The Universal Joint has been around since 1844 when Edmund Morewood's 1844 patent for a metal coating machine called for a universal joint, by that name, to accommodate small alignment errors between the engine and rolling mill shafts.
However there was also a guy named Spicer in 1903 who demonstrated his new patent in a self-designed car, which did not have a troublesome chain & sprocket nor did it have chain and geared adaptions.
Spicer would then begin manufacturing of U Joints in 1904.
The U Joint allows movement of a drive shaft in up and down motion.
A U Joint also connects the driveshaft to the differential, and sometimes connects the driveshaft to the transmission or two driveshafts to each other.
The U Joint or Universal Joint is a part that is a cross shaped piece with a bearing at each end, that allows for lateral and side to side movement of the driveshaft.