Edmund Becquerel, the French physicist, discovered the photovoltaic effect
Willoughby Smith discovered the photoconductivity of selenium
W.G. Adams and R.E. Day made first selenium cell through observing photovoltaic effect in solid selenium
Charles Fritts described the first solar cell made from selenium wafers

Albert Einstein wins the Nobel Prize for his theories explaining the photoelectric effect
Bell Laboratories discovered 4.5% efficient silicon solar cell
Launch of Vanguard I with the first PV-powered satellite, operated for 8 years
Hoffman Electronics achieves 10% efficient solar cell which is commercially available
Japan installs a 242 watt solar cell array on a lighthouse, the world's largest array at that time
NASA LeRC(Lewis Research Center) installed 3.5KWP PV system on the Papago Indian Reservation, Arizona ; the world's first village PV system for water pumping and 15 homes' appliances such as lights, refrigerator, sewing M/C, and washing M/C
ARCO Solar is the first firm to produce more than 1MW of solar cell module in one year
Worldwide PV production exceeds 21.3MW and sales amount exceeds US$250million
Worldwide PV production exceeds 120MW

Worldwide PV production exceeds 1000MW and sales amount exceeds US$5~8billion