18th Century Pioneer

Charles Augustin de Coulomb (1736 – 1806).  France.

French physicist best known for the formulation of  Coulomb’s law, which states that the force between two electrical charges is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.¹

The unit of quantity for “electric charge” was named after him – the Coulomb.

Using a device called an electroscope to measure the force of attraction or repulsion between two charged spheres, he showed that the position of the spheres varied inversely with the square of the distance between their centers according to the amount of charge that was applied to them.

He also assisted the French government in devising the metric system of weights and measures.

¹ "Charles-Augustin de Coulomb" Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.