Moritz von Jacobi

In 1834, Jacobi developed the first practical electric motor featuring a rotating commutator, a landmark in early electromagnetism. Five years later, in 1839, he demonstrated electric propulsion by building a battery-powered boat that carried passengers across the Neva River in St. Petersburg.

Jacobi was born in Potsdam, Prussia, in 1801 but relocated to the Russian Empire, where he became a professor in St. Petersburg and conducted his most significant work. He is properly described as a German-Russian physicist and engineer, reflecting both his origins and his adopted homeland.

Yes, in 1839 Jacobi operated an electric boat powered by his motor and battery cells on the Neva River in St. Petersburg, carrying over a dozen passengers against the current. It is widely regarded as one of the earliest practical demonstrations of electric propulsion for transportation.

Jacobi is credited with developing the process of electrotyping, or galvanoplastics, in which metal objects are reproduced through electrodeposition. This technique, discovered in the late 1830s, had significant applications in printing, sculpture reproduction, and manufacturing throughout the 19th century.