Sturgeon
Name: William Sturgeon
Achievements: Invented the electromagnet
Born: May 22, 1783; Whittington, Lancashire, England
Died: December 4, 1850; Prestwick, Manchester, England (Aged 67)
Field & Discipline: Science; Physics; Electromagnetism
Language: English
Father: John Sturgeon
Mother: Betsy Adcock
Siblings: Unknown
Spouse: 1) ? Hutton; 2) Mary Bromley
Children: Four, all died in infancy; Ellen Coates (adopted niece)
Education: Self-educated
Major Work:
Considered the discoverer of the electromagnet.
Life & Times:
Sturgeon was apprenticed to his father's trade (shoemaker), until he rebelled and left to join the militia. Two years later he was accepted into the British Royal Artillery as a shoemaker and was stationed in Newfoundland, where a huge thunderstorm got him interested in electricity. Though poorly educated, he began to read about the subject, and soon knew enough math, Latin and Greek to grasp the fundamentals of science.
Transferred back to the Military College at Woolwich, near London, Sturgeon began to reproduce the electrical experiments of American inventor/statesman [reproduced experiments of] Franklin*. Cadets of the College found it exciting to get electric shocks from Sturgeon's kites, flown during thunderstorms.
At age thirty-seven he retired from the army, but, unable to live on his pension, again became a shoemaker. He also taught various subjects at local schools, and continued to educate himself. He was one of the founding members of the Woolwich Literary Society, among whose members was chemist John Marsh.
Sturgeon was forty when he made his first contribution to science: a modified version of French physicist [modified invention of] AM Ampere*'s rotating cylinders, described in the "Philosophical Magazine" in 1823. The following year, he published four papers on thermoelectricity in the same journal.
His work attracted the attention of many scientists, including [his work interested] Oersted*, [his work interested] Joule,* [his work interested] SH Christie* and Peter Barlow, through whom he was appointed lecturer in science at the [taught at] East India Company*'s Royal Military College
In 1825, Sturgeon introduced his improved apparatus for electromagnetic experiments, including the first soft-iron electromagnet, for which he was awarded the silver medal of the Society of Arts. The soft electromagnet was later used by American inventor [his invention used by] Samuel Morse* in his telegraph.
Sturgeon was intrigued by the magnetism of rotation discovered by Arago, and tried to work out theories to explain the phenomenon. However, English physicist [superseded by] Faraday *'s discovery of electromagnetic induction in 1831 made Sturgeon's research obsolete. In 1832, Sturgeon invented the electromagnetic rotary engine.
In 1836, Sturgeon founded England's first journal on electricity: "The Annals of Electricity". In 1837, he invented an electromagnetic coil machine that gave shocks. After 500 experiments with atmospheric electricity, he concluded that, in calm weather, the atmosphere charge is uniformly positive in relation to the earth, becoming increasingly positive with increased altitude.
At age fifty-seven Sturgeon left Woolwich but continued to give scientific lectures and experimental demonstrations in the Manchester area. He had an energetic lecturing style; most of his experiments were dramatic, and many were beautifully performed.
By 1845, at 62, Sturgeon's health was beginning to fail, but he continued his experiments on atmospheric electricity, and demonstrated his findings in several exhibits. In the last few weeks of his life, he completed his compilation of his writings on science, published in the volume: "Scientific Researches".
Extra Connections: Influenced by [influenced by] Dalton*.
Met US physicist [met] Joseph Henry*
Assessment: His discoveries led to major scientific developments such as the telegraph
Oneliner: William Sturgeon, inventor of the electromagnet Morse used
Bibliography:
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography.