Volta's Electric Pile
1800
Alessandro Volta stacked discs of zinc and copper separated by brine-soaked cloth and drew from them a steady, unnatural current - the first battery. Reported to London's Royal Society, his pile handed chemists and physicists a tool that would crack water into its elements and remake the century. Napoleon, fascinated, summoned Volta to Paris, awarded him a medal, and declared the invention the foundation of a new science.
In context
Also in 1800 (6 other events on record)
- Napoleon Wins Marengo · Europe · War
- Usman dan Fodio's Preaching Spreads · Africa · Religion
- Library of Congress Founded · North America · Culture
- Adams Moves Into White House · North America · Politics
- Nguyen Offensive in Vietnam · Southeast Asia · War
- Qianlong's Shadow in Qing China · East Asia · Politics
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Science
Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.
Sources