William Stanley, Jr.

Infobox Scientist
name = William Stanley, Jr.


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birth_date = birth date|1858|11|28
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death_date = death date and age|1916|5|14|1858|11|28
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fields = Electrical engineering
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awards = IEEE Edison Medal


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William Stanley, Jr. (November 28, 1858–May 14, 1916) was an American physicist born in Brooklyn, New York. In his career, he obtained 129 patents covering a variety of electric devices.

Biography

Stanley was as an electrician working with telegraph keys and fire alarms of an early manufacturer. In New York, Stanley designed one of the first electrical installations (at a Fifth Avenue store). Shortly there after, George Westinghouse hired Stanley as his chief engineer at his Pittsburgh factory.

In 1885, Stanley built the first practical alternating current device based on Lucien Gaulard and John Dixon Gibbs' idea. This device was called an induction coil. It was the precursor to the modern transformer. Stanley's work led him to be hired by George Westinghouse as his chief engineer in Pittsburgh.

In 1886, on March 20, Stanley demonstrated the first complete system of high voltage Alternating Current transmission, consisting of generators, transformers and high-voltage transmission lines. His system allowed the distribution of electrical power over wide areas. He used the system to light offices and stores along the main street of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Stanley's transformer design became the prototype for all future transformers, and his AC distribution system formed the basis of modern electrical power distribution. He was the first person to make an electrical transformer.

In 1890 Stanley founded the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In 1903 the General Electric Corporation purchased a controlling interest in the firm. The land on which the company once stood is now the site of the William Stanley Business Park of the Berkshires in Pittsfield. [ [http://www.williamstanleybusinesspark.com/history_property.asp William Stanley Business Park ] ]

Patents

William Stanley, Jr. was granted 129 patents for a range of products and electrical devices. [ [http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/history/stanley.html Stanley ] ] Owen, E.L., "Rediscovering William Stanley, Jr. Part I", Industry Applications Magazine, IEEE, Nov.-Dec. 2003 Volume 9, Issue 6 pg 9- 12 ISSN 1077-2618 INSPEC 7949020 DOI 10.1109/MIA.2003.1245790] A selection of patents follow. "Significant patents are in bold".

*, Circuit-closer for incandescent lamps
*, Electric lamp
*, Filament for incandescent electric lamps
*, Multiple incandescent electric lamp
* US patent|323,372, Carbon for incandescent lamps
*, Socket for incandescent electric lamp
*, Holder for incandescent electric lamp
*, Globe for incandescent electric lamp
* US patent|349,611, Induction coil
*, Automatic cut-out for electric-lighting circuits
*, Automatic cut-out for electric-lighting circuit
* US patent|363,559, Incandescent electric lamp [This is the [http://home.frognet.net/~ejcov/stanley10.html 1886 Stanley-Westinghouse Lamp]
*, System of electric lighting
*
*
*

Further reading

* "William Stanley Dies", New York Times, May 15, 1916, pg 9, col 5.
* "William Stanley" (Nov.22, 1858-May 14, 1916), Dictionary of American Biography, Vol XVII, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1935, pg 514.
* "William Stanley", The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Vol XXIV, James T. White & Co., New York, 1935, pg 394.
* William Stanley (1858-1916) — His Life and Work, Laurence A. Hawkins, The Newcomen Society in North America, New York, 1951.

References

Notes and citations

Websites

* [http://home.frognet.net/~ejcov ejcov] , [http://home.frognet.net/~ejcov/stanley.html William Stanley, Jr.]
* [http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/history_center/biography/stanley.html IEEE Legacies William Stanley, Jr]
* cite book
title=United States Circuit Courts of Appeals Reports
author=
year=1908
publisher=West
isbn=
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HyASAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA348, 1908. P. 348
* [http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blstanley.htm AboutInventors; William Stanley]
* [http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/history/stanley.html How Stanley's design formed the basis of modern Transformers]