William Sturgeon demonstrates the first commutator DC electric motor

Background. William Sturgeon was an English electrical engineer and inventor who made the first electromagnet and the first practical electric motor. Born on 22 May 1783 in Whittington, near Carnforth, Lancashire, he was apprenticed to a shoemaker and later joined the army in 1802, where he taught himself mathematics and physics.

Demonstration. In 1832, Sturgeon was appointed to the lecturing staff of the Adelaide Gallery of Practical Science in London. It was at this institution that he first demonstrated the DC electric motor incorporating a commutator. This demonstration established his reputation as the inventor of the first practical electric motor capable of turning machinery.

Commutator. A commutator is a rotary electrical switch that periodically reverses the current direction between the rotor and the external circuit. In DC motors, the commutator applies electric current to the windings. Sturgeon's motor utilized this mechanism, which is essential for the operation of direct current machines, distinguishing it from alternating current motors.