Georges Leclanché

Georges Leclanché (born 1839, Paris—died Sept. 14, 1882, Paris) was a French engineer who in about 1866 invented the battery that bears his name. In slightly modified form, the Leclanché battery, now called a dry cell, is produced in great quantities and is widely used in devices such as flashlights and portable radios.

After completing a technical education in 1860, Leclanché began work as an engineer. Six years later he developed his battery, which contained a conducting solution (electrolyte) of ammonium chloride, a negative terminal of zinc, and a positive terminal of manganese dioxide.

In 1867 he gave up his job to devote full time to his invention; a year later it was adopted by the telegraph service of Belgium. He subsequently opened a factory to produce the battery and other electric devices; the business was taken over by his brother Maurice upon Georges’s death in 1882.