Johann Wilhelm Ritter (16.12.1776—23.01.1810) was a German physicist and chemist and a member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (1804). He studied at the University of Jena, where in 1803—04 he was a lecturer. From 1804 he worked in Munich.
His work was in electricity and electrochemistry. In 1799 he detected the oxidation of metals on contact (the Italian G. Fabbroni had been the first to do this, in 1792), and in 1800 he rediscovered the phenomenon of electrolysis and, by decomposing water with a current, obtained hydrogen and oxygen. In 1803 he studied galvanic polarisation and built the first “dry pile”, discovering the principle of operation of the accumulator. He was the first to propose (1801) a chemical theory of electricity. In 1801 he put forward the idea of a discrete structure of electricity. He demonstrated the attraction and repulsion of electric charges. He studied electric potentials and the electrical conductivity of metals, and established the dependence of conductivity on the dimensions of the conductor. In 1801 he observed strong sparks from an electric current and the thermoelectric current (before T. Seebeck), and, independently of W. Wollaston, discovered ultraviolet rays.