Historical Energy Events in the U.S.

First Locomotive

1830

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Tom Thumb in 1830, designed and built by Peter Cooper, was the first US-built locomotive to run in America.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_locomotive#United_States

First Oil Well in the U.S.

Aug 2, 1859

The Drake Well is a 69.5-foot-deep (21.2 m) oil well in Cherrytree Township, Venango County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, and with it's success sparked the oilboom in the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_Well

First Electric Light Created

1879

Thomas Edison, an American Inventor, created the electric light. The first successful attempt was on October 22,1879.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison#Electric_light

First Electric Lamp Invented

Oct 22, 1879

Thomas Edison, after he created the light bulb, he decided to take it a step farther and make the lamp.
http://edison.rutgers.edu/lamp.htm

First Silicon Solar Cell Invented

1883

Charles Fritts, an American inventor, develops a solar cell.However, at the time they were mostly used in cameras as light sensors for exposure timing in photo cameras.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_solar_cells#1930.E2.80.931959
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Fritts

First Automobile Invented

1893

The first successful gas-powered car in the US. The Duryea brothers set up first American car manufacturing company.
https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/auto.html

Battery

1903

Thomas Edison picked up Jungner's nickel-iron battery design, patented it himself and sold it in 1903. Edison wanted to commercialise a more lightweight and durable substitute for the lead-acid battery that powered some early automobiles, and he hoped that electric cars would become the standard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_battery#Invention_of_the_battery

Hoover Dam Opened to the Public

Sep 28, 1936

Brings electricty to the citizens of nearby towns and cities. Also provides flood control and water storage and regulation. Also has many recreation uses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam

Nuclear Fission is Discovered

1937

Edward Teller is a Hungarian-American scientist who worked on nuclear fission. He was dubbed "the father of the hydrogen bomb". Nuclear fission was pushed for more weapons and the nuclear bomb was created.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Teller

Solar Panel Production

2010

15.9 giga-watts of solar PV system installations were completed. With more to come in the next following years and more places using solar energy, production will only increase.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_panel#Production