Batteries were invented in 1800 by the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta. He created the first true battery, known as the voltaic pile, which consisted of stacked pairs of copper and zinc discs separated by cloth soaked in salty water that produced a steady electric current through a chemical reaction.
Earlier forms of electricity storage, like Leyden jars, were used before this time, and the term "battery" was first used by Benjamin Franklin in 1749 to describe a set of linked capacitors. There is also an ancient artifact called the "Baghdad Battery" dated around 250 BC, which some believe to have been a simple battery, though its purpose and true function are debated.
