Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot successfully drives a globular steam boiler buggy through Paris. It was developed to pull a cannon for the French army.

Robert William Thomson patents his design for pneumatic tires, though they never go into production.

George Brayton invents the two-stroke constant pressure internal combustion engine. It was marketed as the "Ready Motor."

Nikolaus Otto invents the four-stroke compressed charge internal combustion engine, the first to use in-cylinder compression.

George B. Selden patents the first automobile using internal combustion, based on the Brayton Ready Motor.

Congress passes the Interstate Commerce Act, establishing the Interstate Commerce Commission. It was created to regulate the then-dominant railroad industry.

Frank and Charles Duryea produce the first successful American gas-propelled vehicle.

Rudolf Diesel publishes "Theory and Construction of a Rational Heat Motor."

Rudolf Diesel is granted a patent for an efficient, compression ignition engine.

Team Drivers' International Union (TDIU) is organized by the American Federation of Labor.

Winton Motor Carriage Co. sells the first manufactured "semi-truck" to haul cars.

A large group of teamsters leave the TDIU to form the Teamsters National Union in Chicago.

Teamsters International Union and Team Drivers International combine to form the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Teamsters join the strike against Montgomery Ward and the Employers Association of Chicago. The world's first purpose-built gas station is constructed in St. Louis.

Henry Ford installs the first moving assembly line, making mass-produced vehicles viable.

August Charles Fruehauf builds the first "semi-trailer."

Charles H. Martin files a patent for the fifth wheel invented by Herman G. Farr. Arthur Savage patents the radial tire.

Pneumatic tires are developed, enabling trucks to double their speed. The fifth wheel patent is granted to Charles Martin and marketed as the Martin Rocking Fifth Wheel.

The U.S. formally enters World War I. The Goodyear Wingfoot Express succeeds in the first long-distance heavy-duty truck haul using pneumatic tires.

The U.S. military purchases a large number of trucks intended to be deployed in the war effort; World War I formally ends shortly after.

The first air brake system is installed on a road vehicle.

Fruehauf Trailer Co. invents the automatic semi-trailer fifth wheel, in which the coupling and uncoupling was accomplished by one man, using the motion of the trailer itself.

Clessie Lyle Cummins designs a diesel engine suitable for use in trucks.

The first factory-installed diesel engine is accomplished by the Indiana Division of White Motor Trucks.

The American Highway Freight Association and Federation Trucking Associations of America merge in response to the need for uniform industry standards.

The “Code of Fair Competition” for the trucking industry is inaugurated, regulating registration requirements as well as wage and hours controls.

Joseph Numero and Frederick Jones patent the first transport refrigeration unit, making delivery of fresh produce anywhere in the country a possibility.