William Sturgeon ( /ˈstɜːrdʒən/ ; May 22, 1783 – December 4, 1850) was an English electrical engineer and inventor. He created the first electromagnet and the first practical electric motor.

Early life

Sturgeon was born on May 22, 1783, in Whittington, near Carnforth, Lancashire, and became an apprentice to a shoemaker.

Career

Sturgeon joined the army in 1802 and learned mathematics and physics on his own. In 1824, he became a lecturer in Science and Philosophy at the East India Company's Military Seminary in Addiscombe, Surrey. The next year, he showed his first electromagnet. He proved its strength by lifting nine pounds using a seven-ounce piece of iron wrapped with wire. Electricity from a single battery powered the wire.

In 1832, he was hired as a lecturer at the Adelaide Gallery of Practical Science in London. There, he first demonstrated a DC electric motor that included a commutator.

In 1836, he started a journal called Annals of Electricity, Magnetism and Chemistry. That same year, he invented a galvanometer.

Sturgeon worked closely with John Peter Gassiot and Charles Vincent Walker. Together, they helped create the London Electrical Society in 1837.

In 1840, he became the superintendent of the Royal Victoria Gallery of Practical Science in Manchester. He became friends with John Davies, a promoter of the Gallery, and Davies's student James Prescott Joule. Their circle later included Edward William Binney and surgeon John Leigh. The Gallery closed in 1842, and Sturgeon earned money by giving lectures and demonstrations.

In 1843, he began a monthly journal named The Annals of Philosophical Discovery and Monthly Reporter of the Progress of Practical Science. The first issue of volume 1 was published in July 1843. Each monthly issue included long original articles (more than five pages), translated papers from foreign journals, and shorter reports. However, the journal was not successful and stopped publishing after volume 1 ended in December 1843. This single volume is stored at Internet.org.

Death and burial

William Sturgeon died in Prestwich, Lancashire (which is now part of Greater Manchester) on December 4, 1850. He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin. His grave slab identifies him as "William Sturgeon – The Electrician."