Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Willoughby Smith
open-in-new
<p>Willoughby Smith (6 April 1828, in <a href="/facts/Great_Yarmouth/yUlza38g">Great Yarmouth</a>, <a href="/facts/Norfolk/eHSNIRud">Norfolk</a> – 17 July 1891, in <a href="/facts/Eastbourne/xLjYtxNq">Eastbourne</a>, <a href="/facts/Sussex/8oev4Jwv">Sussex</a>) was an English <a href="/facts/Electrical_engineer/YYXW1KLW">electrical engineer</a> who discovered the <a href="/facts/Photoconductivity/kPVR5C44">photoconductivity</a> of the element <a href="/facts/Selenium/k975NApC">selenium</a>. This discovery led to the invention of <a href="/facts/Photoelectric_cell/3L814UCC">photoelectric cells</a>, including those used in the earliest television systems. </p>