David Hughes: Difference between revisions
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Towards the end of 1877 he invented the | Towards the end of 1877 he invented the | ||
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[[Category: Biography]] | [[Category: Biography]] | ||
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[[Category: Deaths 1900-1909]] | [[Category: Deaths 1900-1909]] | ||
[[Category: Institution of Electrical Engineers]] | [[Category: Institution of Electrical Engineers]] | ||
Revision as of 14:18, 27 February 2016
David Hughes (1831-1900)
1931 Centenary of his Birth [1]
Born in London on May 16th, 1831, Hughes was taken to Virginia at the age of seven, and twelve years later was appointed Professor of Music at St. Joseph's College at Bardstown, Kentucky.
In 1852 he was devoting his spare time to inventing a printing telegraph instrument.
In 1854 he resigned his teaching appointments in order that he might devote himself entirely to this work, and a year later he had an instrument in successful operation.
When he returned to England in 1875 and settled down in London he was well on the way to making a large fortune out of his invention, and at the age of forty-four, with ample means at his disposal, found leisure for experimental research.
Towards the end of 1877 he invented the microphone, which was described in a paper read by Professor Huxley before the Royal Society on May 8th, 1878. Subsequently he invented an induction measuring balance, which was expected to prove useful in various ways, but, unlike his other two inventions, it was found to have a very limited field of application.
Some eight years before Hertz made known his experiments with electromagnetic waves, Hughes discovered that signals could be transmitted without wires over distances up to two or three hundred yards, and apparently he contemplated reading a paper on his discovery before the Royal Society. Unfortunately, however, the President of that Institution, Mr. Spottiswood, and two honorary secretaries, Professors Huxley and G. Stokes, opposed the idea, and the paper was never produced.
Hughes was elected a Fellow of the Society in 1880 and in 1885 was awarded its gold medal.
In 1886 he became President of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.
He died on January 22nd, 1900, leaving a large sum of money to hospitals and scientific bodies.