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William Gilbert uses the word “electricity” for the first time
In England in the 17th century, William Gilbert first coined the term "electricity" from the Greek word for amber. Gilbert wrote about the electrification of many substances in his "De magnete, magneticisique corporibus". He also first used the terms electric force, magnetic pole, and electric attraction. -
Francis Hauksbee invented Neon Light
Francis Hauksbee 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. (He didn't realise it, but he had invented the neon light!) -
Sir Adam Beck creates three power generating stations in Niagara Falls
Since 1759, Canadian Sir Adam Beck has created three different power generating stations for Niagara Falls, This way, the huge waterfall can create electricity. But, of course, he didn’t do it all in one year. The construction of these three generating stations took a long time, about 20 years each and Sir Adam Beck didn’t live through the construction of all three of them. The good news is that today, these generating stations have a total of 32 generators, with a total output of 2.17M KW -
Luigi Galvani makes a frog twitch
While investigating the atmospheric energy on the muscular response on animals such as frogs, Galvani noticed something. Muscular contractions were induced when the moist tissue of the animal he was experimenting with were in contact with two different types of metals. After this observation, Galvani created a theory that stated that animal tissues generated electricity, which was spread through Italy and then to the rest of the world. This demonstrated what we now understand to be the electrica -
Alessandro Volta lnvents the first electric battery
When Galvani’s observations were published in Italy, Volta started looking at them. After many more experiments and observations, Volta theorized that animal skin was not necessarily needed for the conduction of electricity. He also proved that electricity could travel over wires. -
Hans Christian Oerested discovers electromagnetism
In Denmark, Hans Christian Oerested confirmed the relationship of electricity and magnetism, making him, the man who discovered electromagentism. He observed that electrical currents effected the needle on a compass. -
André Ampère explained the electro-dynamic theory
In France, André Ampère 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 Ampère -
Georg Ohm published his complete mathematical theory of electricity
German college teacher Georg Ohm published his complete mathematical theory of electricity. The unit of electrical resistance was later named after him. -
John Joseph Wright improves the electric streetcar
Although he did not invent the electric streetcar, Wright had made many great improvement and changes to its design to help the car’s business and utility. In Toronto, he made the streetcars run on oil instead of gas and helped produce some of Canada’s first straight roads. -
Thomas Ahearn invents the electric car heater
In Ottawa, Ontario, Thomas Ahearn invented many electric appliances including the electric cooking range. He also made many changes to the already invented telegraph. This is because it was in its infancy in the 1800s. He invented the electric car heater as an accessory for the first electric streetcar, which he didn't invent. -
George J. Klein invents the electric wheelchair
In Hamilton, Canada, the world’s first electric wheelchair was invented by Canadian design engineer George J. Klein. After retiring, Klein was the chief consultant on gear design for the large Canadarm project. -
Justin Lemire-Elmore crosses Canada in an electric bike
Canadian Justin Lemire-Elmore loves electric bikes. Although he enjoys selling them in Vancouver, he wants to show that his electric bikes are more than just a bike with a couple of wires in it. Using only an electricity budget of $10, Justin Lemire-Elmore set out to cross Canada on his electric bike.
