Thomas Davenport, inventor of the first American…
1834 CE
Born in Williamstown, Vermont, Davenport lives in Forest Dale, a village near the town of Brandon.
Davenport's 1833 visit to the Penfield and Taft iron works at Crown Point, New York, where an electromagnet was operating, based on the design of Joseph Henry, was an impetus for his electromagnetic undertakings.
Davenport had bought an electromagnet from the Crown Point factory and took it apart to see how it worked.
He forged a better iron core and redid the wiring, using silk from his wife's wedding gown.
As early as 1834, he develops a battery-powered electric motor.
He uses it to operate a small model car on a short section of track, paving the way for the later electrification of streetcars.
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