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1660: Otto Von Guericke (Germany) described and demonstrated a vacuum, and then invented a machine that produced static electricity.
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Stephen Gray (England) distinguished between conductors and nonconductors of electrical charges.
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1745-1746: Georg Von Kleist (Germany) developed the first electric capacitator, a device for storing electricity
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1752: Ben Franklin (United States) tied a key to a kite string during a thunderstorm, and proved that static electricity and lightning were the same thing.
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Alessandro Volta (Italy) invented the first electric battery. The term volt is named in his honor.
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1808: Sir Humphry Davy (England) invented the first effective lamp. The arc lamp was a piece of carbon that glowed when connected by wires to a battery.
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1821: Michael Faraday (England) discovered the principle of electro-magnetic rotation that would later be the key to developing the electric motor.
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1826: Georg Ohm (Germany) defined the relationship between power, voltage, current and resistance in Ohms Law
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1831: Joseph Henry (United States) separately discovered the principle of electromagnetic induction but did not publish his work. He also described an electric motor.
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1837: Thomas Davenport (United States) invented the electric motor, an invention that is used in most electrical appliances today.
