Timeline of Bearings History
2600 BC – The Ancient Egyptians use a form of roller bearings to help move stone pieces during construction of the Pyramids
40 BC – Early example of a wooden ball bearing supporting a rotating table was retrieved from the remains of a Roman ship in Lake Nemi, Italy
1500 AD – Leonardo da Vinci described a type of ball bearing
1794 – First patent for ball race by Philip Vaughn of Carmarthen, Wales
1839 Isaac Babbit invented an anti-friction alloy with a low melt temperature
1883 – FAG begins grinding balls of equal size and roundness forming the creation of an independent bearing industry
1898 – First patent issued for Timken Tapered roller bearings
1907 – Sven Wingquist of SKF invents the modern self-aligning ball bearing
1917 – U.S. Bearing Manufacturers create an informal group to aid bearing manufacturing for World War I, which led to the founding of ABMA
1934 – AFBMA is incorporated as an organization in the State of New York
1960 – Elasto-hydro-dynamic theory explains the mechanism of why bearings and gears work led to advances in grindings precision and ultrasonic equipment
1970 – Intel invents the microprocessor and consistent precision control of machine tools impacting both size and life of bearings
