Electric On Wheels Online electric car information website

Electric Car Timeline

1834 Thomas Davenport

Illustration of Davenport and Smalley's electromagnetic engine as drawn by Turner in 1834 from Franklin Leonard Pope, "The Inventors of the Electric Motor-II., The Electrical Engineer 11 (14 January 1891): 35. Courtesy of Henry Paynter.

In December of 1833, Thomas Davenport purchased a large, battery-powered, electromagnet at the Penfield Iron Works at Crown Point, New York, where this newly developed invention was being used to separate iron ore. For the next several months, he and Orange Smalley worked together in Smalley's shop on experiments in electromagnetism. By the summer of 1834, they succeeded in producing rotary motion.

After refining the machine, Davenport and Smalley demonstrated their "electromagnetic engine" to Professor Turner of Middlebury College at Middlebury, Vermont, in December of 1834. In a handwritten note of January 5, 1835, Professor Turner described "Davenport and Smalley's Specification of their Invention of an Electro-Magnetic Machine." His description of the invention was illustrated with the drawing shown above. You can read more on Thomas Davenport here.

1838 Robert Davidson

Between 1832 and 1839 (the exact year is uncertain), Robert Anderson of Scotland invented the first crude electric carriage.

1851 Charles B. Page

1852-1966 Studebaker

Studebaker produced its first salable automobile, an electric, in 1902. It entered the gasoline automobile business in 1904. In late 1910, Studebaker mergered with EMF Corp. to form Studebaker Corp. In 1915, the first non-family member, Albert R, Erskine, became president of the corporation. During this period, Studebakers was, except for Ford, amoung the largest producers of automobiles in the country. Sales increases continued at a steady clip until the stock market crash of 1929.

Erskine felt that the depression would be short lived, so he continued to distribute large dividends. Erskine's misjudgement led Studebaker into recievership in 1933.Two resourceful Studebaker executives, Paul G, Hoffman and Harold S, Vance, pulled things together and saved the company. Hoffman and Vance guided the company through the depression and introduced the successful Champion model. They were still directing the company in 1945, when automobile production resumed.

Hoffman was president and Vance acted as Chairman of the board. Both men were responsible for Studebaker becoming the first established American automobile company to introduce a new postwar styling. A stlylish new car and a seller's market helped Studebaker establish new sales and profit records during the late 40's.

Although Studebaker's image seemed rosey, it was during this period that the seeds of the company's eventual undoing were taking root. A pampered work force and many outdated buildings resulted in poor productivity and high overhead. When the seller's market became the buyer's market, in the early 50's, these problems started to eat away at the profits. If the company had fed more profits back into plant improvements and taken a hard labor strike, things would have been much better. By 1953, the automobile division was operating in the red. Hoffman, who had left in 1948 to take a goverment position, returned in 1953. Neither him nor Vance could stop the flow of red ink.

Low slung new styling in 1953, a takeover by Packard in 1954, and help from Curtis-Wright in 1956, just prolonged what most insiders felt was a hopeless cause. The formation of Studebaker-Packard Corp. brought in James Nance as chief execustive officer. Two years later, under the guidance of Curtis-Wright, Harold Churchill was selected as Studebaker-Packard's new president. This was a wise choice. Churchill an engineer, was a loyal Studebaker man who had been with the corporation since 1926. He was determined to see to it that the company survived.

In late 1958 Churchill introduced the Lark. This first compact car proved to be a big success during it's first year. Chuchill wanted to use the 1959 profits to keep Studebaker in the forefront of small car development. However the board of directors prefered using most of the profits for diversification. This difference of opinon resulted in the early 1961 replacement of Churchill with Sherwood Egbert.

Egbert working within the constrictions of the board, also hoped to save the automobile division. His efforts fostered the creation of the Gran Turismo Hawk and the Avanti. Egbert's achievements, although commendable, did not help Studebaker's position. It was again on the negitive side of the profit scale. The Packard name was dropped in 1962.

In late 1963, Egbert stepped down because of failing health. Studebakers directors voted to close down most of the South Bend, INd. facility. Production was then centralized at the Hamilton plant, in Ontario, Canada. President of the Hamilton divison was Gordon Grundy. He tried his best to operate the facility in the black. He did manage make small profits, but not enough to satisfy the board of directors. Because of the boards dissatisfaction, the Canadian plant was closed in March 1966. By early 1966, the corporation's other diversified holdings, including STP, represented a majority of Studebaker sales.

These other companies kept Studebaker going. In mid 1967, the Studebaker Corp. purchased the Wagner Electric Corp. and in November 1967 Studebaker combined with the Worthington Corp. to form Studebaker-Worthington. In the fall of 1979, the Studebaker-Worthington Corp. was absorbed by the smaller McGraw-Edison Co. of Illinois. Cooper Industries took over McGraw-Edison in 1985.

1881-1906 Jeantaud

The Jeantaud was a French automobile manufactured in Paris from 1893 until 1906. It was the brainchild of Charles Jeantaud, a coachbuilder who built his first electric carriage in 1881.

Among the vehicles he constructed was the first car to set a land speed record (39.24 mph (63.15 km/h), driven by Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat), as well as coupes and hansom cabs; in these the driver sat high, and to the rear.

Some cars had an unusual bevel-gear front-wheel-drive layout. From 1902 to 1904, Jeantaud offered a range of gas-engined cars similar to 1898 Panhards.

1888 Fred Kimball

Philip W. Pratt demonstrates the very first American electric tricycle.

Pratt’s e-trike was built for him by Fred M. Kimball of, naturally, the Fred M. Kimball Company. Pratt took the editor of Modern Light and Heat for a spin around Winthrop Square (above) in Boston.

The vehicle’s 10 lead-acid cells pushed about 20 volts to a 0.5 horsepower DC motor. The whole setup weighed about 300 pounds.

The driver sat above the battery assemblage. Top speed: 8 miles an hour.

We don’t have any bystander accounts of that moment, but the mechanically propelled vehicle probably caused quite a scene.

The driver would have had to carefully navigate around horses and people to avoid sending them into a panic. In many locales, early automobilists had to stop their engines and pull over to let horses pass. The beasts regarded these new vehicles with intense suspicion and had the nasty habit of rearing and running in their presence.

William Morrison 1890

William Morrison Born in Scotland Morrison arrived in Des Moines in 1880 as a chemist. In 1887 he made an unsuccessful attempt to build a car but the center-pivot steering didn't work. He then commissioned a fringe top surrey from the Des Moines Buggy Company, that he electrified in September of 1890, to demonstrate his new battery (patented 1891 With L. Schmidt). It may have been the first land vehicle steered with a wheel, and featured his patented rack and pinion steering gear (Immisch may have done both a year earlier). Watchmaker Dr. Lew Arntz did the mechanical modifications. Powered by 24 of his lead-acid storage cells (48 Volts) with 112 Ampere-hours capacity it weighed two tons. A spur gear on a four horse-power Siemens trolley-car motor, that Morrison rewound to work at a lower voltage more practical for battery application (about 15% of trolley car voltage), this drove a large ring gear on the right rear wheel. This car became very influential when the American Battery Company of Chicago purchased it for $3,600 to demonstrate their commercial version of the Morrison battery at the 1893 World's Columbian Exhibition. At the fair almost everyone who would be influential in early motoring history saw the carriage. ABC Secretary Harold Sturges replaced the rear seat with a larger battery, installed a different motor, and entered it in the Chicago race on Thanksgiving Day 1895. Due to five inches of fresh snow on the roads the car had little chance, the motor overheated in the first ten miles. The race version weighed 3,535 lbs. Major George Tyler Burroughs VP of ABC estimated that between Morrison and American Battery more than $20,000 had been invested in the car, all though he felt that production cost would be about $1,000 per car. The car was last seen in Kansas City MO. Morrison further developed batteries at the Vesta Accumulator Co., and in the summer of 1897 Sturges went to the Klondike to search for gold.

Moritz Immisch 1894 19970

Immisch Motor Immisch & Company built a four-passenger carriage, powered by a one-horsepower motor and 24-cell battery, for the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. In the same year, Magnus Volk in Brighton, England made a three-wheeled electric car.

Originally he had started by making his name among the chief watch and clock manufacturers, and in 1872 had won the baroness Burdett-Coutts's prize for a thesis on the isochronism of the balance spring. Entitled "The Balance Spring" the thesis was subsequently published in book form. Moritz Immisch's talented mind, however, was neither fully occupied nor stretched in this limited work. Like others with great skill in instrument making, he became enthused by the opportunities presented by the new discoveries in electricity. It was thus his experiments in electricity, magnetism and general physics which soon attracted friends and capital.

Magnus Volk About 1880 he entered into a business partnership with fellow-countryman Fritz Hubel, along with several British backers who found the necessary capital to extend the scope of his experiments. A small electrical works were opened at Malden Crescent, Kentish Town, and the "Immisch Motor" was gradually evolved, and won medals at the Inventions Exhibition of 1885, the Antwerp International Exposition of the same year, and at various subsequent exhibitions. From thence to 1891 the firm seemed on the high road to success. The works were full of pioneer orders for dynamos and motors for use in running plant machinery for electric light, power transmission, pumping and hauling in mines, electric trams, electric launches, etc.

At this point it should be mentioned that Immisch's increasing reputation led to numerous people seeking his advice. Among those were Magnus Volk and the future Earl of Albermarle. Magnus Volk sought his views and advice over experiments to create an electric horseless carriage in 1887. (Earlier in 1883 Volk had received acclaim for building an electric railway along the sea front at Brighton). By contrast Viscount Bury, son and heir of the 7th Earl of Albemarle, contacted Immisch over experiments with electric trams and launches. (It is perhaps interesting to note: while Immisch, Hubel and Volk were originally from Germany, Viscount Bury's (Van Keppel) family were originally Dutch, arriving in England in 1688.)

If you have information regarding a electric vehicle event please send it by email here please.