Cleveland Inventions: Lewis Urry's Contribution to Battery Science

No one knows where the Energizer bunny is going, but the rabbit did march out of Cleveland. In 1955, Union Carbide’s Nation Carbon Co. skipped Ontario-native Lewis Urry across Lake Erie to work at Cleveland’s Eveready research lab. Rather than improve the brand’s inferior zinc-carbon batteries, Urry experimented with alkaline, manganese dioxide and powdered zinc. In 1957, the lab’s cafeteria came alive as Urry raced one electric car with a zinc-carbon battery against his new invention. Team zinc-carbon lurched a few feet, while team alkaline snagged the checkered flag. Urry received his patent in 1959 and they were on shelves by then, if not earlier.

Why It Matters: Long-lasting and dependable, alkaline batteries are also used in the medical, industrial and defense fields.