William Sturgeon

William Sturgeon ( May 22nd 1783 in Whittington, Lancashire, † December 4, 1850 in Prestwich ) was an English physicist and inventor who created the first electromagnets.

Life

Sturgeon was born in Whittington ( Lancashire ) and went to a shoemaker in teaching. He joined the Army in 1802 and learned through self-study mathematics and physics. In 1824 he became a lecturer at the Royal Military College at Addiscombe ( Surrey ); the following year he presented his first electromagnet.

In 1832 he was recruited by the Adelaide Gallery of Practical Science. In 1836 he founded the Annals of Electricity, and the same year he invented a galvanometer.

In 1840 he became superintendent of the Royal Victoria Gallery of Practical Science in Manchester, which was closed in 1842. He died on December 4, 1850 in Prestwich.