Sometimes, though, something truly revolutionary cuts through the clutter and fundamentally changes the game. And with that in mind, Wired is looking back over 12 decades to highlight the 12 most innovative people, places and things of their day. From the first transatlantic radio transmissions to cellphones, from vacuum tubes to microprocessors, we'll run down the most important advancements in technology, science, sports and more.

We'll tackle a different decade each week, starting with the turn of the century – the last century. Our first installment takes you back to 1900-1910, when a German-born physicist named Albert Einstein started changing our perspective of space and time, attorney general Charles Bonaparte established what would become the FBI and the invention of the forward pass saved football from extinction.

We don't expect you to agree with all of our picks, or even some of them. That's fine. Tell us what you think we've missed and we'll publish your list later.