A Royal Society Experiment carried out in 1747, from Les Merveilles de la Science, pub.1870

A Royal Society Experiment carried out in 1747 to ascertain whether electric current could be carried from one side of the River Thames to the other using an Electrostatic generator to charge a Leyden Jar connected to a wire suspended above the Thames at Westminster Bridge. On each side of the river a participant held the wire in one hand whilst an iron rod was dipped into the river with the other. When the circuit was completed the Leyden Jar discharged its current. The shock was felt by the participants on both sides of the river. From Les Merveilles de la Science, published 1870.