IEEE History Center: Early History of Electricity

The word electricity comes from the Latin term electricus, meaning to "produce from amber by friction." This term has its roots in the Greek term elektor, which means beaming sun. Without knowing what it was, the effects of electricity have been observed in nature for centuries.

Modern milestones in the discovery and harnessing of electricity began in 1729 with Stephen Gray's discovery of the conduction of electricity.

In October of 1745, Georg Von Kleist discovered that electricity was controllable and invented what came to be called the "Leyden Jar." It is "an electrical condenser consisting of a glass jar coated inside and outside with metal foil, having the inner coating connected to a conducting rod passed through the insulated stopper."

Starting in 1747, Benjamin Franklin worked with static charges in the air and noted that their existence suggested the existence of an electrical fluid that could possibly be composed of particles.

In 1750 Franklin discovered that lightning was the same as electrical discharges, and proposed the idea of lightning rods that would draw this charge away from homes, making them safer and less prone to fires. In 1752, Franklin reported the results of his famous kite experiments to the Royal Society.

The Royal Institution of Great Britain was founded in 1799. It provided important support for the investigation of electricity and magnetism. The same year, Alessandro Volta proved that electricity could be created using "dissimilar metals separated by a salt solution." Volta used copper and zinc plates separated by cardboard that was soaked in a saline solution to produce this effect. Stacking these "cells on top of one another, he devised the first electric battery," the first continuous and controlled source of electricity.

In 1820, Hans Christian Oersted discovered the magnetic effects of a current, by observing that electrical currents effected the needle on a compass. A few weeks later, Marie Ampere discovered that a coil of wires acts like a magnet when a current is passed thorough it.

Joseph Henry began a series of electromagnetic experiments in 1827 and discovered the concept of electrical inductance. He also built one of the first electrical motors. That same year, Georg Simon Ohm working in the field of current electricity discovered the "conduction law that relates potential, current, and circuit resistance." In tribute to him, the Ohm, denotes the unit of electrical resistance."

In 1831 Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction. He explained that it was necessary to have a change in a magnetic field to create current, and that its mere presence was not enough.

These milestones marked the beginning of the field of electricity and electrical engineering that are continuously being further developed.