Who Invented the Electric Motor

Alicia Sánchez
Who invented the electric motor?
The invention of the electric motor is attributed to many different scientists, such as Alessandro
Volta, Istvan Jedlik, Andrew Gordon, Nikola Tesla, Andre-Marie Ampere, Michael Faraday, Hippolyte
Pixxii and Thomas Davenport. However, there are three main scientists whose names stand out as
the inventors of this useful artefact, they are, Istvan Jedlik, Michael Faraday and Thomas Davenport.
Istvan Jedlik invented the first rotating machine (1827-1828) that included a commutator and an
electromagnet. However, Jedlik’s invention didn’t contribute at all for the further developments of
the electric motor. Michael Faraday was an English chemist and physicist who created an electric
motor in 1921 by using a magnet and a wire carrying electrical current. Later in his life he discovered
induction and created a continuous current which led to the first generator (1831), this was used as
part of the electric motor. Finally, Thomas Davenport was an American scientist who thought of
using the brush and commutators (1834) as part of the electric motor and also discovered that he
could make the rotor complete a full turn by reversing the wires on one of the magnets.
The three of the scientists had total right to patent their invention of the electric motor, however, it
is still unclear which of them actually invented it. Another big issue is that, during that time, they had
to find ways to share the money and fame. Some people recognized Jedlik as the inventor simply
because he was the first one, however, his invention didn’t really lead to the electric motor we have
today, it was simply a machine that worked but it couldn’t be built upon. Fraday can’t really be said
to be the inventor of the electric motor because many people had already invented less successful
motors before him, however, his generator did make a lot of improvements to the machine. Thomas
Davenport tried to patent his machine in 1935, however, he couldn’t do it for the lack of money so
he wasn’t able to claim any control over his invention and nobody ever recognized him. This proves
that the two more famous inventors of the electric motors are Jedlik and Faraday.
In regards to money, Jedlik gained a lot of profit because he had the first rotating machine that
worked. However, as soon as someone made an improvement to his machine, he stopped gaining
money because his machine hadn´t contributed to the new electric motor. Faraday gained lots and
lots of money because his generator was completely revolutionary and almost all future electric
motors needed it so they had to buy the permission to use it. Finally, Dvaneport never achieved to
get a patent for his invention so he didn´t receive any money from the people that chose to use his
ideas. This proves that the scientist who gained most money was Faraday with his generator.
In conclusion, in my opinion, Michael Faraday should receive the credit for inventing the electric
motor due to the fact he is famous and gained the most amount of money. Furthermore, although
he wasn´t the first to create the electric motor, he produced a revolutionary machine that has been
used to develop the electric motor we have today. His efforts and achievements should definitely be
recognized.
Bibliography:
http://www.eti.kit.edu/english/1376.php
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/01/10-inventions-of-nikola-tesla-that.html
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfaraday.htm
Alicia Sánchez
http://www.edisontechcenter.org/DavenportThomas.html
http://www.kids.esdb.bg/faraday.html
http://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/famous-scientists/physicists/michael-faraday-info.htm