2/13/25, 8:06 PM Electricity timeline - Energy Kids: U.S.

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Around Thales, a Greek, found that when amber was rubbed with silk, it became electrically charged and attracted objects. He had originally
discovered static electricity.
600 BC

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.

1660 Otto von Guericke (Germany) described and demonstrated a vacuum, and then invented a machine that produced static electricity.
Robert Boyle (Ireland) discovered that electric force could be transmitted through a vacuum and observed attraction and repulsion.

1675 Stephen Gray (England) distinguished between conductors and nonconductors of electrical charges.

1745–46 Georg Von Kleist (Germany) developed the first electric capacitator, a device for storing electricity.
Pieter van Musschenbroek (the Netherlands) independently developed an electric capacitator that would be called the Leyden
jar after the University of Leyden where he worked.

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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.

1800 Alessandro Volta (Italy) invented the first electric battery. The term volt is named in his honor.

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.

1820 Separate experiments by Hans Christian Oersted (Denmark), Andre-Marie Ampere (France), and Francois Arago (France) confirmed
the relationship between electricity and magnetism.

1821 Michael Faraday (England) discovered the principle of electro-magnetic rotation that would later be the key to developing the electric
motor.

1826 Georg Ohm (Germany) defined the relationship between power, voltage, current and resistance in Ohms Law.

1831 Using his invention the induction ring, Michael Faraday (England) proved that electricity can be induced (made) by changes in an
electromagnetic field. Faraday's experiments about how electric current works led to the understanding of electrical transformers and
motors.
Joseph Henry (United States) separately discovered the principle of electromagnetic induction but did not publish his work. He also
described an electric motor.

1832 Using Faraday's principles, Hippolyte Pixii (France) built the first dynamo, an electric generator capable of delivering power for
industry. Pixii's dynamo used a crank to rotate a magnet around a piece of iron wrapped with wire.

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1835 Joseph Henry (United States) invented the electrical relay, which could send electrical currents long distances.

1837 Thomas Davenport (United States) invented the electric motor, an invention that is used in most electrical appliances today.

1839 Sir William Robert Grove (Scotland) developed the first fuel cell, a device that produces electrical energy by combining hydrogen and
oxygen.

1841 James Prescott Joule (England) showed that energy is conserved in electrical circuits involving current flow, thermal heating, and
chemical transformations. A unit of thermal energy, the Joule, was named after him.

1844 Samuel Morse (United States) invented the electric telegraph, a machine that could send messages long distances across wires.

1860s The mathematical theory of electromagnetic fields was published. J.C. Maxwell (Scotland) created a new era of physics when he
unified magnetism, electricity, and light. Maxwell's four laws of electrodynamics (Maxwell's Equations) eventually led to electric
power, radios, and television.

1876 Charles Brush (United States) invented the open coil dynamo (or generator) that could produce a steady current of electricity.

1878 Joseph Swan (England) invented the first incandescent lightbulb (also called an electric lamp). His lightbulb burned out quickly.
Charles Brush (United States) developed an arc lamp that could be powered by a generator.
Thomas Edison (United States) founded the Edison Electric Light Co. in New York City. He bought a number of patents related to
electric lighting and began experiments to develop a practical, long-lasting light bulb.

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1879 After many experiments, Thomas Edison (United States) invented an incandescent light bulb that could be used for about 40 hours
without burning out. By 1880, his bulbs could be used for 1,200 hours.
Electric lights (Brush arc lamps) were first used for public street lighting in Cleveland, Ohio.
California Electric Light Company, Inc. in San Fransisco was the first electric company to sell electricity to customers. The company
used two small Brush generators to power 21 Brush arc light lamps.

1881 The electric streetcar was invented by E.W. v. Siemens.

1882 Thomas Edison (United States) opened the Pearl Street power station in New York City. The power station was one of the world's
first central electric power plants and could power 5,000 lights. It used a direct current (DC) power system, unlike the power systems
that we use today which use alternating current (AC).
The first hydroelectric station opened in Wisconsin.
Edward Johnson first put electric lights on a Christmas tree.

1883 Nikola Tesla (U.S. immigrant from Austrian Empire) invented the Tesla coil, a transformer that changed electricity from low voltage to
high voltage, making it easier to transport over long distances.

1884 Nikola Tesla invented the electric alternator for producing alternating current (AC). Until this time, electricity had been generated
using direct current (DC) from batteries.
Sir Charles Algernon Parsons (England) invented a steam turbine generator, capable of generating huge amounts of electricity.

1886 William Stanley, Jr. (United States) developed the induction coil transformer and an alternating current electric system.

1888 Nikola Tesla (U.S. immigrant from Austrian Empire) demonstrated the first polyphase alternating current (AC) electrical system. His
AC system included all units needed for electricity production and use: generator, transformers, transmission system, motor (used in
appliances) and lights. George Westinghouse, the head of Westinghouse Electric Company, bought the patent rights to the AC
system.
Charles Brush (United States) was the first to use a large windmill to generate electricity. He used the windmill to charge batteries in
the cellar of his home in Cleveland, Ohio.

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1893 The Westinghouse Electric Company used an alternating current (AC) system to light the Chicago World's Fair.
A 22-mile AC powerline was opened, sending electricity from Folsom Powerhouse in California to Sacramento.

1895–96 The Niagara Falls hydropower station opened. It originally provided electricity to the local area. One year later, when a new
alternating current (AC) powerline was opened, electric power from Niagara Falls was sent to customers over 20 miles away in
Buffalo, New York.

1897 Joseph John Thomson (England) discovered the electron.

1901 The first power line between the United States and Canada was opened at Niagara Falls.

1903 The world's first all turbine station opened in Chicago.

1908 J. Spangler (United States) invented the first electric vacuum cleaner.

1909 The world's first pumped storage plant opened in Switzerland.

1911 W. Carrier (United States) invented electric air conditioning.

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1913 Thomas Edward Murray (United States) created the first air pollution control device, the cinder catcher.
A. Goss invented the electric refrigerator.

1920 The Federal Power Commission (FPC) was established for licensing hydroelectric projects.

1921 Lakeside Power Plant in Wisconsin became the world's first power plant to burn only pulverized coal.

1922 Connecticut Valley Power Exchange (CONVEX) started pioneering interconnection between utilities.

1933 The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was created. It was the first Federal power authority and was designed to provide regional
power.

1935 Some of the New Deal legislation passed during the Roosevelt Administration was designed to regulate public utilities and to bring electricity to rural
America.
The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, which was designed to break up powerful holding companies that had bought up
many smaller electric companies
The Federal Power Act of 1935 regulated utilities involved in transmitting and selling electric power across state lines.

1936 Boulder (later renamed Hoover) Dam was completed. A 287 kilovolt power line stretched 266 miles from the dam in Boulder City,
Nevada, to Los Angeles, California.
The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 was aimed at bringing electricity to farms across the country.

1937 Creation of the Bonneville Power project, a Federal power marketing authority.

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1942 Due to rural electrification, almost half of American farms had electricity, compared with 11 percent in 1932.

1950 Almost all American farms had electricity.

1954 The world' s first nuclear power plant (Russia) started generating electricity.
The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 was passed. It allowed private ownership of nuclear reactors.
Chaplin, Fuller, and Pearson (United States) working for Bell Labs, invented the first solar cell.

1957 The Shippingport reactor in Pennsylvania was the first nuclear power plant to provide electricity to customers in the United States.

Last Revised: October 2007

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