William Edward Ayrton

Infobox Scientist
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name = William Edward Ayrton


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caption = William Edward Ayrton
birth_date = 14 September 1847
birth_place = London
death_date = 8 November 1908
death_place = London
citizenship = British
nationality =
fields = physics, electrical engineering
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notable_students =
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awards = Fellow of the Royal Society
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William Edward Ayrton FRS (14 September 1847 - 8 November 1908) was an English physicist and electrical engineer.

Early life

Ayrton was born in London, educated at University College School and University College, London, and he later studied under Lord Kelvin at Glasgow.

Career

India

In 1868, Ayrton went to Bengal in the service of the Indian Government Telegraph department, where he invented a method of detecting faults in lines, which was of great benefit in the maintenance of the overland communications network.

Japan

In 1873, Ayrton accepted an invitation from the Japanese government as Chair of Natural Philosophy and Telegraphy at the new Imperial College of Engineering, Tokyo. He is credited with introducing the electric arc light to Japan in 1878.

London

On his return to London six years later, Ayrton became professor of applied physics at the Finsbury College of the City and Guilds of London Technical Institute, and, in 1884, he was chosen professor of electrical engineering at the Central Technical College, South Kensington. He published, both alone and jointly with others, a large number of papers on physical, and in particular electrical, subjects, and his name was especially associated, together with that of Professor John Perry, with the invention of a long series of electrical measuring instruments, including the spiral-spring ammeter, and the wattmeter. They also worked on railway electrification, produced a dynamometer and the first electric tricycle. Ayrton is also known for his work on the electric searchlight. He was awarded a medal by the Royal Society in 1901.

Ayrton died in London in 1908 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery.

Hertha Ayrton

Ayrton’s wife, Hertha Marks Ayrton, whom he married in 1885, assisted him in his researches, and became known for her own scientific work on the electric arc and other subjects. In 1899, Ayrton supported Hertha on her way to being elected the first woman member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Royal Society awarded her a Royal Medal in 1906. Previously, Ayrton had been married to a cousin, Matilda Chaplin (1846 -1883); their marriage had taken place while Ayrton was on home leave from India and Matilda was involved in the Edinburgh Seven campaign to open medical education to women. William and Matilda's daughter, Edith, married the writer Israel Zangwill and was the mother of the psychologist Oliver Zangwill.

References

* Graham Gooday's entry in the New Dictionary of National Biography published in September 2004.
*cite book
last = Cortazzi
first = Hugh
year = 2002
title = Britain and Japan, Biographical Portraits, Volume IV
publisher = Japan Library
location =
id = ISBN 1-903350-14-X
*cite book
last = Morris-Suzuki
first = Tessa
year = 1994
title = The Technological Transformation of Japan: From the Seventeenth to the Twenty-First Century
publisher = Cambridge University Press
id = ISBN 0521424925

ee also

*Henry Dyer
*John Milne
*Anglo-Japanese relations

Persondata
NAME= Ayrton, William Edward
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=
DATE OF BIRTH= 14 September 1847
PLACE OF BIRTH= London
DATE OF DEATH= 8 November 1908
PLACE OF DEATH= London