Did you know that scientist Alhazen faked madness in order to found modern optics? Or that “tin lizzie” (the model T Ford) was the first car to be built on an assembly line? Showcasing 1,000 groundbreaking moments in history, this book tells the story behind each discovery. Find out how some of the world’s greatest inventive minds made their incredible discoveries and what trials they faced along the way. Clear, comprehensive text together with specially commissioned photographs from the Science Museum collection mean you can find out when the rabies vaccine was discovered or who invented the electric tram, or how Copernicus discovered that the Earth moves around the Sun. With bite-sized features boxes and a timeline that puts achievements into context at a glance, this is a valuable reference for every significant human invention and discovery, from fire, trigonometry, toothpaste, and space rockets to DNA technology, black holes and beyond. From accidental discoveries to meticulously worked-out theories, this is a remarkable record of human achievement from the dawn of the human race to the present day.