser; and Schawlow and Townes submitted a manuscript of their theoretical calculations to the Physical Review, published that year in Volume 112, Issue No. 6. Simultaneously, at Columbia University, graduate student Gordon Gould was working on a doctoral thesis about the energy levels of excited thallium.
Image Credit: Courtesy of the US Air ForceImage Caption: A scientist tests a laser at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.Era_date_from: 1957
Society: ASMEMain Category: Mechanical, RoadSub Category: Road TransportationEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1957Jacobs Manufacturing CompanyBloomfieldState: CTZip: 06002Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/road-and-off-road-transportation/-108-jacobs-engine-brake-retarder-%281957%29Creator: Cummins, Clessie Lyle
The Jake Brake permits large trucks to descend long, steep grades at a controlled speed. It was the first practical mechanism for altering on demand the valve timing on a truck diesel engine, thereby converting the engine to a power absorbing machine. The modified engine can continue to power the truck in normal operation, allowing service brakes to remain cool for emergency situations. Invented by Clessie Lyle Cummins (1886-1968), this device (produced by the Jacobs manufacturing company since 1961) has contributed significantly to highway safety.
YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Sierra Fournier (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Jacobs Engine Brake Retarder ("Jake Brake")Era_date_from: 1957
Gravimetric Coal Feeder
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1957Stock Equipment PlantChagrin FallsState: OHCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/manufacturing---2/-184-gravimetric-coal-feeder-%281957%29Creator: Stock, Arthur, Hardgrove, Ralph

A variety of mechanical feeders, including drag-chain conveyors and rotary pocket feeders, historically have been used to volumetrically control the flow of fuel to coal pulverizers on power generators. Most power generation in the United States has relied on burning fossil fuels in steam boilers, with coal as the fuel of choice. By the 1920s, pulverized-firing (the burning in suspension of finely ground coal particles) evolved as means to more complete fuel combustion and higher system efficiencies and facilitated the use of larger boilers.

YearAdded:
1995
Image Caption: Drawing from patent documents for Gravimetric Coal Feeder.Era_date_from: 1957
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Biomedical EngineeringEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1957Capen HallBuffaloState: NYZip: 14228Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/biomedical-engineering/-55-blood-heat-exchanger-%281957%29, http://files.asme.org/ASMEORG/Communities/History/Landmarks/5505.pdfCreator: Brown Jr., Ivan , Emmons, W.D.
This is the first commercial, human-blood heat exchanger. Developed in 1957, it permitted a patient's body temperature to be safely and rapidly lowered during open heart surgery to any desired and precisely controlled hypothermic level, then during the conclusion of the operation rapidly rewarmed to normal. Prior to this, hypothermic surgery required hours of preoperative, hard-to-control, external emersion cooling and postoperative rewarming. Its design was a cooperative development between researchers at the Duke University Medical Center led by Dr. Ivan W.
YearAdded:
1980
Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: A disassembly of the Blood Heat ExchangerEra_date_from: 1957
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Air and Space TransportationEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1957Gillespie Fields AirportEl CajonState: CAZip: 92020Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/air-and-space-transportation/-102-atlas-launch-vehicle-%281957%29Creator: Convair Division of General Dynamics, U.S. Air Force
The Atlas E-2 Space Booster, or launch vehicle, is a modified intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Convair Division of General Dynamics and the U.S. Air Force. The basic concept of the Atlas system was proven in its first flight on June 11, 1957, followed over the years by the launching more than five hundred vehicles including the Pioneer, Ranger, Mariner, and Surveyor. Many payloads were sent into orbit as detachable sections of Atlas missiles.
YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: All 3 images are Public DomainImage Caption: A compilation of three successful launches vehicles in action. On the left is the Atlas-Centaur, the center is the Atlas-Agena, and the right is the SM-65A Atlas missile.Era_date_from: 1957
First Successful Commercialization of Radiation Chemistry
Society: ACSMain Category: ChemicalSub Category: New ProductsEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1957TE Connectivity Ltd.FremontState: CACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/radiationchemistry.html, https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/radiationchemistry/commercialization-of-radiation-chemistry-historical-resource.pdfCreator: Cook, Paul

Founded in 1957, Raychem Corporation was the first company to successfully apply the new science of radiation chemistry to commercial use. This accomplishment led to the creation of tough new materials and high-performance products such as irradiated polyethylene insulated wire and heat-shrinkable tubing through the crosslinking of polymeric materials.

YearAdded:
1997
Image Caption: First Successful Commercialization of Radiation Chemistry
Subscribe to 1957

Innovations

First Successful Commercialization of Radiation Chemistry

Founded in 1957, Raychem Corporation was the first company to successfully apply the new science of radiation chemistry to commercial use. This accomplishment led to the creation of tough new materials and high-performance products such as irradiated polyethylene insulated wire and heat-…

Read More
The Atlas E-2 Space Booster, or launch vehicle, is a modified intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Convair Division of General Dynamics and the U.S. Air Force. The basic concept of the Atlas system was proven in its first flight on June 11, 1957, followed over the years by the… Read More
This is the first commercial, human-blood heat exchanger. Developed in 1957, it permitted a patient's body temperature to be safely and rapidly lowered during open heart surgery to any desired and precisely controlled hypothermic level, then during the conclusion of the operation rapidly rewarmed… Read More
Gravimetric Coal Feeder

A variety of mechanical feeders, including drag-chain conveyors and rotary pocket feeders, historically have been used to volumetrically control the flow of fuel to coal pulverizers on power generators. Most power generation in the United States has relied on burning fossil fuels in steam…

Read More
The Jake Brake permits large trucks to descend long, steep grades at a controlled speed. It was the first practical mechanism for altering on demand the valve timing on a truck diesel engine, thereby converting the engine to a power absorbing machine. The modified engine can continue to power the… Read More
As ideas developed, they abandoned infrared radiation to instead concentrate upon visible light. The concept originally was called an "optical maser". In 1958, Bell Labs filed a patent application for their proposed optical maser; and Schawlow and Townes submitted a manuscript of their theoretical… Read More
frozen foods

Frozen foods have become a staple of the modern diet. Freezing allows consumers to have access to foods previously unavailable or available only seasonally, and it provides convenience for many families. But frozen foods became commonplace only after World War II, in part due to research…

Read More
Skid Steer Loader

Brothers Cyril and Louis Keller designed and built the first small, lightweight, three-wheel, front-end loader in their machinist-blacksmith shop in Rothsay, Minnesota. A local farmer wanted to mechanize cleaning manure from his obstacle-filled, two-story turkey barn. The machine, first…

Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.