Alessandro Volta was a famous Italian physicist. He is well-known for the invention of the first battery in 1800. He was born in Como, Italy on February 18, 1745. In 1774, he became a professor of Physics at the Royal School in Como. Volta studied the Chemistry of gases from 1776-1778. In November, 1777, he discovered methane in a lake. In  1779, he became a professor of experimental physics at the University of Pavia. In 1794, Volta married an aristocratic lady. In honor of his work, he was made a count by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801. In 1782, he travelled to France and Germany. In 1815, the Emperor of Austria made him the director of Philosophical Faculty of Padua. In 1819, he retired and settled in his native town where he died in March, 1827.