Ewald Georg von Kleist facts for kids
Ewald Georg von Kleist (born June 10, 1700 – died December 11, 1748) was a smart German man. He was a jurist (someone who studies law), a Lutheran cleric (a church leader), and a physicist (a scientist who studies how things work in the natural world). He is most famous for inventing the Leyden jar, which was a very early way to store electricity.
Early Life and Education
Ewald was born in a place called Wicewo in Farther Pomerania. His family, the von Kleists, was well-known. His father, Ewald Joachim von Kleist, was a local leader.
Ewald Georg von Kleist went to two important universities: the University of Leipzig and the University of Leyden. He studied jurisprudence, which is the study of law. While he was at Leyden, he might have become interested in electricity. This was possibly because of a professor there named Willem 's Gravesande.
Career and Work
For many years, from 1722 to about 1747, Ewald von Kleist was the dean of a big church called the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Kamień Pomorski in Kamień Pomorski. This town was part of the Kingdom of Prussia back then.
After his time as a dean, he became the president of a royal court of justice in Köslin. This meant he was a very important judge. He was also a member of the Academy of Sciences in Berlin, which was a group of top scientists and thinkers.
The Invention of the Leyden Jar
Ewald von Kleist was very interested in electricity, just like another scientist named Georg Matthias Bose. On October 11, 1745, Ewald von Kleist made an amazing discovery all by himself. He invented something he called the "Kleistian jar." This jar was special because it could hold a lot of electricity!
He told some scientists in Berlin about his invention. The news then traveled, a bit mixed up, to Leyden University. There, other scientists studied it more. Because of the work done at Leyden, especially by a student named Pieter van Musschenbroek, the invention became widely known as the Leyden jar. It was a big step forward in understanding and using electricity!
