ELIHU THOMSON

'Elihu Thomson' (March 29, 1853 – March 13, 1937) was an engineer and inventor who was instrumental in the founding of major electrical companies in the United States, United Kingdom and France.

Contents

Biography

Trivia

Patents

External links

See also

Biography

He was born in Manchester (England) on 29 March 1853, but his family moved to Philadelphia in 1858. By 1880 he established, with Edwin J. Houston, the Thomson-Houston Electric Company. In 1892 this merged with the Edison General Electric Company to become the General Electric Company. Thomson's name is further commemorated by the British Thomson-Houston Company (BTH), and the French companies Thomson and Alstom. His early companies are also involved in the history of The General Electric Company Limited (GEC) in Britain and the Compagnie Générale d'Electricité in France.
Thomson was a prolific inventor, being awarded over 700 patents. He was the first recipient of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers AIEE (now Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)) Edison Medal, bestowed upon him in 1909 "For meritorious achievement in electrical science, engineering and arts as exemplified in his contributions thereto during the past thirty years." Ironically, Thomson and Houston had been involved in a very public and acrimonious dispute with Edison in 1877-78 over etheric force.
He served as acting president of MIT in 1920.

Trivia

Thomson was one of the few pioneering physicists who were convinced of the dangers of X-Rays and radiation in a period where the subject was treated as a novelty in both science and popular culture, in blithe ignorance of health hazards. In 1896, Thomon deliberately exposed the little finger of his left hand to an x-ray tube for several days, half an hour per day. The resultant effects - pain, swelling, stiffness, erythema and blistering - were convincing for Thomson and others, but not for all. Many prominent physicians still denied that x-rays were in any way harmful, although oft times the denial was tempered by a qualification that the effects noted were attributable to misuse of the x-ray.

Patents

Thomson held more than 700 patents. Thomson used his patent in his company, Thomson-Houston Company, and later in General Electric.


★ ELECTRIC-ARC LAMP

★ ELECTRIC LAMP

★ ELECTRIC-ARC LAMP

★ REGULATOR FOR DYNAMO-ELECTRIC MACHINES

★ SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION

★ AUTOMATIC COMPENSATOR FOR MAGNETS

★ SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION

★ SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION

★ PROCESS OF ELECTRIC SOLDERING

★ METHOD OF ELECTRIC WELDING

★ ELECTRIC-ARC LAMP

★ MODE OF MAKING TOOLS

★ ELECTRIC-ARC LAMP

★ ELECTRIC-ARC LAMP

★ ELECTRIC SWITCH

★ ELECTRIC-LIGHTING SYSTEM

★ LIGHTNING-ARRESTER

★ REGULATOR FOR ELECTRIC GENERATORS

★ MODE OF COOLING ELECTRIC MOTORS

★ ELECTROSTATIC MOTOR

★ ELECTRICAL WELDING OF SHEET METAL

External links

★ IEEE Legacies

★ Elihu Thomson Papers

See also

★ Elihu Thomson House, Swampscott, Massachusetts