History of Electricity

Here are some of the men who made contributions to the study of electricity.

Benjamin Franklin – 18th century

He was the first to demonstrate that lightning is electricity and introduced the terms positive and negative charge.

Thomas Edison – end of 19th century and beginning of the 20th century

He invented the light bulb and power plants to get electricity to the houses that were getting their first electric lights.

Michael Faraday –  first half of the 19th century

He is known as the “Father of Electricity.” He discovered how a magnet can cause electrons to flow in a circuit. It’s the basis for how we “create” electricity today, using wind, water, sun, etc. to turn magnets to get electrons flowing, which is what electricity is, flowing electrons.

Albert Einstein – first half of the 20th century

Einstein’s formula proved that mass can be changed into an enormous amount of energy by moving really fast. He worked with light and lasers.