Apart from a small number of connoisseurs, the name of Josef Russell is mostly unknown. And it's a pity because he was an extremely talented man. In their time, they considered him a bit unusual, and today we can say with certainty - he was a genius! Unfortunately, his most famous invention - the ship's propeller, only brought him an accident.
Josef Ludwig Franz Resel was born in 1793 in Hrudim, Czech Republic.
After studying forestry in Vienna, where he made a draft of a propeller in 1812, Russell got a job as a forester in Pleterje, Slovenia. He was a supporter of sustainability and encouraged the afforestation of rocky landscapes.
In 1821, he was appointed imperial coastal forestry intendant in Trieste - he was in charge of supplying wood to the new imperial navy and proposed many innovations.
The inventor of the propeller
The student idea did not leave him. In his spare time, Russell continued to work on his invention. In Kostajnica, on the river Krka, he tested his ship's propeller for the first time.
It is believed that the first draft of the propeller was made by the ancient Greek mathematician, physicist and astronomer Archimedes, but Russell perfected the invention and put it into practice for the first time in history.
In the port city of Trieste, Resela has the opportunity to develop his models in practice. However, he encountered strong resistance from shipowners who still considered the best propulsion to be the sail or blades of the ship.
After several attempts, Russell succeeded in starting a manually guided propeller, and in 1827 he received a patent for it for two years.
The experimental ship "Civetta" with a steam engine of 6 PS was built in Trieste, which sailed on July 1, 1829 and thus became the first ship in the world launched in this way. It reached a speed of 6 knots, before one pipe of the steam engine burst. The explosion that occurred on the ship had nothing to do with Russell's propeller, but many believed it did!
After the accident, the ship was not repaired, the police did not allow new experiments, and a long period of building a new vessel followed, which almost led to the bankruptcy of Resela!
Disappointed that the environment did not understand his work, on a trip to Paris, Russell, without any profit, gave in to the plans of his propeller, which then reached England and the whole world.
In 1852, he unjustly did not receive the English award intended for the inventor of the propeller, since the documents proving his patent were allegedly lost.
In addition to the ship's propeller, Josef Resel found a press for the production of wine and oil, as well as a ball bearing without lubrication, a compass and some other products.
A forgotten inventor
The propeller was perfected and came into everyday use in the 1980s. Unfortunately, Jozef Resel was not alive at the time.
Ressel passed away almost anonymously in 1857, as a forestry officer in Ljubljana, and it was not until 1863 that he was rehabilitated by Emperor Franz Joseph, giving him credit for his inventions.
Since then, in front of the building of the Technical Faculties in Vienna, in the park that bears his name, stands a monument to Josef Russell erected in his honor, and Russell and his ship "Civetta" were shown on a 500 shilling banknote from 1966.
Thank you @Snezana28
Was about an extremely talented man.