The history of energy goes back thousands of years. Here are just a few of the top developments in the Energy Timeline.

Landmarks in the History of Energy
500,000 BC	Early humans learn to use fire as a main source of energy.
3,500 BC	Horses, mules, and donkeys are used as energy for transportation and labor.
3,500 BC	Egyptians use wind to power their sailboats.
3,000 BC	Ancient civilizations such as the Sumerians, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans use two energy sources: the sun to warm their houses and dry out the crops, and crude oil.
211 BC	In China, bamboo poles are used to carry natural gases for removing the salt from water so they could drink it.
300	In China, coal is used as fuel. This is one of the first uses fossil fuel.
300	In the Roman Empire, water mills are used.
1185	In England, windmills are used.
1629	Giovanni Branca invents an early version of a steam turbine.
1680	Sir Issac Newton discovers that steam could be used as energy for a carriage.
1752	Ben Franklin ties a key to a kite and proves that lightning is a stream of electrified air.
1765	James Watt perfects the steam engine.
1800	Alessandro Volta invents the battery.
1802	In England, gas is used to light up street lamps.
1820	A.M. Ampere discovers moving electric charges produce magnetism.
1821	Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic rotation and creates the first electrical motors.
1829	Gas lighting is now available in Paris.
1831	Michael Faraday discovers that electricity can be made by changes in an electromagnetic field.
1859	Colonel Edwin Drake drills for oil in Pennsylvania.
1879	Thomas Edison invented the first usable electric incandescent lamp.
1884	Nikola Tesla invents the electric alternator that generates an alternative current.
1888	Oliver B. Shallenberger invents an electric meter that measures the amount of electricity being used.
1890	Nikola Tesla develops A.C. (alternate current) generators enabling electricity to be transmitted longer distances.
1891	The first commercial solar water heater is patented.
1894	The first dam is specifically built to drive a hydroelectric power plant is built on the Willamette River in Oregon.
1900	Thomas Edison invents the nickel-alkaline electric battery.
1901	World's oldest light bulb is installed in a firehouse in Livermore, California. This light is still burning!!! To see it, go to http://www.centennialbulb.org/
1938	The first commercial fluorescent lamps are available.
1941	The first wind turbine generates energy for a central power system.
1954	Bell Laboratory discovers how to create electricity directly from sunlight using solar cells.
1980	The first solar-cell power plant was built in Utah.