Alessandro Volta

February 18, 1745, Como, Italy

March 5, 1827, Como, Italy

Alessandro Volta was a physicist, chemist and a pioneer of electrical science. He is most
famous for his invention of the electric battery. He Invented the first electric battery – which
people then called the “voltaic pile” – in 1800. Using his invention, scientists were able to
produce steady flows of electric current for the first time, He also discovered “contact
electricity” resulting from contact between different metals. In recognition of Alessandro
Volta’s contributions to science, the unit of electric potential is called the volt and for his
contributions to electricity and chemistry, he was awarded the society's coveted
Copley Medal in 1794

Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American
inventor and businessman who has been described as America's greatest
inventor. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation,
mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures etc. He came up
with over 1000 successful inventions in his lifetime. Edison was keen to develop a
lightbulb that would stay lit for a long period of time and that would have a gentle
light. He hoped it could be used in homes. Once he had developed a domestic
‘incandescent’ lightbulb he knew that homes would need electricity to power them, so he
also worked on developing an electrical power distribution system. His first electricity
distribution system was opened in 1887 in New York, America.