1352-54

Universal jointed driveshaft in the clock mechanism of Strasbourg Cathedral.

1550

Geronimo Cardano's gimbal suspension.

1663

Robert Hooke's universal joint. 1683 double Hooke's joint.

1824

Analysis of the motion of Hooke's joints with the aid of spherical trigonometry and differential calculus, and the calculation of the forces on the cross by Jean Victor Poncelet.

1841

Kinematic treatment of the Hooke's joint by Robert Willis.

1894

Calculation of surface stresses for crosses by Carl Bach.

1901/02

Patents for automotive joints by Arthur Hardt and Robert Schwenke.

1904

Series production of Hooke's joints and driveshafts by Clarence Winfred Spicer.

1908

First ball joint by William A. Whitney. Plunging + articulation separated.

1918

Special conditions for the uniform transmission of motion by Maurice d'Ocagne. 1930 geometrical evidence for the constant velocity characteristics of the Tracta joint.

1923

Fixed ball joint steered by generating centres widely separated from the joint mid-point, by Carl William Weiss. Licence granted to the Bendix Corp.

1926

Pierre Fenaille's "homokinetic" joint.

1927

Six-ball fixed joint with 45 articulation angle by Alfred H. Rzeppa. 1934 with offset steering of the balls. First joint with concentric meridian tracks.

1928

First Hooke's joint with needle bearings for the crosses by Clarence Winfred Spicer. Bipode joint by Richard Bussien.

1933

Ball joint with track-offset by Bernard K. Stuber.

1935

Tripode joint by J. W. Kittredge, 1937 by Edmund B. Anderson.

1938

Plunging ball joint according to the offset principle...