The electrician who repaired Hjorth’s machine, introduced him to the president of the French Société d’Encouragement, who had proposed a competition for electrical machines, and had offered a prize of 3000 fr. for a machine, complying with the conditions given. Hjorth’s machine was sent to the society, but he did not succeed in obtaining the prize, which was awarded to the subsequently so famous »Alliance« machine. On the 7th of July, Hjorth, probably prompted by his partner, obtained an audience of Emperor Napoleon III. After he had demonstrated his invention, and shown the letter from Professor Morse, the Emperor asked him what he could do for him, and Hjorth answered that his highest desire was to have a larger machine built, and he requested the Emperor’s protection and assistance, in order to accomplish this. The Emperor ordered an examination of the machine to be made. The well-known Professor Jamin was retained as an expert, and Hjorth demonstrated the machine before him. On the following day it was examined, in the presence of Hjorth and his partner, by Jamin and other men of science. They subsequently had the machine sent to the exposition, where they measured the voltage and intensity of current, and expressed their satisfaction, as to the results attained. Nevertheless Hjorth was disappointed to receive, the next day, through the representative of the Emperor, General Favé, a communication that the subvention applied for could not be granted.
At the exposition, a great sensation was created by a dynamo exhibited by Ladd. This machine had two electro-magnets and two armatures, the current being directed from the smaller armature round the electro-magnets and taken from the larger armature to the exterior circuit, lights for instance. Thus the machine was evidently built according to the dynamo principle.
In order to claim his right of priority to this principle, Hjorth went to the prominent authority on physics, Count Th. du Moncel, who later on became the editor of »La lumière électrique«. As Hjorth himself did not know French, the interview probably took place through his partner. About this, Moncel writes in the above mentioned periodical, in 1883, that Hjorth’s representative was not very conversant with electrical matters; therefore he was unable to express himself clearly, and consequently Hjorth’s rights of priority were not acknowledged.
Having received the Emperor’s refusal, Hjorth went home, broken down by illness and disappointments.
In 1868-69 Hjorth, due to the interest taken in his case by the manufacturer Mr. Kähler, succeeded in having a small machine built in this gentleman’s shop in Korsør. At the same time, a larger machine was made in Copenhagen, the necessary funds being contributed by several country gentlemen and merchants interested in the case. Finally, in December, 1868, a body of prominent men addressed the government, petitioning a subvention of 15,000 rixdollars to be given to Hjorth, in order to enable him to build a new and larger machine. As the Ministry was not inclined to grant a sum of this size, it proposed to grant 1000 rixdollars, in order to have the existing machines examined by Professor Hummel and other experts. This proposition was accepted by Hjorth, and a commission was formed, consisting of Professor Hummel, assisted by Professor Holten, Instructor Lorenz and Winstrup, a mechanic. As early as December, 1868, Professor Hummel, together with head-master Ibsen from Sorø, had visited dyer Gülich of Christianshavn, where one of the machines was located, and they made a few tests, which Hummel himself did not consider to be of any importance. The experiments were to be made in April, 1869, after an assistant had made a preliminary experiment, but then Kähler reported that he had taken the machine apart, in order to make an alteration therein, and that this would take a couple of months. It appears, from a letter from Hjorth to the Ministry of the Interior, that Hjorth had arrived at the conclusion that he must resort to the use of electro-magnets, to a certain extent, at least, on account of »the steel, by continued use, losing part of its magnetic power, which necessitates its being re-magnetized«, and partly because »it appears that electro-magnets may be made to yield a considerably larger magnetic power than steel magnets, by means of the electrical current induced thereby«. As this change to the dynamo principle was estimated to cost 400 rixdollars, Hjorth was informed, in April 1869, that this amount would be paid out of the sum, granted for the experiments, when the smaller machine had been re-built.
Hjorth’s answer to this was a petition that the 400 rixdollars might be spent on any battery, which he might build. Hereafter the case died out. His petition was not answered until in April 1870, and the answer was a refusal.—At that time Hjorth was in delicate health, and his energy had been broken, and a few month’s afterwards he died, on the 28th of August, 1870. He was survived by his wife, who died on the 30th of September 1885.
This indefatigable worker did not succeed in seeing or reaping the harvest of his work for the utilization of electricity,—perhaps his aim had been too high. At a period when in all countries stone was added to stone in the foundation now supporting electrical engineering, we Danes have also made our contribution. Hjorth did not possess the profound knowledge nor the sharper insight necessary in order to avoid errors, but his perseverance, his industry, and his sacrifices, ought to be acknowledged, and his name ought to be venerated on account of his contributions to the development of electric machinery.
SOURCES.
After Hjorth’s death, few knew that he had discovered the dynamo principle. If Hjorth himself had understood the importance of this discovery, and the magnitude of the revolutions to be caused thereby, he would undoubtedly have endeavoured to propagate the knowledge thereof. It was not until 1879, when Colonel Bolton read a paper before the Society of Telegraph Engineers in London, that Hjorth’s patent No. 2198, of 1854, was again brought out of oblivion, and accompanied by these words: »This appears to involve the principle which was later on taken up by others«. Count du Moncel, who had received Hjorth’s representative in 1867, when reading these words, was reminded of the case. Thereafter he has given Hjorth a fair redress in the above-cited article in the valuable periodical »La lumière électrique«, edited by him, the heading being »The Actual Inventor of the Principle of the Dynamo-Electric Machine«.
Among the few printed sources of information concerning Søren Hjorth and his inventions, the following may also be mentioned: