Isaac Newton (4 January 1643 31 March 1727) was born and raised in England. He was a greater thinker and made many discoveries in physics, mathematics, and astronomy. Newton was the first to describe the properties of gravity on Earth and in the Universe. He also defined three laws of motion which we still use today to understand the world around us. He used these laws and the laws of gravity to prove that the earth orbits around the sun. Newton built the first practical reflecting telescope and discovered why sunlight can be broken up into a spectrum, or rainbow. He also studied the speed of sound. Newton is best known for his legend of discovering the laws of gravity by watching apples fall from trees. According to the legend, he saw apples falling around him and realized they were all being pulled to one point: the earth s center of gravity. Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. He signed The Declaration of Independence and helped write the US Constitution, which created the government of the United States. Franklin was also an author, politician, scientist, and inventor. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the history of physics for his discoveries regarding electricity. He invented the lightning rod for conducting electricity, bifocals (eyeglasses), and the first odometer (an odometer calculates the distance something has traveled, like the odometer on the dashboard of your car). He formed the first public library in America where you could borrow books and the first fire department in Pennsylvania. Because of his scientific and political achievements, Franklin is honored on coins and on the $100 bill, with many towns, schools, and companies named after him. Michael Faraday (22 September 1791 25 August 1867) was from the country of England and worked in chemistry and physics. He combined theories from electricity, chemistry and magnetism. He discovered that magnets can affect the path of light. Faraday also discovered that electricity travels on the outside of an object it runs through. This is why you can never get struck by lightening when you sit inside a car. The electricity from the lightening is directed around the outside of the car, while you are able to sit safely inside. Faraday was born and raised outside of London. He had very little formal schooling and mostly educated himself at home and by attending lectures in London. He began his career under for a famous chemist Humphry Davy and worked his way up to being the head chemist of the most famous scientific organization at the time, The Royal Institution of Great Britain.
Thomas Edison (February 11, 1847 October 18, 1931) was an American inventor, scientist and businessman. He created the first music player (the phonograph), the motion picture or video camera, and a long-lasting, electric light bulb. Before his death in 1931, he was recognized for 1,093 different inventions in the U.S., as well as others in the countries of France, Germany and England. He was very important in creating inventions that contributed to telecommunications, which are devices to communicate over long distances, such as telephones. Edison was born in Ohio, and raised in Northern Michigan. He had poor hearing due to a serious illness, scarlet fever, when he was young. He spent the beginning of his adult life selling candy and newspapers in Michigan and discovered his talent as a businessman. He eventually founded 14 companies, including General Electric which is one of the largest suppliers of electricity in the country. Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 7 January 1943) was an inventor and an engineer. Many people think he is most responsible for creating the electricity that we use today. He is called a man who "shed light over the face of Earth." Tesla s studies were the base for the flow of current through circuits which are used today for all the electrical wiring in buildings and in electronics. This wiring included a system for transmitting electricity over long distances. He is the reason we are able to transmit electricity across miles of wire from power plants to our homes. Additionally, Tesla has received credit for inventing the radio. Tesla was born in the country of Croatia, and later became an American citizen. He was widely respected as one of the greatest electrical engineers who worked in America. Although Tesla became very famous while he was alive, he was considered a mad scientist and many people had trouble believing his scientific ideas. Sir Joseph John J. J. Thomson (18 December 1856 30 August 1940) was a physicist from the country of England. He won the Nobel Prize in 1906 for discovering the electron and conducting electricity in gases. Thomson was a professor in England and helped introduce laboratory demonstrations to school lessons. Laboratory demonstrations are activities which allow students to learn by touching objects and observing how they work. Could you imagine school before Thomas when students were not involved in activities and could only listen to a teacher talk?
Jack St. Clair Kilby (November 8, 1923 - June 20, 2005) won a Nobel Prize in physics in 2000 for his invention of a new type of circuit. In 1958, he discovered that a circuit can be fit onto a small, thin piece of metal, now called an integrated circuit. Integrated circuits are used in almost all electronic equipment today and have revolutionized the world of electronics. If you have ever broken open any electronic divice, such as a CD player, a t.v. controller or computer, you find small chips with colorful lines, or wiring, across them. These are integrated circuits. Without integrated circuits computers would fill up an entire room, or in some cases, an entire football field. Thanks to Kilby, we have compact electronics. Kilby also invented the handheld calculator and the thermal printer. Kilby was born in Missouri, but grew up in Kansas. He spent most of his adult life in Texas, where he as a Professor at Texas A&M University. He passed away 4 years ago at the age of 81 years old.
A Walk Through the History of Electricity Scientist Isaac Newton (1643-1727) Facts and Discoveries Benjamin Franklin (1706 1790) Michael Faraday (1791 1867) Thomas Edison (1847 1931) Joseph John J. J. Thomson (1856 1940)
Nikola Tesla (1856 1943) Jack St. Clair Kilby (1923-2005)