Inventions & Discoveries · Energy and power

Hydroelectricity

1878 · 19th century · Also known as hydroelectric power

Hydroelectricity is electricity generated from hydropower, the energy of moving water. Water had long driven machinery, but the first hydroelectric power scheme was developed in 1878 by William Armstrong at Cragside in Northumberland, England, where it powered a single arc lamp in his art gallery. The Schoelkopf Power Station No. 1 near Niagara Falls began to produce electricity in 1881, and by 1889 there were 200 hydroelectric power stations in the United States alone. Dams grew larger through the 20th century, to the Three Gorges Dam in China at 22.5 GW, and hydropower supplied 15% of the world's electricity in 2023.

Hydroelectricity
Image: Source file : Le Grand Portage; derivative work by Rehman · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

On the inventions tree

First known
1878
Where
Cragside, Northumberland, England
Credited to
William Armstrong
Built onWater wheel4th century BCEElectric generator1831

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Mentioned in 2 profiles

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See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Hydroelectricity. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/hydroelectricity
MLA
“Hydroelectricity.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/hydroelectricity. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Hydroelectricity.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/hydroelectricity.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Hydroelectricity’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/hydroelectricity (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻