Lauren Juncal

The Growth of Humanitys Imagination

Introduction: The inventions created by brilliant leaders during the Renaissance set a strong base
and influenced future technological advancements.
I.

Scientific Inventions
A. Compound Microscope
1. The microscope was made by Zacharias Janssen in the 16th century
2. It provided base for future improvements
3. a very advanced compound design for this time period Michael W.
Davidson
B. Telescope
1. Hans Lippershey invented the telescope in 1608
2. Applied for a patent for this
a. Jacob Metius and Zacharias Janssen claimed they created it as well
3. The States General of the Netherlands said that there would be no patent because
it was already to popular

II.

Mechanical Inventions
A. Gun Trigger
1. A matchlock made guns have the ability to be fired with a trigger in the 1400s, but
the guns still needed a match
2. Gun trigger effects
a. These small advancements had a great impact, made war easier
b. Triggers changed war
c. Guns were more commonly being used for recreational purposes
B. Printing Press
1. Johannes Gutenberg created the first modern printing press in 1438
a. Chinese had a way of printing before, but it was more laborious
b. There were too many words/symbols
2. Gutenbergs printing press
a. Much easier to use
b. Gutenbergs caught on because the English alphabet has 26 letter
3. The printing press had great effects
a. Allowed for ideas/thoughts to spread quicker
b. It took much less time to copy literature
c. The literacy rates slowly increased
d. From around 1450 to 1500 million books were sold
e. Gutenbergs printing press spread literature to the masses for the
first time in an efficient, durable way, shoving Europe headlong
into the original information age the Renaissance.
-Heather Whipps
C. Clocks
1. First clocks had hanging weights
2. Pendulum clock was created by Galileo Galilei

a. Tried different ways of using the weight with gravity

b. Galileo died before it could be completed
(1) Astronomer Christiaan Huygens finished Galileos idea
(2) Was much more accountable
III.

Recreational Inventions
A. Piano
1. Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the first piano
a. He wanted the strings to be struck with hammers instead of plucked like a
harp
b. The truly revolutionary part of the process was the way by which the
downward pressure of the key, when struck by a finger, was carried to the
hammer that struck the string.
-Gale Virtual Library
B. Parachute
1. Leonardo Da Vinci developed the idea of the parachute, was developed in his
writings
2. Different people experimented with the parachute
a. Andre-Jacques Garnerin designed and tested successful parachutes
b. Tested the ability to slow ones fall
c. Completed first parachute with canopy
(1) Later attached a balloon to the parachute
d. Died in a parachute accident
e. Louis-Sebastian Lenormand made a prototype of the parachute

IV.

Medical Inventions
A. Blood Transfusion
1. A physician, William Harvey, precisely described the way blood circulates
2. Experimenting with transfusions
a. The first successful transfusion was performed by another physician,
Richard Lower, he bled a dog almost to death then saved it by tying it to
another dogs artery
b. Later, Jean-Baptiste Denis, a physician, made a transfusion between
human and sheep, both animals lived through the transfusion

Conclusion: Throughout the centuries of the Renaissance, technological pioneers created

remarkable inventions that had momentous effects on inventions of the future.