History of Noise
6th century BCE
First known noise ordinance: The council of the province of Sybaris, a Greek colony in the Aegean, rules that potters, tinsmiths, and other tradesmen must live outside the city walls because of the noise they make. They ban roosters, too.
5th century BCE
Hippocrates is the first clearly to identify tinnitus- the ringing in the ears often caused by prolonged exposure to noise.
44 BCE
Julius Caesar rules that ‘no one shall drive a wagon along the streets of Rome or along those streets in the suburbs where there is continuous housing after sunrise or before the tenth hour of the night"
15th century
First references to London as a noisy city.
1595
London bye-law forbids any "suddaine out-cry... in the still of the Night, as making any affray, or beating his Wife, or servant, or singing, or revelling in his house, to the Disturbaunce of his neighbours."
1660s
The megaphone is invented almost simultaneously by Samuel Morland in England and Athanasius Kircher in Germany
1713
Bernadini Ramazzini, an Italian physician, ascribes the cause of the deafness of Venetian coppersmiths to their trade - the first such link to be published.
1717
Church of St Mary-le-Strand completed in London. To exclude street noise, it has no ground-floor windows.
1770s
James Watt's steam-engine is a significant improvement on its predecessor, accelerating the industrial revolution, which in turn brings about the most significant increases in noise in history.
1831
First authoritative reference to noise as a health problem: Dr John Fosbroke, writing in the Lancet, states that ‘blacksmiths’ deafness is a consequence of employment’
1864
Following a prolonged campaign by London intellectuals including Charles Babbage, Charles Dickens and the MP Michael Bass, the Act for the Better Regulation of Street Music in the Metropolis become law.
1879
Mary Walton significantly quietens the notoriously loud elevated railway in New York by installing asphalt-topped cotton- and sand-filled boxes over the rails.
1880
The first noise-measuring device, the Rayleigh disc, is invented. Unfortunately, it is too delicate to be used outdoors.
1883
The loudest noise in recorded history is generated when the volcanic island of Krakatoa explodes.
1886
First quantitative study of noise induced hearing loss, by Dr Thomas Barr. He studies the loss of hearing in Glaswegian boiler-makers. On average, they can hear quiet sounds at just one-tenth the distance at which those with normal hearing can.
1890s
The world’s first Society for the Suppression of Noise is formed in London. Its principal target is the newly-invented motor horn.
1906
Effective amplification of sound become possible through Lee De Forest's invention of the triode valve, the first electronic amplifying device.
1907
Thanks to a well organised campaign by Julia Barnett Rice, the Bennett Act is passed. It forbids unnecessary blowing of whistles in US harbours.
First World War
Warships successfully tracked, targeted and destroyed by the noises they make.
1920s
The decibel is developed
1929-30
First objective environmental noise survey, of New York City.
Second World War
Stukas are fitted with screaming sirens called Jericho trumpets to terrify their target populations.
1950s
Jet planes proliferate, adding a significant new noise source to the world.
1957
The Chicago Zoning Ordinance is the first noise ordinance in the world to specify maximum noise levels.
1960
John Connell's Noise Abatement Society succeeds in having noise accepted as statutory nuisance for the first time (through the Noise Abatement Act)
from 1968
R Murray Schafer popularises the concept of the Soundscape
1969
UNESCO’s International Music Council declares ‘the right of everyone to silence, because of the abusive use, in private and public places, of recorded or broadcast music’ ;
The Rolling Stones, on the cover of their album Let it Bleed, declare that ‘This Record Should Be Played Loud'
The Rolling Stones, on the cover of their album Let it Bleed, declare that ‘This Record Should Be Played Loud'
1975
Arlien Bronzaft shows that the performance of students is adversely affected by environmental noise
1989
New Noise at Work Regulations introduce an effective system of ‘action levels', involving both employer and employee in the process of noise projection ;
In Panama US troops use a noise barrage (including Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up") in an attempt to drive General Noriega from the ‘Nuncio’ where he had sought sanctuary
In Panama US troops use a noise barrage (including Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up") in an attempt to drive General Noriega from the ‘Nuncio’ where he had sought sanctuary
2002
The European Noise Directive requires all member states to construct noise maps of all major conurbations and transportation routes, and to develop action plans.