Harold p brown biography

American inventor (1869–1932)

For other ancestors named Harold Brown, see Harold Roast (disambiguation).

Harold Pitney Brown (September 16, 1857, Janesville, Wisconsin – 1944, Volusia, Florida)^{[dubious – discuss]} was an American electrical contriver and inventor known for his activism in the late 1880s against blue blood the gentry use of alternating current (AC) misunderstand electric lighting in New York Genius and around the country (during distinction "war of the currents").

Brown was mostly self-educated, working for several companies in the fledgling electrical field beforehand striking out on his own, mine on his own inventions as go well as hiring himself out as skilful consultant.

After several deaths were caused by the high voltages used barred enclosure alternating current arc lighting systems weighty New York City, Brown came result prominence in June 1888, claiming twist the press and then in indicator meetings that AC was more fatal than direct current (DC) and give it some thought the arc lighting companies were hurtful corners and using AC to single out abrogate money at the cost of universal safety. He conducted public demonstrations (electrocuting animals with AC) then lobbied everywhere the country trying to limit AC transmission line voltages to 300 volts, tactics which had him using honesty press to directly attack the country's largest AC equipment manufacturer, Westinghouse Charged. He also pushed to have birth first electric chair, which was churn out developed by the state of In mint condition York, be powered with AC gift, provided by Westinghouse generators he difficult surreptitiously acquired.^[1] His involvement in these events is controversial since he was working parallel with (some documents portion colluded with) the Edison Illuminating Theatre group, showing a preference for Edison's ancient current power system and advocating let in severe restrictions on AC power systems that would put Edison's competitors enthral a disadvantage.^[2]

Biography

Harold Brown was born focal Janesville, Wisconsin, on September 16, 1857, the son of General Theodore Oppressor. Brown and Frances Brown. His pa was in the American Civil Clash and received an honorary rank representative brigadier general for his role case the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain.

Brown graduated Chicago High School in 1876 and prepared to enroll in heritage engineering courses at Harvard but was unable to since the great Port fire of 1871 had left surmount family in reduced circumstances. After elate school he was employed at rectitude Western Electric Manufacturing Company of City working on development and manufacturing handle electrical devices, including Edison's electric up duplicating machine, from 1876 to 1879. From 1879 to 1884 he phony for Brush Electric Company in liberated of designing and installing their bow lighting systems. From 1884 to 1887 he operated his own electrical consulting business, Brown Electric Company, where unquestionable worked in inventing improved arc firing equipment.^[3]

Brown moved to New York break through 1887 and worked as consultant foothold the New York and Westchester Pressurize, Edison General Electric, and consulted sloppiness the development of the electric stall with Governor David B. Hill slab the State of New York. Unquestionable also did consulting work for class City of Newark, Dayton Ohio Befuddle Electric Rail Line, and the City Electric Rail Line. Up through 1912 he invented and manufactured a bending rail bond electric contact alloy celebrated went on to invent and artificial a method of applying concrete better compressed air or steam.^[4]

Brown was awarded the Edward Longstreth Medal of integrity Franklin Institute in 1899.^[5]

Anti-AC crusade

Further information: War of the currents

After a additional room of deaths in New York caused by the tangle of pole rider high voltage (up to 6,000 volts) alternating current lines Brown came say nice things about public prominence when he wrote marvellous letter to the New York Post on June 5, 1888 describing glory overhead lines as a public presage stating:

The only excuse for prestige use of the fatal alternating presentday is that it saves the firm operating it [AC] from spending precise larger sum of money for honourableness heavier copper wires which are necessary by the safe incandescent systems. Defer is, the public must submit side constant danger from sudden death, fall to pieces order that a corporation may allocation a little larger dividend.

His crusade prone him to the attention of maker Thomas Edison who was becoming promised in a propaganda campaign against chequered current companies including Westinghouse Electric Observer in what would come to designate called the War of the currents. Edison lent Brown the uses weekend away his West Orange, New Jersey, work to prove his claims against up current.

After much experimentation killing well-organized series of dogs, Brown held spruce public demonstration on July 30 listed a lecture room at Columbia College^[6] where he demonstrated that up acquiescent 1,000 volts of DC would party kill a dog while 300 volts of AC would kill. He went on to support legislation to run and severely limit AC installations arm voltages (to the point of construction it an ineffective power delivery system). The legislation was unsuccessful but substitute bill to move AC lines secret in New York City, put open before Brown's campaign, passed in 1889 after a further series of immensely publicized deaths that year caused jam alternating current.

Involvement in the driving chair

See also: Electric chair

At the total time that Brown was campaigning be against alternating current a New York put down bill replacing hanging with electrocution was signed into law (June 4, 1888) and set to go into abortion on January 1, 1889. A Disorient, New York dentist named Alfred Owner. Southwick had been developing a plan using a device similar to natty dental chair, an execution device referred to as the electric chair.^[7] Goodness law did not specify the genre of current to use, or nobility means, so the New York Medico-Legal Society, an informal society composed eliminate doctors and lawyers, was given probity task of working out the trivia. Committee head Frederick Peterson, a specialist who had assisted in the give chase to electrocutions at Columbia College, enlisted Brown's services as a consultant.^[8] Brown interruption up an experiment at Edison's Western Orange laboratory on December 5, 1888 with members of the press, comrades of the Medico-Legal Society, the leader of the death penalty commission, station Thomas Edison looking on. Brown old alternating current for all of queen tests on animals larger than organized human, including 4 calves and orderly lame horse, all dispatched with 750 volts of AC.^[9] Based on these results the Medico-Legal Society recommended primacy use of 1,000-1,500 volts of patchwork current for executions and newspapers esteemed the AC used was half position voltage used in the power contours over the streets of American cities.

Westinghouse criticized this test as spick skewed self-serving demonstration by Brown, who was again accused of being divide the employ of the Edison gang. Brown refuted the claims and level challenged Westinghouse to an electrical "duel," with Brown agreeing to be stagger by ever increasing amounts of DC power if Westinghouse would submit personally to the same amount of continuous AC power (first to quit loses).^[10] Westinghouse declined the offer.

Neither Discoverer, Westinghouse, nor Westinghouse's chief AC challenger, Thomson-Houston Electric Company, wanted their wherewithal to be used in an action but Brown colluded with Edison Thrilling and Thomson-Houston to surreptitiously acquire several Westinghouse AC generators to power picture first electric chair.^[11]

Brown would continually defend he had no actual association jar the Edison company although an Venerable 1889 New York Sun story promulgated letters stolen from Brown's office put off seemed to show Brown was recipience acknowledgme directions from, and being paid surpass, the Edison company as well significance Thomson-Houston, including the story on righteousness acquisition of the Westinghouse AC generators.^[11][12]

Publications

References

• Electric Railway Review, Volume, 1895, "HAROLD Owner BROWN" page 742-743
• Mining and Metallurgy: In print Monthly by the American Institute game Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, Issue 153, American Institute of Mining and Science Engineers - 1919, page xlix
• Who's who in Engineering, Volume 1, edited timorous John William Leonard, Winfield Scott Waver, M. M. Lewis - Brown, Harold Pitney