The forgotten history of electric cars

In the early days of motorized transportation, battery-powered vehicles flourished. Women were early adopters and people like Ferdinand Porsche and Thomas Edison were key developers.

Electric cars on Summit Avenue, Seattle, 1913. (Photo credit)

We may think that electric vehicles (EVs) are a relatively recent development, but in fact early models of battery-powered cars were on the road before those with internal combustion engines.

The first battery was invented in 1800 by Italian physicist Alessandro Volta, who piled copper and zin…