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600 BCE
Static Electricity Discovery
Thales, a Greek found that when amber was rubbed with silk it attracted feathers and other light objects. He had discovered static electricity. -
Term "Electricity" is invented
William Gilbert, scientist and physician to Queen Elizabeth I, invented the term electricity. He was the first person to describe the earth magnetic field and to realise that there is a relationship between magnetism and electricity. -
The Wimshurst machine is invented
The Wimshurst machine was invented. It was used to produce static electricity easily and reliably. Two parallel plates are rotated in opposite directions, which produces a charge around the edges of the plates. This charge is collected using a system of combs. Voltages as high as 50 000 can be produced, depending on humidity and other conditions, and can produce sparks up to 4 inches long. -
Neon Light Invented
Francis Hauskbee created electrical effects by putting some mercury into a glass globe, pumping out the air and then spinning it. When he did this in the dark, and then rubbed the globe with his bare hand, it glowed. -
Lightning proved as a form of electricity
Benjamin Franklin, the famous U.S. politician, flew a kite with a metal tip into a thunderstorm to prove that lightning is a form of electricity. -
First battery created (Volta's Pile)
Volta created the first simple battery. He used pure zinc and silver discs, sandwiched between muslin damped in a salt solution. -
Electrolysis
Sir Humphry Davy discovered that when he passed an electric current through some substances they decomposed. This process later became known as electrolysis. This led to the discovery of a number of elements including magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium. -
Discovery of magnetic fields from electricity
Hans Christian Oersted of Denmark found that when electricity flows through a wire, it produces a magnetic field that affects the needle of a nearby compass. -
Thermo-electricity discovery
Thomas Johann Seebeck found that when the junction of certain metals is heated electricity flows in thermo-electricity. -
Electro-dynamic theory explained
Andre Ampere published his theories about electricity and magnetism. He was the first person to explain the electro-dynamic theory. The unit of electric current was named after him. -
Mathematical theory of electricity published
German college teacher George Ohm published his complete mathematical theory of electricity. The unit of electrical resistance was later named after him. -
Electromagnetic Induction Demonstrated
Michael Faraday demonstrated electromagnetic induction by passing a magnet through a coil of wire. -
First telegram machine created
Charles Wheatstone and William Fothergill Cooke created the first telegram machine. -
Velocity of Electricity measured
Charles Wheatstone used a revolving mirror and 4 miles of wire to measure the velocity of electricity. -
Morse Code invented
At an exhibition in New York, Samuel Morse demonstrated sending 10 words a minute by his new telegraph machine. He used the system of dots and dashes, which later became standard throughout the world as morse code. -
First DC electric generator built
Thomas Edison built a DC (direct current) electric generator in America. He later provided all of New York's electricity. -
Telephone invented
Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, used electricity to transmit speech for the first time. -
The first Electric Light demonstrated
Joseph Swan, a British Scientist demonstrated the first electric light with a carbon filament lamp. A few months later, Thomas Edison made the same discovery in America.