Gaston Plante was born on April 22, 1834 in Orthez, France. In 1854 he worked in Paris at the Conservatory of Arts and Crafts as an assistant physics lecturer. In 1960 he became a Professor of Physics at the Polytechnic Association for the Development of Popular Instruction. His first discovery, which has nothing to do with why he is famous, was the discovery of the first fossils of a prehistoric flightless bird. While this was an exciting discovery at the time he is much better known for his invention of the first rechargeable battery.
In 1859 he created the first lead-acid battery. It consisted of two sheets of lead rolled into a spiral and separated by rubber strips. The lead sheets were then placed into a sulfuric acid solution. A year later he presented a nine cell version (nine lead sheet elements connected in parallel) of his battery to the Academy of Sciences. While Camille Faure would develop a more efficient version Plante is still known as the initial inventor of the rechargeable battery.
Gaston Plante:
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Gastons lead-acid battery
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