Thomas Davenport
Encyclopedia
Thomas Davenport was a Vermont
blacksmith
who invented the first American DC
electrical motor in 1834.
He lived in Forest Dale, a village near the town of Brandon.
As early as 1834, he developed a battery-powered electric motor. He used it to operate a small model car on a short section of track, paving the way for the later electrification of streetcars.
Davenport's 1833 visit to the Penfield and Taft iron works at Crown Point, New York
, where an electromagnet
was operating, based on the design of Joseph Henry
, was an impetus for his electromagnetic undertakings. Davenport bought an electromagnet from the Crown Point factory and took it apart to see how it worked. Then he forged a better iron core and redid the wiring, using silk from his wife's wedding gown.
With his wife Emily
, and a colleague Orange Smalley, Davenport received the first American patent
on an electric machine in 1837, U. S. Patent No. 132.
In 1849, Charles Grafton Page
, the Washington scientist and inventor, commenced a project to build an electromagnetically powered locomotive, with substantial funds appropriated by the US Senate. Davenport challenged the expenditure of public funds, arguing for the motors he had already invented. In 1851, Page's full sized electromagnetically operated locomotive was put to a calamity-laden test on the rail line between Washington and Baltimore.
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
who invented the first American DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
electrical motor in 1834.
He lived in Forest Dale, a village near the town of Brandon.
As early as 1834, he developed a battery-powered electric motor. He used it to operate a small model car on a short section of track, paving the way for the later electrification of streetcars.
Davenport's 1833 visit to the Penfield and Taft iron works at Crown Point, New York
Crown Point, New York
Crown Point is a town in Essex County, New York, USA. The population was 2,119 at the 2000 census. The name of the town is a direct translation of the original French name, "Point au Chevalure."...
, where an electromagnet
Electromagnet
An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by the flow of electric current. The magnetic field disappears when the current is turned off...
was operating, based on the design of Joseph Henry
Joseph Henry
Joseph Henry was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as a founding member of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smithsonian Institution. During his lifetime, he was highly regarded...
, was an impetus for his electromagnetic undertakings. Davenport bought an electromagnet from the Crown Point factory and took it apart to see how it worked. Then he forged a better iron core and redid the wiring, using silk from his wife's wedding gown.
With his wife Emily
Emily Davenport
Emily Goss Davenport was an inventor from Vermont, United States. Emily, with her husband Thomas Davenport, invented an electric motor and electric locomotive circa 1834....
, and a colleague Orange Smalley, Davenport received the first American patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
on an electric machine in 1837, U. S. Patent No. 132.
In 1849, Charles Grafton Page
Charles Grafton Page
Charles Grafton Page was an American electrical experimenter and inventor, physician, patent examiner, patent advocate, and professor of chemistry....
, the Washington scientist and inventor, commenced a project to build an electromagnetically powered locomotive, with substantial funds appropriated by the US Senate. Davenport challenged the expenditure of public funds, arguing for the motors he had already invented. In 1851, Page's full sized electromagnetically operated locomotive was put to a calamity-laden test on the rail line between Washington and Baltimore.
Further reading
- Post, R. C. (1976). Physics, Patents, and Politics: A Biography of Charles Grafton Page. New York: Science History Publications.
- Michael Brian Schiffer, 2008. Power Struggles: Scientific Authority and the Creation of Practical Electricity Before Edison, Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
- Frank Wicks. "The Blacksmith's Motor. Electricity, magnetism, and motion: A self-taught Vermonter pointed the direction for lighting the world." Mechanical Engineering, July 1999.
- Patent 132. (direct link)
- Smalley and Davenport's shop. http://www.uvm.edu/~histpres/SD/hist.html