Leclanché, Georges

Georges Leclanché, (born 1839, Paris—died Sept. 14, 1882, Paris), 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.