Heinrich Daniel Rühmkorff (German: [ˈhaɪnʁɪç ˈdaːni̯ɛl ˈʁyːm.kɔʁf]; anglicized as Ruhmkorff; 15 January 1803 – 20 December 1877) was a German instrument maker who commercialised the induction coil (often referred to as the Ruhmkorff coil).

In 1855, he set up a shop in Paris, where he gained a reputation for the high quality of his electrical apparatus.

Ruhmkorff's first coil, which he patented in 1851, utilized long windings of copper wire to achieve a spark of approximately 2 inches (50 mm) in length.

In 1857, after examining a greatly improved version made by an American inventor, Edward Samuel Ritchie,[1][2] Ruhmkorff improved his design (as did other engineers), using glass insulation and other innovations to allow the production of sparks more than 30 centimetres long.

[3] Ruhmkorff patented the first version of his induction coil in 1851, and its success was such that in 1858 he becomes the first recipient of the Volta Prize, 50,000 French franc award by Napoleon III for one of the most important discoveries in the application of electricity.