In 1866, the french engineer Georges Leclanché invented a primary electric battery functioning with manganese dioxide. This battery is the ancestor of saline batteries commercialized today.
Later, Leclanché invented a way to seal the battery, thus making it transportable.
The battery was then modified by Carl Gassner, who became the inventor of the very first dry-cell battery. The success of this battery was immediate: in less than two years, more than 2000 of these batteries were used to power telegraphs. By 1881, more than 300 000 were sold!
The battery being small and transportable, it was used to power small portable objects, such as electric torches, clocks and telephones.
Indeed, before electricity was transported with cables, every telephone needed an independent energy source. The battery was hidden in a wooden box by the telephone. However, as the battery was not very powerful, long conversations often ended up inaudible.
