Elihu Thomson

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

Early life He was born in Manchester, England, on March 29, 1853, but his family moved to Philadelphia in the United States in 1858. Thomson attended Central High School in Philadelphia and graduated in 1870. 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.

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. In 1892 the Thomson-Houston Electric Company merged with the Edison General Electric Company to become the General Electric Company.

The historian Thomas P. Hughes writes that Thomson "displayed methodological characteristics in the workshop and the laboratory as [an] inventor and in the business world as [an] entrepreneur. He also chose to solve problems in the rapidly expanding field of electric light and power." Thomson's name is further commemorated by the British Thomson-Houston Company (BTH), and the French companies Thomson SA (now Vantiva) and Alstom (formerly Alsthom).

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 Thomson-Houston Electric Company (his namesake company) to form General Electric in 1892, Thomson chose to keep his laboratory at Lynn, Massachusetts near Boston away from GE's New York headquarters to ensure his control over his research.

His second wife was Clarissa Hovey Thomson. Thomson, overcoming his distaste for management, accepted this role during a critical period for the university when it could not otherwise find a president.

On June 21, 1932, at age 79, Thomson was interviewed on film talking about his life and times.

Thomson died at his estate in Swampscott, Massachusetts. The Elihu Thomson House in Swampscott was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1976 and serves as Swampscott's town hall.

Patents Thomson held more than 700 patents. Thomson used his patents to bolster his company, Thomson-Houston Company, later 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

Awards and honors 1901: Rumford Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1909: AIEE Edison Medal of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers 1912: Elliott Cresson Medal of the Franklin Institute 1916: Hughes Medal of the Royal Society 1916: John Fritz Medal of the American Association of Engineering Societies 1923: Kelvin Gold Medal of the Institute of Civil Engineers 1925: Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute 1927: Faraday Medal of the Institution of Engineering and Technology 1930: Honorary member ASME (1930)

Thomson was the first recipient of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (now Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 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."; Thomson was also president of the organization from 1889–90. Near the end of his life, Thomson's second wife Clarissa Hovey Thomson is reported to have said that she had to carry a basket with her to carry all of Thomson's awards and honors.

In 1889, he was decorated by the French Government for his electrical inventions, being made Chevalier et Officier de la Légion d'honneur. 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.