Happy Birthday Popular Mechanics! (Jan. 11, 1902)

Henry Haven Windsor, son of a preacher man, publishes the first issue of Popular Mechanics. The publication quickly helps pull our technocultural future into the public orbit, showcasing an inspiring arsenal of scientists and cultural heavyweights along the way.

Born in Iowa in 1859, Windsor attended Grinnell College and eventually landed in Chicago, publishing three trade magazines — Street Railway Review, Brick and Rural Free Delivery News. But it was Popular Mechanics that would fulfill his early mission — “Written So You Can Understand It” — with lasting success.

Windsor’s plan to deliver scientific and mechanical developments with straightforward language and helpful illustrations capitalized on a century hurtling with exponential speed toward stunning technical achievement. From its inception to its current iteration, the magazine has broken news of everything from the dirigible, wireless telegraph and cars to television, nukes and iPhones.

Click here to read the whole article at Wired > http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/01/0111popular-mechanics-de...