Timeline of technology

Fork

Personal table fork was probably invented around 4th century in Byzantium. It has became common in Italy, especially among merchants and upper class, replacing the wooden stick for eating pasta. In Portugal, it is first used around 1450, but it will be viewed as *"unmanly Italian affectation"* for centuries, especially at northern Europe.

### 13th century

* 1206: The camshaft, a shaft to which cams are attached, first described by Ismail al-Jazari
* 13th century: Rocket for military and recreational uses date back to at least 13th century China.[190]
* 13th century: The earliest form of mechanical escapement, the verge escapement in Europe.[191]
* 1275: Torpedo Concept by Hasan al-Rammah.
* 1277: Land mine in Song Dynasty China: Textual evidence suggests that the first use of a land mine in history is by a Song Dynasty brigadier general known as Lou Qianxia, who uses an

 'enormous bomb' (*huo pao*) to kill Mongol soldiers invading Guangxi in 1277.

* 1286: Eyeglasses in Italy
* 13th century: Explosive bomb in Jin dynasty Manchuria: Explosive bombs are used in 1221 by the Jin dynasty against a Song Dynasty city. The first accounts of bombs made of cast iron shells packed with explosive gunpowder are documented in the 13th century in China and are

called "thunder-crash bombs", coined during a Jin dynasty naval battle in 1231.

* 13th century: Hand cannon in Yuan Dynasty China: The earliest hand cannon dates to the 13th century based on archaeological evidence from a Heilongjiang excavation. There is also written evidence in the *Yuanshi* (1370) on Li Tang, an ethnic Jurchen commander under the Yuan Dynasty who in 1288 suppresses the rebellion of the Christian prince Nayan with his "gun-soldiers" or *chongzu*, this being the earliest known event where this phrase is used.

### 14th century

* Early to Mid 1300s: Multistage rocket in Ming Dynasty China described in *Huolongjing* by Jiao Yu.
* By at least 1326: Cannon in Ming Dynasty China
* 1378: Naval artillery in Korea
* 14th century: Jacob's staff invented by Levi ben Gerson
* 14th century: Naval mine in Ming Dynasty China: Mentioned in the *Huolongjing* military manuscript written by Jiao Yu (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and Liu Bowen (1311–1375), describing naval mines used at sea or on rivers and lakes, made of wrought iron and enclosed in an ox bladder. A later model is documented in Song Yingxing's encyclopedia written in 1637.

### 15th century

The 15th-century invention of the printing press with movable type by the German Johannes Gutenberg is widely regarded as the most influential event of the modern era.

* Early 15th century: Coil spring in Europe
* 15th century: Mainspring in Europe
* 15th century: Rifle in Europe
* 1420s: Brace in Flandres, Holy Roman Empire
* 1439: Printing press in Mainz, Germany: The printing press is invented in the Holy Roman Empire by Johannes Gutenberg before 1440, based on existing screw presses. The first confirmed record of a press appeared in a 1439 lawsuit against Gutenberg.
* 1441: Water gauge in Korea: The Joseon scientist Jang Yeong-sil invented the world's first water gauge, called the *supyo*.
* Mid 15th Century: The Arquebus (also spelled Harquebus) is invented, possibly in Spain.
* 1480s: Mariner's astrolabe in Portuguese circumnavigation of Africa
* 1494: Double-entry bookkeeping system codified by Luca Pacioli

### 16th century

* 1551: Taqi ad-Din describes a simple steam turbine-like device used in steam jacks.
* 1560: Floating Dry Dock in Venice, Venetian Republic
* 1569: Mercator Projection map created by Gerardus Mercator
* 1577: Newspaper in Korea
* 1589: Stocking frame: Invented by William Lee.
* 1594: Backstaff: Invented by Captain John Davis.
* By at least 1597: Revolver: Invented by Hans Stopler.