History of the U-Joint
The first known application of the universal joint occurred in China more than 2,000 years ago. The Chinese had invented what we call "gimbals," a series of interlocking rings within a device that allowed a candle placed in the center to remain upright regardless of the device's position.

Today, gimbals are used to keep ships' compasses level and as components in gyroscopes.

In 1545, Italian mathematician Girolamo Cardano theorized that the principal of gimbals could be used to transmit rotary motion through an angled connection. Some credit Cardano with the invention of the universal joint, but it wasn't until the next century that an actual universal joint was produced.

English scientist Robert Hooke was the first to put the universal joint to work. In 1676 he constructed a "universal joynt" to manipulate the mirrors of his solar astronomical invention, the "helioscope." Universal joints are still called "Cardan joints" or "Hooke's joints" and have since become an essential part of both modern transportation and industry.