Vasily Vladimirovich Petrov was a Russian experimental physicist, self-taught electrical technician, academician of Russian Academy of Sciences.
In 1802, Petrov discovered the electric arc. In “News of Galvanic-Voltaic Experiments,” 1803, Petrov described experiments performed using the voltaic pile, detailing the stable arc discharge and the indication of its possible use in artificial lighting, melting metals for smelting and welding, obtaining pure metallic oxides, and reduction of metals from oxides mixed with powdered carbon and oils.
It was not until the late 1880s that technology based on Petrov’s experiments was developed with the goal of industrial usage.