Sprague perfected the electric motor, electric streetcar, and electric elevator. In doing so, he changed the world. But he’s almost unknown among American inventors.
Another forgotten inventor was Henry Ellis Warren. An 1885 Electrical Engineer MIT grad, alongside Alfred P. Sloan, Warren made the national electric grid work together.
Warren, first with the Warren Gear company, and then Warren Clock company, invented the first self starting induction and synchronous motor. His invention, essentially a steel circle with a bar across the middle.
Warren, having earlier been a partner in Lomabard Governor company, measured that Boston Ed generators were not keeping accurate and stable 60 cycles per second. He invented the Master clock and showed the generators how to keep adjustments to maintain precise 60hz.
I have Henry E. Warren's own diaries, his engineering notebooks including the inventive step page. As well as many of his rare clocks. Including his personal auxiliary clock.
He went on to invent the alarm clock, lighted clock. And the power outage drop flag. Tied magnetically to the magnetic electric coil. The self starting clock would run, and indicate to owners that power had been off.
His Telechron clock company, later partnership with GE, was a leading pioneer in the evolution of materials. Glass, electrochomic depositions, thermoset and thermoplastics. He showed that molding could make beautiful designs on the outside, while providing bosses and standoffs for holding the gears and clock works.
Dear Robert, I couldn’t put my iPhone down until I had finished your wonderfully written and inspiring chapter on Frank Sprague and my home town, New York City. Thank you. Best regards, Simon
The next time you're in NYC, stroll past 253 Broadway. It's right across from City Hall. There's no plaque. Nothing on the exterior to acknowledge the importance of what Sprague accomplished there. And yet, it's a landmark building in the history of NYC and in the history of skyscrapers.
I recognize the trademark "Sprague" but I forget where I saw it. I suspect it was on the "condensers" (capacitors) I salvaged from discarded vacuum tube television sets in the early 1960's. Or maybe it was on wall mounted electric light switches. Does anyone remember?
Ok that wasn't so hard. “Robert C. Sprague (August 2, 1900 – September 27, 1991) was the son of Frank J. Sprague and Harriet Sprague. Sprague founded Sprague Electric (originally Sprague Specialties Company), Quincy, Massachusetts in 1926.” They made "condensers".
Agree. One of the reasons Sprague has never gotten as much attention as he deserves is that he wasn't a self promoter like Edison. Sprague was focused on the work and the challenges at hand. Edison was constantly courting public attention because he was always in need of money.
Thank you for an informative article, Robert. Most of the loads on the world's power grids are three-phase AC electric motors. The world's power grids work most efficiently and reliably when powered by large rotating machines. In California the "Big Dog" title goes to Diablo Canyon Power Plant which provides about 1/10 of the state's dispatchable (under human control) power from a pair of nuclear reactors occupying about a square mile. https://greennuke.substack.com/p/why-is-grid-inertia-important
Thanks Robert! I am still learning so much which I ought have learned about while studying engineering, in London, during the 1950s at Imperial College! 😂
I wish the kids* would take in more stuff like this, instead of lazily accepting the alarmists' headlines. I frequently recommend two books to them ('Power Hungry' by you, and 'The Bottomless Well' by Huber and Mills) -- and the ones who take that advice invariably are all "oooh, aaah, wow, thanks" afterwards. Keep doing your thing, Robert; you're good at it.
[* "kids": members of any generation younger than boomer.]
Nice article, and I learned something! Did make me pause at one point. "It takes far less cement, wood, and copper to provide living space for an apartment dweller in mid-town Manhattan than it does to house a suburbanite living in Sugar Land, Texas." Sincerely, Suburbanite from Sugar Land.
Another forgotten inventor was Henry Ellis Warren. An 1885 Electrical Engineer MIT grad, alongside Alfred P. Sloan, Warren made the national electric grid work together.
Warren, first with the Warren Gear company, and then Warren Clock company, invented the first self starting induction and synchronous motor. His invention, essentially a steel circle with a bar across the middle.
https://clockhistory.com/telechron/company/patents/index.html
Warren, having earlier been a partner in Lomabard Governor company, measured that Boston Ed generators were not keeping accurate and stable 60 cycles per second. He invented the Master clock and showed the generators how to keep adjustments to maintain precise 60hz.
I have Henry E. Warren's own diaries, his engineering notebooks including the inventive step page. As well as many of his rare clocks. Including his personal auxiliary clock.
He went on to invent the alarm clock, lighted clock. And the power outage drop flag. Tied magnetically to the magnetic electric coil. The self starting clock would run, and indicate to owners that power had been off.
His Telechron clock company, later partnership with GE, was a leading pioneer in the evolution of materials. Glass, electrochomic depositions, thermoset and thermoplastics. He showed that molding could make beautiful designs on the outside, while providing bosses and standoffs for holding the gears and clock works.
Dear Robert, I couldn’t put my iPhone down until I had finished your wonderfully written and inspiring chapter on Frank Sprague and my home town, New York City. Thank you. Best regards, Simon
Thank you. That's very kind.
The next time you're in NYC, stroll past 253 Broadway. It's right across from City Hall. There's no plaque. Nothing on the exterior to acknowledge the importance of what Sprague accomplished there. And yet, it's a landmark building in the history of NYC and in the history of skyscrapers.
A great read thank you.
Good summary of Sprauge’s accomplishments in Richard Rhodes’ Energy: A Human History.
Fantastic! Thanks for reprinting!
I recognize the trademark "Sprague" but I forget where I saw it. I suspect it was on the "condensers" (capacitors) I salvaged from discarded vacuum tube television sets in the early 1960's. Or maybe it was on wall mounted electric light switches. Does anyone remember?
Ok that wasn't so hard. “Robert C. Sprague (August 2, 1900 – September 27, 1991) was the son of Frank J. Sprague and Harriet Sprague. Sprague founded Sprague Electric (originally Sprague Specialties Company), Quincy, Massachusetts in 1926.” They made "condensers".
Thank you for that! All Americans should be taught about this! It’s incredible 🗽🇺🇸
Agree. One of the reasons Sprague has never gotten as much attention as he deserves is that he wasn't a self promoter like Edison. Sprague was focused on the work and the challenges at hand. Edison was constantly courting public attention because he was always in need of money.
Thank you for an informative article, Robert. Most of the loads on the world's power grids are three-phase AC electric motors. The world's power grids work most efficiently and reliably when powered by large rotating machines. In California the "Big Dog" title goes to Diablo Canyon Power Plant which provides about 1/10 of the state's dispatchable (under human control) power from a pair of nuclear reactors occupying about a square mile. https://greennuke.substack.com/p/why-is-grid-inertia-important
Grids powered by solar, wind, and batteries are the least efficient ones. Your Tesla Powerwall (R) wastes considerable energy when it is powering all the motors in your home. You can get a sense of that inefficiency by feeling the warm exhaust air from the unit. https://energylibrary.tesla.com/docs/Public/EnergyStorage/Powerwall/3/InstallManual/BackupSwitch/en-us/GUID-7E161A9E-D054-498C-AF43-A1FB06005DEA.html
Buy the whole book- it’s worth a read!
Thanks Robert! I am still learning so much which I ought have learned about while studying engineering, in London, during the 1950s at Imperial College! 😂
So great! You touched on this…the early DC engines tended to lurch fwd when starting. Hence the Brooklyn “trolley” Dodgers ⚾️
Thank you for this history!! So interesting!
Now I know where the Sprague motors originated!
Thank you, Robert, that was excellent.
That's very kind. Thanks.
I wish the kids* would take in more stuff like this, instead of lazily accepting the alarmists' headlines. I frequently recommend two books to them ('Power Hungry' by you, and 'The Bottomless Well' by Huber and Mills) -- and the ones who take that advice invariably are all "oooh, aaah, wow, thanks" afterwards. Keep doing your thing, Robert; you're good at it.
[* "kids": members of any generation younger than boomer.]
Nice article, and I learned something! Did make me pause at one point. "It takes far less cement, wood, and copper to provide living space for an apartment dweller in mid-town Manhattan than it does to house a suburbanite living in Sugar Land, Texas." Sincerely, Suburbanite from Sugar Land.
Love me some Sugar Land!
This is excellent. Thank you!
Thank you.