The history of concrete is a fundamental and intrinsic aspect of the history of civilization. Since time immemorial, channeling creativity, scientific knowledge and grit – man has created structures to suit his personal and societal needs. Natural cement was first made when the earth first started going through intense geological changes. Let’s discovery the vast history of concrete with a timeline covering the momentous occasions.
12,000,000 BC – After a natural spontaneous combustion in Israel, limestone and oil shale reacted to form a deposit of cement compounds.
3000 BC – The brilliant Egyptians started using a mixture of straw and mud to bind dried bricks. This invention laid the foundation (pun intended!) to the discovery of lime and gypsum mortar being used as a binding agent for the Pyramids.
It was also around the same time that the Chinese started using material similar to cement to hold bamboo together in the boats used for transportation.
300 BC – The resourceful Romans stepped in, and made the first ever pozzuolana, near Pozzuoli, Naples. Lime was used as a cementitious material; and animal fat, milk and blood were used as admixtures.
100 AD – The former Roman temple and present church – The Pantheon, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa, was finished and dedicated in 126 AD.
1756 – British civil engineer John Smeaton, commissioned by the Royal Society, designed the third Eddystone Lighthouse. He discovered the usage of hydraulic lime, which is a form of mortar that will set under water, and developed a technique of working with dovetailed blocks of granite. His work went a long way into solidifying the invention of Portland cement.
1800s – Louis Vicat, a French engineer, developed his own mortar setting which grew to be popular. Additionally, he had invented the Vicat needle is still being used to determine the setting time of concrete and cement.
1824 – Joseph Aspdin, British cement manufacturer, obtained the patent for Portland cement.
1889 – The Alvord Lake Bridge was built in 1889 by Ernest L. Ransome, who was an innovator in reinforced concrete design, mixing equipment and construction systems. The Lake Bridge is the first reinforced concrete bridge built in America, and was designated a civil engineering landmark in 1969 by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
1902 – The Portland Cement Association, an NGO which promotes the usage of concrete, was started in New York City.
1903 – The Ingalls Building, the world’s first reinforced concrete skyscraper, was built in 1903 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1936 – The Hoover Dam, a concrete-arch gravity dam, was constructed during The Great Depression, in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River.
1950s – Brad Bowman develops the Bomanite process in Monterey, California. This lead to the development of decorative concrete.
1970s – Fiber reinforcement was introduced as a way to strengthen concrete.
1985 – The highest strength concrete was used in building the Union Plaza, in Seattle, Washington.
1992 – The tallest reinforced concrete building was built in Chicago, Illinois.
The history of concrete, like all of history, keeps developing! We at Maha Cement are very excited to watch it develop further.
