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Electricity was first noted by the Greeks over two centuries ago. They found that rubbing items such as animal fur and amber created an attraction between them.

By the 1600s, a great number of experiments and discoveries had occurred, including the naming of the phenomenon by the Englishman, William Gilbert in 1600. He called it 'electricus' in his ground-breaking book; "Magneticisique Corporibus" (trans; On the Magnet). Gilbert was fascinated by the concept of magnetism and made many of the earliest, proven discoveries in the field.

The word 'electricus' derives from the Latin word ēlectrum, which, in turn, came from the Greek word ēlektron for amber, the very material the the ancient Greeks used to generate static electricity. In this sense, Gilbert gave credit for the original discovery to the ancient Greeks.

Further, Benjamin Franklin certainly did not discover electricity or lightning.

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15y ago

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