6th Grade Treasure Trove/Electricity Timeline

The Early History of Electricity:

DATE	DISCOVERY
600 BC	Thales found that if he rubbed a piece of amber he could make small objects (like wool, fur) stick to it
1600 AD	William Gilbert named the effects he saw "electricity" after the Greek word for amber, "elecktron". He discovered that many other objects exhibited the same effect.
1733	Charles du Fay (a French scientist) discovered that when he rubbed two ambers together, they repelled eachother. One amber and one glass, when rubbed together, attracted.
1751	Benjamin Franklin performed his kite experiment, in which he observed the electrical nature of lightning.
1779	Allesandro Volta invented the first real battery.
1819	Hans Christian Oersted discovered the connection between electricity and magnetism.
1825	Electromagnets were made in England and used to make an electric bell.
1834	Michael Faraday studied electrolysis and became convinced that electricity consisted of "atoms of charge". He is the inventor of the electric motor.
1837	Samuel Morse used an electromagnet to invent the telegraph.
1876	Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
1878	Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb.
1895	Guglielmo Marconi invented the radio.
1897	J. Thomson showed that electrons are the carriers of electric charge.

Internet Resources:

Electricity Online (Thinkquest Project)