Edward Weston

Edward Weston (May 9, 1850 – August 20, 1936) was an English-born American chemist and engineer noted for his achievements in electroplating and his development of the electrochemical cell, named the Weston cell, for the voltage standard.

Biography Born in Oswestry, Shropshire, England, in 1850 to a merchant family, Weston originally studied medicine but soon became interested in chemistry. Weston was president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers from 1888-89.

He developed two alloys, constantan and manganin. Weston conceived of and built a magnetic speedometer. Weston also developed the dashboard ammeter for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Also in 1888, Weston became president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) until 1889.

Weston invented and patented the saturated cadmium cell in 1893.

Patents (selected list)

, "Voltaic cell"

Weston's son Edward Faraday Weston (1878–1971) received several patents regarding exposure meters, also manufactured by the Weston Electrical Instrument Corporation and widely distributed since the 1930s, and established the system of the Weston film speed ratings for the measurement of film speeds.