William Grove

Sir William Robert Grove was a Welsh judge and physical scientist, born in Swansea in 1811, who anticipated the general theory of the conservation of energy and was a pioneer of fuel cell technology. After studying classics at Brasenose College, Oxford, and being called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1835, he pursued science alongside the law. In 1839 he developed the Grove cell, an electric cell using zinc and platinum electrodes separated by a porous ceramic pot, and in 1840 he invented one of the first incandescent electric lights. His presentation at the Royal Institution made his reputation and led to his election to the Royal Society.