Today is the birthday of Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta. He was born February 18, 1745 in Como, Lombardy, Italy to Filippo Volta and Maria Maddalena Inzaghi. Volta became the first professor of physics at the University of Pavia in 1779 and held that position for much of his adult life. In March 1800 Volta announced his invention of the voltaic pile, the first electric battery. In recognition of Volta’s scientific contributions, the SI unit for electric potential difference (aka, electromotive force) was named the volt in 1881.
Biographies:
- Wikipedia
- University of Pavia
- Catholic Encyclopedia
- Italian American Web Site of New York
- NYU ITP
- NNDB
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Re-posted from last years birthday celebration
Paul Hutchinson's Blog 