Alkaline Battery Creator Dies

Lewis Urry, a chemical engineer who developed the first practical long-life alkaline battery that made countless portable electronic devices possible, died October 19. He was 77.

Early in his research, Urry decided to create a new battery type rather than try to improve on the existing version. “My ‘eureka‘ moment came when I realized using powdered zinc would give more surface area,” Urry told the Washington Times.

The first Eveready alkaline batteries went on the market in 1959; they were rebranded under the Energizer name in 1980.

Urry held 51 patents, including a number for the lithium battery. In 1999, he was inducted into the hall of fame at the Smithsonian Institution, where he presented the first prototype alkaline battery and the first manufactured cylindrical alkaline cell to the museum’s collection. They were put on display in the same room as Thomas Edison’s light bulb.