Volta

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Alessandro Volta (1745-1827)

"On the Electricity Excited by the Mere Contact of Conducting Substances of Different Kinds. In a Letter from Mr. Alexander Volta, F. R. S. Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Pavia, to the Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. K. B. P. R. S." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 1800. 90: 403–431.

In this work Volta describes his invention of the voltaic pile – the first electrochemical cell, or battery. Volta's creation had a dramatic impact on the science of electricity by making available for the first time a reliable and readily accessible source of significant electric current. Faraday's groundbreaking work on electromagnetic induction was made possible by Volta's invention.