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Ben Franklin put a key onto a kite during a storm. This proved that static electricity and lightning were the same.
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Thomas Davenport invented the electric motor. This invention is used in most electrical appliances today.
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Sir William Robert Grove developed the first fuel cell. This is a device that produces electrical energy by putting together hydrogen and oxygen.
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Samuel Morse invented the electric telegraph. This was a machine that could send messages long distances across wire.
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Thomas Edison invented an incandescent light bulb that could be used for about 40 hours without burning out. By 1880 his bulbs could be used for 1200 hours.
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William Stanley developed the induction coil transformer and an alternating current electric system.
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Scientist and businessman Charles Brush built the first wind turbine to generate electricity. Measuring 17 metres tall and using 144 cedar rotor blades.
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Henry Becquerel observed the production of electricity from the sun while experimenting with electrolytic cells made up of metal electrodes.
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Italian scientist Piero Ginori Conti invents the first geothermal electric power plant.
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Photoelectic cells were discovered. These cells generate electric voltage depending on the light.
