The Electrobat was one of the first

electric automobile An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...

s. It was designed and built in 1894 by mechanical engineer Henry G. Morris and chemist Pedro G. Salom in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

History

Both Morris and Salom had backgrounds in battery streetcars and, as the battery streetcar business was fading, they teamed up to make battery road vehicles. Their effort called the Electrobat was patented on August 31, 1894. Built like a small version of a battery streetcar, it was a slow, heavy, impractical vehicle with steel tires to support the 1,600 pound immense weight of its large lead battery. Improved as the Electrobat II, it entered production in 1895. In 1896, the pair founded the Morris & Salom Electric Carriage and Wagon Company.

G.N. Georgano George Nicolas "Nick" Georgano (29 February 1932 – 22 October 2017Nick Georgano
Alvis Archive Bl ...

, ''Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930''. (London: Grange-Universal, 1985). Subsequent versions were lighter and had pneumatic tires, with bodies built at the Caffrey Carriage Company in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...

. These cars steered by their rear wheels and had two motors that propelled them per charge at . Morris and Salom went on to build about a dozen

Hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety ...

s based on this vehicle, to compete with the horse-drawn cabs then in service in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

; they operated in New York,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, and elsewhere. They sold the cabs and their concept to Isaac L. Rice, who reincorporated the enterprise as the

Electric Vehicle Company Electric Vehicle Company was an American automobile holding company and early pioneering manufacturer of automobiles. History The Electric Vehicle Company was founded September 27, 1897 as a holding company of battery-powered electric vehicle ...

(

Elizabethport, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

), in 1897, which later became part of

Albert Augustus Pope Albert Augustus Pope (May 20, 1843 – August 10, 1909) was a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in the Union Army. He was an importer, promoter, and manufacturer of bicycles, and a manufacturer of automobiles. Early life Pope was born on May 20, 184 ...

's empire. File:Morris & Salom 1895 Electrobat IV and Detroit Electric Brougham 1915.jpg, alt=, Morris & Salom 1895 Electrobat IV File:Electrobat Taxis on Manhattan 39th Street in 1898.jpg, alt=, Electrobat Taxis in Manhattan in 1898

References

{{Commons category, Electrobats Vehicles introduced in 1894 1890s cars Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Philadelphia Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Pennsylvania Highwheeler Electric vehicles introduced in the 19th century Electric vehicle manufacturers Veteran vehicles

History

See also

References