Thomas Davenport (inventor)
Videos
Thomas Davenport was a Vermont blacksmith who, with his wife Emily, constructed the first American DC electric motor in 1834.
Davenport c. 1850
Electric motor
Videos
An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a
Thomas Davenport (inventor)
…Thomas Davenport (July 9, 1802 – July 6, 1851) was a Vermont blacksmith who, with his wife Emily, constructed the first American DC electric motor in 1834. Davenport was born in Williamstown, Vermont. He lived in Forest Dale, a village in the town of Brandon…
Rotor (left) and stator (right)
Commutator in a universal motor from a vacuum cleaner. Parts: (A) commutator, (B) brush
Faraday's electromagnetic experiment, 1821, the first demonstration of the conversion of electrical energy into motion
Jedlik's "electromagnetic self-rotor", 1827 (Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest). The historic motor still works perfectly today.