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Ben Franklin tied a key onto a kite during a storm and proved that static electricity and lightning were the same. His correct understanding of the nature of electricity paved the way for the future.
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Samuel Morse invented the electric telegraph, a machine that could send messages long distances across wire.
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Thomas Davenport invented the electric motor, an invention that is used in most electrical appliances today.
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Sir William Robert Grove developed the first fuel cell, a device that produces electrical energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen.
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William Stanley developed the induction coil transformer and an alternating current electric system.
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In Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. scientist and businessman Charles Brush builds the first wind turbine to generate electricity. Measuring 17 meters tall and using 144 cedar rotor blades, it has a capacity of 12 kilowatts.
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French scientist Henry Becquerel observes the production of electricity directly from the sun while experimenting with an electrolytic cell made up of two metal electrodes placed in an electricity-conducting solution.
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Italian scientist Piero Ginori Conti invents the first geothermal electric power plant.
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Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, was built in Russia and was considered the first nuclear power plant.
