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William Gilbert
1600: William Gilbert(England) first coined the term "electricity" from "elektron," the Greek word for amber. Gilbert wrote about the electrification of many substances. He was also the first person to use the terms electric force, magnetic pole, and electric attraction. -
Stephen Gray (England)
Stephen Gray (England) distinguished between conductors and nonconductors of electrical charges. -
Ben Franklin (U.S.)
Ben Franklin (U.S.) tied a key to a kite string during a thunderstorm, and proved that static electricity and lightning were the same thing. -
Alessandro Volta (Italy) invented the first electric battery.
Alessandro Volta (Italy) invented the first electric battery. The quot;volt quot; is named in his honor. -
1820: Separate experiments by Hans Christian Oersted(Denmark)
1820: Separate experiments by Hans Christian Oersted(Denmark), Andre-Marie Ampere (France), and Francois Arago confirmed the relationship between electricity and magnetism. -
Michael Faraday (England)
Michael Faraday (England) discovered the principle of electro-magnetic rotation which would later be the key to developing the electric motor. -
1826: Georg Ohm (Germany)
1826: Georg Ohm (Germany) defined the relationship between power, voltage, current and resistance in Ohms Laws. -
1835: Joseph Henry(U.S.)
1835: Joseph Henry(U.S.) invented the electrical relay, which could send electrical currents long distances.