The Fenian Brotherhood, the American branch of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood, was established in 1858 with the goal of establishing an independent Ireland. As well as raising money and gathering arms to send back to Ireland, the Fenians also engaged in military activity against the British, leading two failed invasions

Patrick Coad, undated Patrick Coad (1783-1872), an Irish immigrant who settled in Philadelphia, was the first patentee of a graduated galvanic battery with insulated poles. Touting his battery among other uses as an instrument that helped cure various diseases, Coad’s invention attracted a good deal of attention within the scientific