Mikhail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky was one of the first inventors in the field of electrical engineering, developing a method for transmitting electricity over long distances.

This talented engineer was born in 1861 into a large noble family. From a young age, he showed an interest in science and enrolled in the Riga Polytechnic Institute. However, due to his connections with an underground revolutionary group, he was expelled. Despite this, Dolivo-Dobrovolsky continued to study physics and successfully enrolled in the Darmstadt University of Technology.

In Germany, he conducted a series of complex scientific studies and became the head of the electrical engineering laboratory. Soon he was noticed by AEG, a company specializing in the production of electrical equipment.

While working at AEG, he created the three-phase current system and the asynchronous alternating current motor. These developments were first presented at the International Exhibition in 1891 in Frankfurt am Main.

At that time, the participants of the congress were amazed by the transmission of electricity over 170 km from Frankfurt am Main to Laufen. The simultaneous lighting of 1000 lamps made a huge impression on the public. The next day, the operation of the asynchronous motor, which powered a 10-meter artificial waterfall, sparked no less interest.

Some doubted the safety of such systems, although Dolivo-Dobrovolsky assured them of their reliability. He conducted an experiment: when the line was first energized, one of the wires was deliberately broken. Its exposed part fell to the ground with a bright flash, but Mikhail Osipovich, confident in the reliability of the protection, picked up the wire with his bare hands. After that, all doubts about the safety of the invention disappeared, and the Russian scientist became known worldwide.

Mikhail Osipovich passed away in 1919 in Heidelberg.