Technology and Engineering Atlas

How Things Are Built
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Engineer

Moritz von Jacobi

Also Known As Boris Semyonovich Yakobi · Moritz von Jacobi
Electrical Engineering

Moritz von Jacobi was a German-Russian electrical engineer and physicist who is usually credited with building, in May 1834, the first genuinely useful rotating electric motor, predating Thomas Davenport's independently developed and patented American motor by three years. Working at the Russian Academy of Sciences with the financial support of Tsar Nicholas I, Jacobi built a battery-powered electric boat that carried fourteen passengers against the current of the Neva River in 1839, discovered electrotyping (galvanoplastics) in 1838, and later formulated the maximum power transfer theorem that bears his name. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Birth Year
1801 1
Birth Date
1801-09-21 1
Death Year
1874 1
Death Date
1874-03-10 1
Nationality
German-Russian 1
Moritz von Jacobi
Filter Results3 entries
FAQs

What did Moritz von Jacobi build with an electric motor in 1839?

He built a 28-foot battery-powered motor boat that carried 14 passengers on the Neva at three miles per hour.

With the financial assistance of Tsar Nicholas I, Jacobi constructed in 1839 a 28-foot electric motor boat powered by battery cells. It carried 14 passengers on the Neva river against the current at three miles per hour. He had begun to study magnetic motors in 1834 and moved to Saint Petersburg in 1837 to research the use of electromagnetic forces for moving machines at the Russian Academy of Sciences. While studying the transfer of power from a battery to an electric motor he deduced the maximum power theorem.
Connections

Associated With

Built one of the first practical electric motors and pioneered electroplating.

In Field

Invented

Source Electric Motor (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Naval Mine, Inventions
Source Moritz von Jacobi (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors

Usually credited with building the first genuinely useful rotating electric motor in May 1834, three years before Thomas Davenport's independently developed and patented American motor.

Source Moritz von Jacobi (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
In the Other Atlases

Nationality

Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.

Sources
1. Moritz von Jacobi (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundation
  • Motors section
    With the financial assistance of Tsar Nicholas I, in 1839 Jacobi constructed a 28-foot electric motor boat powered by battery cells, which carried 14 passengers on the Neva river against the current at three miles per hour.
  • Invented: The Electric Motor
  • Invented: Naval Mine, Article body
    In 1853 Jacobi developed the Jacobi naval mine.
  • In Group: Power and Electrical Systems Engineers, Article body
    Moritz Hermann von Jacobi (German: [ˈmoːʁɪts fɔn jaˈkoːbi]; 21 September 1801-10 March 1874), also known as Boris Semyonovich Yakobi (Russian: Борис Семёнович Якоби), was a German-Russian electrical engineer and physicist. == Motors == Jacobi began to study magnetic motors in 1834.
View the Source
Electric Motor (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationInvented: Electric Motor, Article body
Quote, Invented: Electric Motor, Article body
After many other more or less successful attempts with relatively weak rotating and reciprocating apparatus German-Russian Moritz von Jacobi created the first real useful rotating electric motor in May 1834.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.