Fields, Waves & Electromagnetics

A pioneer in the development of electrical science, Nicholas Joseph Callan was born on 22 December 1799 in Darver, Ireland. He started the priesthood at Navan Seminary, and continued his studies at St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, where he studied natural and experimental philosophy under Dr. Cornelius Denvir. After his ordination as priest in 1823, Callan pursued his doctorate in divinity in Rome, where he became acquainted with Galvani and Volta’s work in the study of electricity, and recognized the potential to put it to practical and commercial use with powerful batteries.

In 1751 Benjamin Franklin published “Experiments and Observations on Electricity, Made at Philadelphia in America.” Experiments summarized in this booklet determined the existence of positive and negative charges, and the difference between insulators and conductors. This work led to the invention of the lightning rod. Its complete construction was popularized in Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1753. This is the first practical engineering application of electricity. A unifying theory covering static electricity, lightning, and stored charge was invented.