William Sturgeon
William Sturgeon | |
|---|---|
 William Sturgeon | |
| Born | 22 May 1783 |
| Died | 4 December 1850(aged 67) Prestwich,Lancashire |
| Nationality | English |
| Known for | Electromagnet and electric motor |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Electromagnets |
William Sturgeon(22 May 1783 – 4 December 1850) was anEnglishphysicistandinventorwho made the firstelectromagnets,and invented the first practicalelectric motor.
Early life[edit]
Sturgeon was born on 22 May 1783 inWhittington,nearCarnforth,Lancashire,and became apprenticed to a shoemaker.
Career[edit]
Sturgeon joined the army in 1802 and taught himselfmathematicsandphysics.In 1824 he became lecturer in Science and Philosophy at theEast India Company'sMilitary Seminary at Addiscombe,Surrey, and in the following year he exhibited his first electromagnet.[2]He displayed its power by lifting nine pounds with a seven-ounce piece of iron wrapped with wire through which a current from a single battery was sent.
In 1832 he was appointed to the lecturing staff of the Adelaide Gallery of Practical Science inLondon,where he first demonstrated theDC electric motorincorporating a commutator.
In 1836 he established the journalAnnals of Electricity, Magnetism and Chemistry,and in the same year he invented agalvanometer.[2]
Sturgeon was a close associate ofJohn Peter GassiotandCharles Vincent Walker,and the three were instrumental in founding theLondon Electrical Societyin 1837.[3]
In 1840 he became superintendent of theRoyal Victoria Gallery of Practical ScienceinManchester.He formed a close social circle withJohn Davies,one of the Gallery's promoters, and Davies's studentJames Prescott Joule,a circle that eventually extended to includeEdward William Binneyand the surgeonJohn Leigh.[4]The Gallery closed in 1842, and he earned a living by lecturing and demonstrating.
In 1843 he started the monthly journal,The Annals of Philosophical Discovery and Monthly Reporter of the Progress of Practical Science;issue 1 of volume 1 is dated July 1843. Each month's issue contains a mixture of original "long" papers (over 5 pages long), republished papers from foreign journals (translated where necessary) and shorter articles. However, the journal did not prove successful, and ceased publication at the end of volume 1, in December 1843. This single volume is archived at Internet.org.[5]
Death and burial[edit]
Sturgeon died inPrestwich,Lancashire(now inGreater Manchester) on 4 December 1850.[2]He is buried there, in the churchyard of theSt Mary the Virgin:he is identified on his grave slab as "William Sturgeon – The Electrician".
References[edit]
- ^Thompson, Sylvanus P. (1891).Lectures on the Electromagnet.New York: W. J. Johnson Co. pp. 17–19.
- ^abcGee 2004.
- ^Harrison, W. J.; Morus, Frank Iwan Rhys (revised) (2004). "Gassiot, John Peter (1797–1877)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10439.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^Kargon 1977, pp. 38–40.
- ^The Annals of Philosophical Discovery and Monthly Reporter of the Progress of Practical Science, Volume 1, (1843).https://archive.org/details/annalsofphilosop1843stur
Bibliography[edit]
- Gee, William; James, Frank A. J. L. (revised) (2004). "Sturgeon, William (1783–1850)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/26748.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- Kargon, R. H. (1977).Science in Victorian Manchester: enterprise and expertise.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.ISBN0-8018-1969-5.
- Vibart, H. M. (1894).Addiscombe: its heroes and men of note.Westminster: Archibald Constable. pp. 77–80.
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