Who invented the battery?

Alessandro Volta invented the first battery in 1800 when he created a device known as a voltaic pile. The voltaic pile conducted energy with positive and negative terminals comprised of leather saturated with vinegar or brine and pressed between copper and zinc plates.

Volta came to realize that certain liquids facilitated the flow of energy in particular metals and was then able to harness the energy. Scientists had previously experimented with static electricity and even the flow of energy using vinegar, but substantial evidence does not exist to prove that those experiments created the flow of energy in the same way Volta's device did.