Volta, an Italian physicist, was born on February 18, 1745 and died on March 5, 1827. His main contribution was the invention of the battery. In 1775 Volta was interested in electricity and invented an instrument (a starter panel) for generating static electricity. In 1778 methane gas was discovered and separated, and a year later he was appointed professor of physics at the University of Pavia. In 1780 his friend Galvani discovered that two different metals generate electricity when they come into contact with the muscles of frogs. In 1794 he began experimenting with metals alone and found that animal tissue was not required to generate electricity. This discovery caused many debates between animal and metal electricity generation. However, with the demonstration of the first battery in 1800, he achieved a decisive victory. In 1801 he showed the battery in Paris to Napoleon, who made him count and senator of the kingdom of Lombardy. The Austrian emperor appointed him dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Padua in 1815. The unit of electromotive force that drives electricity, the volt, is named in his honor.