An electrostatic generator, or electrostatic machine, is an electromechanical generator that produces static electricity, or electricity at high voltage and low continuous current. By the end of the 17th Century, researchers had developed practical means of generating electricity by friction, but the development of electrostatic machines did not begin in earnest until the 18th century, when they became fundamental instruments in the studies about the new science of electricity. Jesse Ramsden (October 6, 1735 - November 5, 1800) was an English mathematician and instrument maker. In 1768, he constructed a widely used version of a plate electrical generator. He died in 1800 at the age of 65.