10 Historical Energy Events

  • Discovery of Electricity

    Discovery of Electricity
    In 1600, William Gilbert published his treatise De magnete, Magneticisique Corporibus (On the Magnet). Printed in scholarly Latin, the book explained years of Gilbert's research and experiments on electricity and magnetism. Gilbert raised the interest in the new science greatly. It was Gilbert who coined the expression "electrica" in his famous book.
  • Steam Engine

    Steam Engine
    The first practical steam-powered 'engine' was a water pump, developed in 1698 by Thomas Savery.
  • Steam Locomotive

    Steam Locomotive
    The first full-scale working railway steam locomotive was built by Richard Trevithick in the United Kingdom and, on 21 February 1804
  • First Electric Motor

    First Electric Motor
    The conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy by electromagnetic means was demonstrated by the British scientist Michael Faraday in 1821.
  • Hydroelectric Dam

    Hydroelectric Dam
    In 1878 the world's first hydroelectric power scheme was developed at Cragside in Northumberland, England by William George Armstrong
  • First Electric Wind Turbine

    First Electric Wind Turbine
    The first electricity generating wind turbine, was a battery charging machine installed in July 1887 by Scottish academic James Blyth
  • The First Electric Company

    The First Electric Company
    In 1890, Thomas Edison had brought together several of his business interests under one corporation to form Edison General Electric
  • Discovery of Nuclear Fission

    Discovery of Nuclear Fission
    The discovery of nuclear fission occurred in 1938, following nearly five decades of work on the science of radioactivity and the elaboration of new nuclear physics that described the components of atoms.
  • First Nuclear Reactor

    First Nuclear Reactor
    The creation of the first man-made reactor, known as Chicago Pile-1, which achieved criticality on December 2, 1942
  • First Fuel Cell Car

    First Fuel Cell Car
    General Motors invented the Electrovan in 1966