In 1824, an English engineer invented the first working electromagnet laying the foundation for modern electrical engineering

In 1824, an English engineer invented the first working electromagnet laying the foundation for modern electrical engineering. The engineer was William Sturgeon, an English electrical engineer and experimenter who developed a device that showed how electricity could be used to create and control magnetic force. The work is associated with 1824, when Sturgeon was working as a science lecturer. His first electromagnet was exhibited the following year, in 1825. The device used a horseshoe-shaped piece of soft iron wrapped with copper wire. When electricity passed through the wire, the iron became magnetized. When the current stopped, the magnet lost its magnetic effect. This principle became important for later developments in electrical engineering, electric motors, telegraph systems and other electrical devices.

William Sturgeon and the development of the electromagnet

William Sturgeon was born on May 22, 1783, in Whittington, Lancashire, England. He came from a working-class background and was the son of a shoemaker. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker but developed an interest in science.


Sturgeon was largely self-taught. He later served as a soldier and worked with the East India Company. He also became involved in teaching and scientific demonstrations. In 1824, he became a lecturer in science at the Royal Military College in Addiscombe, Surrey. During this period, he worked on electrical and magnetic experiments.

The discovery by Danish scientist Hans Christian Oersted in 1820 had shown a connection between electricity and magnetism. Oersted found that an electric current flowing through a wire could deflect a magnetic compass needle. Sturgeon worked on this relationship and developed a way to produce a magnetic force that could be controlled through electricity.

How Sturgeon's first electromagnet worked?

Sturgeon's first working electromagnet used a U-shaped or horseshoe-shaped soft iron core. He wrapped the iron core with about 18 turns of copper wire. The wire was not insulated in the way modern electrical wire is. Sturgeon used a varnish coating on the iron core to prevent the wire from making direct electrical contact with the metal.

The wire was connected to a single-cell voltaic battery. When current passed through the wire, the iron core became magnetized. When the electrical current was stopped, the magnetic force disappeared.

This gave the device a function that a permanent magnet did not have. Its magnetic force could be controlled by controlling the flow of electricity. The horseshoe shape also brought the two magnetic poles closer together. This concentrated the magnetic force and allowed the electromagnet to produce a strong pull.

Sturgeon's device weighed about 7 ounces, or 200 grams. Despite this, it could lift about 9 pounds, or 4 kilograms, of iron using current from a single-cell battery. This demonstration showed that electrical energy could produce mechanical force.

Why the 1824 electromagnet mattered?

The main change introduced by the electromagnet was control. A permanent magnet produces magnetic force without needing an electrical supply. Sturgeon's electromagnet worked differently. Its magnetic force depended on the electric current.

The magnet could therefore be switched on and off. Its force could also be changed by changing the amount of current. This established an important principle for electrical engineering. Electrical energy could be used to produce a magnetic force and then use that force to perform work.

The invention helped demonstrate that electricity could be used not only for experiments but also for machines and systems. The electromagnet later became part of technologies that used electrical signals to create movement, sound or mechanical action.

From the electromagnet to the electric motor

Sturgeon continued working on electrical devices after developing the electromagnet. In 1832, he built a rotary direct-current electric motor. The motor could turn a fireplace spit. It was an early demonstration of how electrical energy could be converted into mechanical rotation. He also invented the commutator.

A commutator helps reverse the direction of current in an electric motor. This allows the motor to continue producing torque and rotation. The electromagnet therefore became connected with the development of electric motors. The basic idea was to use electrical current to create magnetic forces that could produce movement. Sturgeon's work became part of the development of electrical machines.

The connection with the telegraph

The electromagnet also became important for telecommunications. American inventor Joseph Henry developed a more powerful electromagnet about five years after Sturgeon's work. Henry showed that an electrical current could travel over a long wire and activate an electromagnet.

He sent current over more than one mile of wire. The electromagnet then caused a bell to strike. This demonstrated how an electrical signal could be transmitted over a distance and converted into mechanical action. The principle became part of the development of the electric telegraph and later communication systems.

Sturgeon's other electrical work

Sturgeon continued experimenting with electricity and magnetism throughout his life. In 1836, he developed the first suspended-coil galvanometer. A galvanometer is used to detect or measure electrical current. The same year, he founded the journal Annals of Electricity. The publication focused on electricity and related scientific subjects. Sturgeon also helped establish the Electrical Society of London.

He worked on improvements to voltaic batteries. His work focused on increasing their useful life and output. He also studied thermoelectricity. Sturgeon carried out more than 500 kite observations related to atmospheric electricity. His observations led him to conclude that, in calm weather, the atmosphere was positively charged compared with the Earth and that the positive charge increased with altitude.

His work in science education

Sturgeon also worked as a lecturer and scientific demonstrator. He was selected to lead the Adelaide Gallery of Practical Science in London. The institution was intended to provide science education to adults. Later, he moved to Manchester and worked at the Royal Victoria Gallery of Practical Science. The institution also struggled financially.

One of the students influenced by Sturgeon's work was James Joule. Sturgeon tried to earn money through lectures and demonstrations. However, the institutions he worked with did not remain financially successful. His journal also faced financial problems because it did not attract enough subscribers.

Why William Sturgeon became less known?

Sturgeon's contribution to electrical science was not given the same attention as the work of some other scientists. He worked mainly as a demonstrator, lecturer and practical experimenter rather than as a university-based academic scientist.

The scientific institutions of the period gave more recognition to researchers working within established academic circles. Practical electricians and demonstrators were often treated differently.

Sturgeon's journal was viewed by some as a trade publication rather than an academic scientific journal. As a result, his contribution to electromagnetism became less visible in later accounts of electrical science.

Silvanus P. Thompson later wrote about Sturgeon and included an 1825 engraving of the horseshoe electromagnet in his 1891 book The Electromagnet, and Electromagnetic Mechanism. The book also included a biography of Sturgeon. James Joule wrote a remembrance of Sturgeon in 1857.

Sturgeon's final years

Sturgeon continued working despite financial problems. He moved to Manchester in 1840 to work at the Victoria Gallery of Practical Science. The project failed four years later. After that, he continued earning money through lectures and demonstrations.

His financial situation remained difficult. His friends helped him obtain a small pension. In 1850, he began publishing a collection of his experimental work. The collection covered electricity, magnetism, galvanism, electromagnetism and electrochemistry.

Sturgeon died on December 4, 1850, in Manchester. The collection was completed and published in bound form in 1852 under the title Scientific Researches, Experimental and Theoretical: in Electricity, Magnetism, Galvanism, Electro-Magnetism, and Electro-Chemistry.

Why the electromagnet remains important?

The first working electromagnet demonstrated that magnetic force could be produced and controlled through electricity. Its basic principle remains part of modern technology. Electromagnets are used in electric motors and generators. They are also used in loudspeakers, industrial lifting equipment and other electrical systems. The same relationship between electricity and magnetism is also important in technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI.

Sturgeon's invention did not create modern electrical engineering on its own. However, it demonstrated a principle that became necessary for many later technologies. His 1824 work, followed by the 1825 exhibition of the device, showed that an electric current could produce a controllable magnetic force. That demonstration helped connect electrical energy with mechanical work and became part of the development of electrical engineering.