Apart from a small number of connoisseurs, the name of Josef Russell is mostly unknown. And it's a shame because he was an extremely talented man. At one 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 misfortune.
Josef Ludwig Franz Resel was born in 1793 in Hrudim, Czech Republic.
After studying forestry in Vienna, where he had already designed a propeller in 1812, Resel was given the position of forester in Pleterje, Slovenia. He was a supporter of sustainability and encouraged the afforestation of rocky areas.
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, Resel 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 its 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 hand-guided propeller, and in 1827 he received a patent for it for two years.
The experimental ship "Civetta" with a steam engine of 6 hp 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 had no understanding for his work, on a trip to Paris Resel, without any profit, ceded 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 died almost anonymously in 1857, as a forestry officer in Ljubljana, and it was not until 1863 that he was rehabilitated by Emperor Franz Joseph, awarding him the 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 1966 shilling banknote.
e da nije bilo ratova danas bi verovatno vec putovali na druge svetove izvan naseg suncevog sistema, zlatno doba uspona inzenjerstva