An electron is no more (and no less) hypothetical than a star. Nowadays we count electrons one by one in a Geiger counter, as we count the stars one by one on a photographic plate.
Arthur EddingtonAn ocean traveler has even more vividly the impression that the ocean is made of waves than that it is made of water.
Arthur EddingtonElectrical force is defined as something which causes motion of electrical charge; an electrical charge is something which exerts electric force.
Arthur Eddington