223 years agoThe Age of Steam
1804
The Jacquard Mechanism Becomes Practical
After demonstrating his mechanism in 1801, Jacquard brought punched-card-controlled weaving into practical use around 1804. Changing the card chain changed the pattern, providing a precedent for programmable machines.
Art style · Early-19th-century mechanical copperplate engraving
World population
1Bpeople
1/8 of today
Primary energy power
6.6×10¹¹W
1/31 of today
London → New York message
42 days
122M times slower than today
Every timeline entry cites its source. Metrics interpolate logarithmically between sourced data points. Forecasts include institutional and community views, and attributed site scenarios; years are not guaranteed realization dates. Illustrations are AI-generated in each era's style.
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