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History of Wind Power Timeline
(c. 5000 BCE (sailboats) – Present)The history of wind power spans thousands of years, beginning with ancient civilizations using wind to sail ships and grind grain. Windmills emerged in Persia around 500-900 CE and spread through the Middle East and Europe, where the Dutch refined them for drainage and industry. The late 19th century saw the first electricity-generating wind turbines, and the 20th and 21st centuries brought rapid technological advances, making wind one of the world's fastest-growing sources of clean, renewable energy. More Less
Ancient and Medieval Wind Power
Hammurabi uses windmill power for irrigation
1700 BCE
The Babylonian emperor Hammurabi reportedly used windmill power for his irrigation project in Mesopotamia in the 17th century BC.
Image source: History of wind power
Hero of Alexandria describes a wind-driven wheel
100 CE
Hero of Alexandria (Heron) in first-century Roman Egypt described what appears to be a wind-driven wheel to power a machine, an early conceptual example of wind-powered machinery.
Image source: Hero of Alexandria
Prayer wheels used in Tibet and China
400 CE
Another early example of a wind-driven wheel was the prayer wheel, believed to have been first used in Tibet and China, though its first appearance could date from circa 400, the 7th century, or later.
Image source: Prayer wheel
Wind-powered automata in Baghdad
750 CE
Wind-powered statues that 'turned with the wind over the domes of the four gates and the palace complex of the Round City of Baghdad' are known from the mid-8th century.
First practical windmills in Sistan
850 CE
The first practical windmills were in use in Sistan, a region in Iran bordering Afghanistan, at least by the 9th century and possibly as early as the mid-to-late 7th century. Windmills and wind pumps for grinding grain and pumping water were developed in what are now Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
First windmills in Europe
1100 CE
The first windmills in Europe appear in sources dating to the twelfth century.
Image source: Windmill
Earliest certain reference to a European windmill
1185 CE
The earliest certain reference to a windmill dates from 1185, in Weedley, Yorkshire, although a number of earlier but less certainly dated twelfth-century European sources referring to windmills have also been adduced.
Dutch windmills drain the Rhine delta
1300 CE
By the 14th century Dutch windmills were in use to drain areas of the Rhine River delta, a landmark application of wind power for land reclamation.
Windmills pump seawater for salt-making
1500 CE
By 1500 AD, windmills were used to pump seawater for salt-making in China and Sicily.
Greek island windmills mill flour
1600 CE - 1920 CE
In Mykonos and other islands of Greece, windmills were used to mill flour and remained in use until the early 20th century.
Key Facts
- Ancient Egyptians used wind power as early as 5000 BCE to propel sailboats along the Nile River.
- The first known windmills for grinding grain were developed in Persia (modern-day Iran) around 500-900 CE, featuring vertical-axis designs.
- In 1887, Scottish professor James Blyth built one of the first wind turbines used to generate electricity, followed by Charles F. Brush's turbine in Ohio in 1888.
- Denmark became a pioneer of modern wind energy, with Poul la Cour's experiments in the 1890s laying the groundwork for today's wind industry.
- Wind power is now one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources worldwide, with global installed capacity exceeding 1 terawatt as of 2023.
Source
This History of Wind Power timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.
We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.
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