Many are aware of the United States’ history with World Expos, with the country having organised several World and Specialised Expos. In addition to Chicago – which hosted World Expos in 1893 and 1933 – another Midwestern city has hosted a World Expo:  St. Louis in 1904. This is not counting the Specialised Expos that also took place in the American heartland – Expo 1982 Knoxville, which had a theme based on energy and Expo 1984 New Orleans, with a theme around rivers. The latter was the most recent Expo hosted in the United States.

Taking place in the world’s largest economy and in midst of the second industrial revolution, World Expo 1904 St. Louis introduced many new technologies and innovations to the public. One of these innovations was the X-ray machine, a fledgling technology that has revolutionised healthcare.

The transfer of electricity has long been a conundrum for inventors and electrical engineers, and the question of power supply to different devices continues to be a focal point of research and development. Wireless systems and radio frequency signals increasingly look to be the future of powering devices, with many of the latest innovations to be showcased at Expo 2017 Astana.

Before the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, there was no standard method of the various electrical appliances and devices that had been invented. Thomas Edison had already wired a number of homes in New York City, but one vital element was missing that changed the way we consume power forever: the plug and socket.