Volta Prize
The Volta Prize (French: prix Volta) was originally established by Napoleon III during the Second French Empire in 1852 to honor Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist noted for developing the electric battery. This international prize awarded 50,000 French francs to extraordinary scientific discoveries related to electricity. The prize was instituted by the Ministry of Public Instruction with the personal funding of the French Emperor, the selection committee was usually constituted by members of the French Academy of Sciences.

Notable recipients have included, Heinrich Ruhmkorff, who commercialised the induction coil, and Zénobe Gramme, inventor of the Gramme dynamo and the first practical electric motor used in industry.

One of its most notable awards was made in 1880, when Alexander Graham Bell received the fourth edition of the Volta Prize for the invention of the telephone. Among the committee members who judged were Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas, fils. Since Bell was himself becoming more affluent, he used the prize money to create institutions in and around Washington, D.C., including the prestigious Volta Laboratory Association in 1880 (also known as the" 'Volta Laboratory' "and as the" 'Alexander Graham Bell Laboratory"') precursor to Bell Labs, with his endowment fund (the" 'Volta Fund')", and then in 1887 the "'Volta Bureau'," which later became the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell).

The prize was discontinued in 1888.
Q7721
Napoleon III
PER
Q71092
Second French Empire
Concept
Q680
Alessandro Volta
PER
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electric battery
Concept
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French franc
Concept
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Ministry of Public Instruction
ORG
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French Academy of Sciences
ORG
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Heinrich Ruhmkorff
PER
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induction coil
Concept
Q247603
Zénobe Gramme
PER
Q3249519
Gramme dynamo
Concept
Q72313
electric motor
Concept
Q34286
Alexander Graham Bell
PER
Q13443401
invention of the telephone
Concept
Q535
Victor Hugo
PER
Q169150
Alexandre Dumas, fils
PER
Q61
Washington, D.C.
LOC
None
Volta Laboratory Association
UNK
Q217365
Bell Labs
ORG
Q7940714
Volta Bureau
LOC
Q4718999
Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
ORG
Q2532871
Volta Prize
MEDIA
Q2532871
Volta Prize
MEDIA
1852-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1852
DATE
1880-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1880
DATE
1880-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1880
DATE
1887-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1887
DATE
1888-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1888
DATE
named after
conferred by
head of state
discoverer or inventor
located in the administrative territorial entity