Elihu Thomson
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Elihu Thomson | |
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Elihu Thomson (March 29, 1853 – March 13, 1937) was an American
Early life
He was born in Manchester, England, on March 29, 1853, but his family moved to Philadelphia in the United States in 1858.[2] Thomson attended Central High School in Philadelphia and graduated in 1870.[3] Thomson took a teaching position at Central, and in 1876, at the age of twenty-three, held the chair of Chemistry. In 1880, he left Central to pursue research in the emerging field of electrical engineering.[1]
Electrical innovations
With Edwin J. Houston, a former teacher and later colleague of Thomson's at Central High School, Thomson founded the Thomson-Houston Electric Company. Notable inventions created by Thomson during this period include an arc-lighting system, an automatically regulated three-coil dynamo, a magnetic lightning arrester, and a local power transformer.[4] In 1892 the Thomson-Houston Electric Company merged with the Edison General Electric Company to become the General Electric Company.[5]
The historian
Thomson was notable both for his emphasis on models and for the singular focus with which he pursued his research, with Thomson referring to his workshop as a "model room" rather than a laboratory. Between 1880 and 1885, Thomson averaged twenty-one patent applications annually, doubling that average between 1885 and 1890.
Upon the merger of
Honors
Thomson was the first recipient of the
He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1876.[8]
In 1889 he was decorated by the French Government for his electrical inventions, being made Chevalier et Officier de la Légion d'honneur.[1] He received the honorary degree of A.M. from Yale (1890). Tufts College in 1892 gave him the degree of Ph.D., and in 1899 he received a D.Sc. from Harvard.[1]
Later life
He was a founding member, as well as the second president, of the International Electrotechnical Commission.
He served as acting president of
On June 21, 1932, at age 79, Thomson was interviewed on film talking about his life and times.[10]
Thomson died at his estate in
Patents
Thomson held more than 700 patents. Thomson used his patents to bolster his company, Thomson-Houston Company, later General Electric.
- U.S. patent 261,790 Electric-Arc Lamp
- U.S. patent 283,437 Electric Lamp
- U.S. patent 297,200 Electric-Arc Lamp
- U.S. patent 302,963 Regulator For Dynamo-Electric Machines
- U.S. patent 335,159 System Of Electric Distribution
- U.S. patent 350,956 Automatic Compensator For Magnets
- U.S. patent 367,469 System Of Electric Distribution
- U.S. patent 360,122 System Of Electric Distribution
- U.S. patent 403,707 Process Of Electric Soldering
- U.S. patent 451,345 Method Of Electric Welding
- U.S. patent 461,144 Electric-Arc Lamp
- U.S. patent 461,856 Mode Of Making Tools
- U.S. patent 478,145 Electric-Arc Lamp
- U.S. patent 488,585 Electric-Arc Lamp
- U.S. patent 500,629 Electric Switch
- U.S. patent 508,647 Electric-Lighting System
- U.S. patent 501,114 Lightning-Arrester
- U.S. patent 502,788 Regulator For Electric Generators
- U.S. patent 518,291 Mode Of Cooling Electric Motors
- U.S. patent 735,621 Electrostatic Motor
- U.S. patent 1,078,225 Electrical Welding Of Sheet Metal
Personal life
He married Mary Louise Peck (born: June 1, 1856 in New Britain, Hartford County, Connecticut) on May 1, 1884.
Children
- Stuart Thomson b: August 13, 1886
- Roland Davis Thomson b: June 17, 1888
- Malcolm Thomson b.: August 30, 1891
- Donald Thurston Thomson b.: April 10, 1893[11]
His second wife was Clarissa Hovey Thomson.[5]
See also
- Electricity meter
- Electromagnetic propulsion
- Electronic oscillator
- Negative resistance
- Repulsion motor
- Shaded-pole motor
- Tesla coil
- Three-phase electric power
- Welding
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Elihu Thomson - Engineering and Technology History Wiki". www.ieeeghn.org. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ James Sheire (July 30, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Elihu Thomson House / Elihu Thomson Administration Building" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) and Accompanying one photo, exterior, from 1975 (301 KB) - ^ Man Born in 1853 Talks About Childhood in the 1860s: Filmed in 1932 - Restored Video and Audio, retrieved March 28, 2022
- ^ a b "Elihu Thomson Eightieth Birthday Celebration at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology" (The Technology Press: 29 March 1933)
- ^ a b c Fitti, Charles J., "Elihu Thomson", APS Library Bulletin, Winter 2001.
- ^ a b Hughes, Thomas "American Genesis" (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2004).
- ^ "Presidents of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE)". IEEE Global History Network. IEEE. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
- ^ Elihu Thomson Papers, American Philosophical Society
- ^ "Man Born in 1853 Talks About Childhood in the 1860s: Filmed in 1932 - Restored Video and Audio". Life in the 1800s. March 19, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- ^ "Camp Family Database". Wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
References
- Carlson, W. Bernard. Innovation as a Social Process: Elihu Thomson and the Rise of General Electric, 1870-1900 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991).
- Haney, John L. The Elihu Thomson Collection American Philosophical Society Yearbook 1944.
- Hughes, Thomas "American Genesis" (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2004).
- Thomson, Elihu. Address by Elihu Thomson on Physics in the Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 48th Meeting August, 1899.
- Woodbury, David O. Elihu Thomson, Beloved Scientist (Boston: Museum of Science, 1944)
External links
Works by or about Elihu Thomson at Wikisource- Elihu Thomson Papers
- Elihu Thomson in Open Library
- Elihu Thomson recounts his childhood (June 21, 1932) - Youtube video
