An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical motion using the forces between magnetic fields and electric currents. The principle goes back to Michael Faraday's demonstration of continuous electromagnetic rotation in 1821, and in 1834 the German-born engineer Moritz von Jacobi built a rotary motor that is considered the first practical one. A few years later he used a larger version to power a boat on the Neva river in Saint Petersburg. The American Thomas Davenport patented a motor in 1837, and Nikola Tesla's induction motor of the late 1880s made alternating current motors practical. Electric motors now drive everything from household appliances to factories and electric vehicles.
Before and after
- from 2 October 1833 to 6 July 1840First Carlist War
- 21 October 1833Birth of Alfred Nobel
- 31 October 1833Birth of Alexander Borodin
- from 1834 to 1919Founding of Zollverein
- 1834Electric motor
- 1834Construction of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
- 27 January 1834Birth of Dmitri Mendeleev
- 16 February 1834Birth of Ernst Haeckel
- 19 July 1834Birth of Edgar Degas
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The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.