Scientists worked with electricity long before they understood that current ... everything from computers to phones to microwaves, the electron turned out to be interesting to just about everybody.

In simple terms, that assertion is correct, but for those with an expertise in the field, the longer answer to who did it ...

In 1919 Rutherford had discovered the proton, a positively charged particle within the atom's nucleus ... and imagined it as a paired proton and electron. There was no evidence for any of these ...

The picture shows a close-up of one carbon atom. A hydrogen atom has one proton as the nucleus and one electron in the region outside the nucleus. The electron and proton are attracted to each other.