Around 600 BC, the Greek scientist Thales discovered that amber is a yellowish resinous substance found on the shores of the Baltic Sea.
When amber is rubbed with wool, it gain property of attracting small pieces of paper, straws etc.
Amber is called electron in Greek language.
Hence the cause of the above phenomenon was named electricity.
In 1600, another scientist Gilbert observed that there are many other substances such as glass, ebonite, sulfur etc., which like amber attract lighter objects in more or less quantity.
This property of attracting other lighter substances in materials towards itself comes due to rubbing i.e. friction.
When this property comes in the substances, the substance is called electrified or charged.
And the factor by which this property comes in substances is called electricity.
That branch of physics, under which the properties of static charges and the phenomena related to them are studied, is called static electricity.
Whereas that branch, under which the properties of moving charges and the phenomena related to them are studied, is called current electricity.