Person

Sutton, Henry (1856 - 1912)

Born
3 September 1856
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Died
28 July 1912
Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Inventor

Summary

Henry Sutton achieved world-wide acclaim for his invention of the storage battery, a device displayed at the 1882 Crystal Palace Electrical Exhibition in London, and praised by Thomas Edison as the greatest battery in the world. He was a lecturer in electricity and applied magnetism at the Ballarat School of Mines, where he developed an experimental telephonic circuit that connected the school's engine-house and workshop. Sutton's many other inventions and designs included a helicopter, a torpedo, and he helped build Australia's first hydraulic elevator.

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Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

  • Collins, David, Chemistry in 19th Australia - Select Bibliography, An exhibition of the Encyclopedia circa 2005 with assistance from Ailie Smith and Gavan McCarthy., eScholarship Research Centre (original publisher), Melbourne, 2009, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/ciab/ciab_ALL.html. Details

Books

  • Branch, Lorayne, Henry Sutton, an innovative man: Australian inventor, scientist and engineer (Ballarat, Vic.: Lorayne Branch, 2018), 397 pp. Details

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • Sutton, H., 'On a New Form of Secondary Cell for Electrical Storage', Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 18 (1882), 110-114. Details
  • Sutton, Henry, 'On a New Electrical Storage Battery', The Chemical News and Journal of Physical Science, 44 (1881), 298-299. Details
  • Sutton, Henry, 'On a New Electrical Storage Battery (supplementary note)', The Chemical News and Journal of Physical Science, 45 (1882), 27. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

Gavan McCarthy; Ken McInnes

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 1 July 2025

EOAS ID: biogs/P000163b.htm

This Edition: 2026 February - 1926 Centenaries
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