In 1752, Ben Franklin conducted his experiment with a kite, a key, and a storm. A few years later another English scientist, Thomas Browne, wrote several books and he used the word “electricity” to describe his investigations based on Gilbert’s work. In the year 1600, English physician William Gilbert used the Latin word “electricus” to describe the force that certain substances exert when rubbed against each other. A replica and diagram of one of the ancient electric cells (batteries) found near Bagdad.īut by the 17th century, many electricity-related discoveries had been made, such as the invention of an early electrostatic generator, the differentiation between positive and negative currents, and the classification of materials as conductors or insulators. Similar devices were found in archeological digs near Baghdad meaning ancient Persians may have also used an early form of batteries. Additionally, researchers and archeologists in the 1930’s discovered pots with sheets of copper inside that they believe may have been ancient batteries meant to produce light at ancient Roman sites. In about 600 BC, the Ancient Greeks discovered that rubbing fur on amber (fossilized tree resin) caused an attraction between the two – and so what the Greeks discovered was actually static electricity.

It actually goes back more than two thousand years. The truth about the discovery of electricity is a bit more complex than a man flying his kite. Some give credit to Benjamin Franklin for discovering electricity, but his experiments only helped establish the connection between lightning and electricity, nothing more. Electricity is a form of energy and it occurs in nature, so it was not “invented.” As to who discovered it, many misconceptions abound.

Alessandro volta timeline