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The word "Electricity" was coined from the word "Elektron" by a man named William Gilbert (from England). Gilbert wrote about the eletrification of many substances. "Electric Force," "Magnetic Pole," and "Electric Attraction" were also coined by him.
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Samuel Morey developed an engine that ran on ethanol and turpentine.
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Oil was first discovered when a homemade rig near Titusville in northwestern Pennsylvania drilled down 70 feet and came up coated with oil. This rig was owned by "Colonel" Edwin L. Drake.
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Solar radiation was able to be directly converted into mechanical power by a mathematics instructor, Auguste Mouchout, from France.
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Street lamps in the city of Niagara Falls were powered by hydropower.
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Coal was discovered near Richmond, Virgina.
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Larderello in Tuscany, Italy, was (and is still) the home to the first dry steam geothermal power plant. It is still in use today, powering about 1 million households.
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For the first time, nuclear energy generrated more electricity than oil in the U.S.
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About 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas were reported as being used for vehicles.
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U.S. wind power produced enough electricity, on average, to power the equivalent of over 2.5 million homes.
