Samuel Gardiner
From ETHW
Samuel Gardiner
Biography
Samuel Gardiner patented the an electric meter in 1872 (US Patent #132569), which used an electromagnet to start and stop a timer when current was passing through. This was significant in that it was the first way to measure and therefore charge users for the energy they consumed, but since it only measured the time energy was consumed, not the amount, it was replaced in 1883 by Hermann Aron's, whose recording meter showed the energy used on a series of clock dials. In 1886, Edward Weston's meter set the standard by measuring the current used.
Further Reading
http://energyaction.ie/fuel-poverty-conference/history-of-the-electric-meter/
