Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

Most historians place the origin of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain in the middle decades of the 18th century, with changing patterns of human settlement from agriculture to industry, affecting labor, and family life and populating cities (1). There was a surge of industrial development in the early 19th century with a burst during the first half of the 20th century that involved two world wars and the employment of heavy industry that was required to engage in those deadly battles. From the end of the great conflict in mid-20th Century there was another explosion of industrial activity in response to research and technological development and increasing domestic and global demands for convenience, comfort, and security, as well as competition at political and economic levels on the global stage. The finances, energy and resources that were poured into these efforts resulted in an unprecedented surge of global progress in technology, transportation, communication, and consumer products that could be made readily available to those who could afford them.