Tools & manufacturing · 1841

Standard screw thread

One nation-wide thread form lets any nut fit any bolt.

Joseph Whitworth proposed a standard thread with a fixed 55 degree angle in 1841, and British railways adopted it. Standards made parts from different makers compatible.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 1

Screw-cutting lathe 1800

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Patents awarded in England, 1700-1851 Latest: 455 patents per year (1851) Source: Our World in Data