Arthur Pratt Warner

Infobox Person
name = Arthur Pratt Warner


caption =
birth_date = birth date|1870|4|18
birth_place = Jacksonville, Florida
death_date = death date and age|1957|3|22|1870|4|18
death_place = Beloit, Wisconsin
resting_place =
other_names =
known_for = Inventor, businessman, First to fly in Wisconsin
occupation =
nationality =

Arthur Warner (April 18, 1870 - March 22, 1957) was primarily known for his successes as an inventor, businessman, pioneer aviator. His name lays claim to such inventions as the electric brake and the speedometer. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida. His family lived in Wisconsin (1871-1877), returned to the state in 1881, and settled permanently in Beloit, Wisconsin in 1882. He died in Beloit in 1957.

Education

Although not formally educated in engineering, Warner began to construct dynamos for various companies in the Beloit area and developed the first electric power plant in Beloit. He took a two-year correspondence course in electrical engineering, and in 1897 moved to Madison to become a salesman for the Northern Electric Co. When this firm was acquired by General Electric, Warner was called to the home plant in Schenectady, N.Y.

Life and legacy

Before he left Beloit, he and his brother, Charles, had begun developing a magnetic cut meter, a device for measuring speed. About 1903 he left G.E. and returned to Beloit, where in 1903 the Warner Instrument Co. was incorporated, with A. P. Warner serving as vice-president and general manager until 1912. Here, as an out-growth of the cut meter, he developed an auto speedometer, and with the growth of the new automobile industry the company expanded. In 1912 the Warner firm was sold to a company that reorganized as the Stewart-Warner Manufacturing Co. and eventually the Warner speedometer became standard equipment on virtually every automobile manufactured in the U.S. In 1917 the Warner Manufacturing Co. was organized to manufacture auto and truck trailers, with Warner serving as president until its dissolution as a Wisconsin firm in 1925. In connection with his work on trailers, he developed an electric brake and later an electric clutch. In 1927 the Warner Electric Brake and Clutch Co. was organized in Beloit; Warner served as president until 1934, when he retired from active business life. He was also a founder and director of the Warner-Patterson Co. of Chicago. One of the pioneer aviation enthusiasts in Wisconsin, he purchased his first airplane in 1909 and was among the earliest fliers in the nation. [Wisconsin Historical Society]

References

External links

* [http://www.aviationhalloffamewisconsin.com/inductees/Warner.htm Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame page]
* [http://www.earlyaviators.com/ewarner.htm Early Aviators - A.P. Warner]