When you think about the great inventors of history, a few names come up: Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Thomas Edison. Few of the “best of” lists include one of the greatest, however. His name was Ivan Kulibin, and he may have been the first inventor of the elevator.
Though not very well known (even among Russians), Ivan Kulibin was a true Renaissance man. Like da Vinci, some of his ideas have been developed into modern analogues in machine-building, medicine, and building.
Personally, I found one of his inventions to be an inspiration for a plot point in book 4. Read on to find out how exactly.
Here are seven of the most surprising inventions of this Russian da Vinci (the original article in Russian can be found here).
The “Water-walker”
In 1804, Kulibin built a “water-walker,” a motorized boat that could travel up the current. He first had his idea in childhood—as a child, he was moved by the heaviness of the labor of the Volga barge-men. From that moment in childhood, he dreamed of creating something that would make their life easier.
The Arched Bridge
Kulibin designed a wooden one-arch bridge to cross the Neva river, spanning 298 meter (instead of the usual 50-60 meter spans), using an originally-invented girder with a cross grate. A 1/10thsize model was successfully tested in the Tavrichesky Garden. He even drew up designs for some of the earliest metal arched bridges in existence. However, his projects were ultimately rejected by the government.
A Self-driving carriage
In 1791, Kulibin designed and built a carriage that was powered by a person pushing on pedals, instead of a horse. More than that, he even designed it a gearbox, breaks, and a flyweheel. The Kilibin three-wheel self-driving carriage was a precursor to the first automobile of Karl Benz.
The First Elevator
This elevator was invented for Catherine II personally. It was a small chair that rose up and down on winches and was used both as a source of the court’s entertainment as well as the empress’s personal comfort.
Prosthetics
Kulibin perfected the system of prosthesis making. He created a “mechanical leg” for Lieutenant Sergei Nepeitsyn, who had lost his leg at war. From that point, Nepeitsyn was nicknamed “metal leg,” while Kulibin’s design found wide distribution later in France when an entrepreneur found and developed Kulibin’s design.
A Clock Inside an Easter Egg
In 1764-1767, Kulibin created a unique clock that he believed to be worthy of the attention of the empress herself. The clock’s case was a golden Easter egg. The master clockmaker built into it a watch mechanism and a chiming mechanism, as well as an automated “theater-scene”. Every hour, tiny figurines of the Myrrh-bearing Women and an angel played out the scene at the Tomb to the chiming of “Christ is Risen.” To put it together, Kulibin needed 427 details and five years of work.
This video shows the egg on display in the Hermitage (you can still enjoy the artistry, even if you don’t understand Russian).
This egg, its intricacy, and especially the automated theater scene gave me an idea. The egg traditionally has been used as a symbol for life or the creation of the world in general. The idea shows up often in fairy tales, in particular in the theme of Koschei the Deathless’s “death in an egg.” In book 4, I’m exploring the idea of an “egg reality,” separate from the “real world,” where some of teh characters have been hidden for their protection.
Coming out of the egg for one of the characters is a traumatic experience that propels the plot forward. But to say more would be telling. Book 4 is coming soon!
Just for fun, here’s a bonus! Enter your email and I’ll send you a short story of my own. “The Erestuna” is a comic fantasy short about a hapless seminarian, a possibly predatory mermaid, and a bunch of crazy Cossacks.