Discovery of Electrons
After studying the phenomenon of electrolysis in 1874, Irish physicist George Johnstone Stoney suggested that there existed a "single definite quantity of electricity", the charge of a monovalent ion
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
George Johnstone Stoney Biography and Timeline
Follow George Johnstone Stoney through 2 dated historical records for Ireland.
George Johnstone Stoney, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
2Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1874–1894Years on this page
1874
1894
Discovery of Electrons
Stoney coined the term electron to describe these elementary charges, saying, "... an estimate was made of the actual amount of this most remarkable fundamental unit of electricity, for which I have since ventured to suggest the name electron"
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.