The Millikan oil drop experiment, published in final form in 1913, demonstrated that charge comes in discrete chunks and was a bridge between classical electromagnetism and modern quantum physics.
I didn't know that the value and how he'd reached that value was controversial at the time. I post this not just because of the historic significance, but that I taught at Manor High School with Gary Millikan, I believe he described Dr. Millikan as a "great-grand uncle," and himself as a black sheep: he teaches world geography, I taught physics. It was when I taught this module I quizzed Gary, and discovered his remarkable ancestry.
APS: Landmarks–Millikan Measures the Electron’s Charge
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