Se SSeS a a JON3OS 40 NAW NVOIIY SNOWYS era) a 127 U6C76 1937od ee] Se ee ee ee) ee ee ee ie tee te die) : : )igamaree Rye esl sage a a hee etree BER RE ee ee eb Seed Oe Lean Se sw Se eee H } i Se ee ee eee — ak i ee 23 Ort eee ee, ete ete ree ee eh eer aera ig — med 2B vea ed bee Ta cotereaates ts toa { el ' i | | i 4} eet ae ee es eee Se ores tee ae es eet _ SO fae LO ee mee epee Oe Pe re ae t*eT) a aE a ha ah eel oer ARE Bree = ree tee ER ee ee a Ae ee pees teins tee 5 ae / | : i, ia 3 4 4 e t ) 4 I ee tL. cee ee ee Se aber hat nat eee AS baa ET eee9 q Sr tra rers ee So Sper re TL coer = sietars ~~ pee fr Ss Ses Es SS FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Ne ee ee i i i DI | i i a ‘ 4 i == Nee ee Ne ee ee ee Le ede ee Pe" Bi be fil, BOOKS BY J. G. CROWTHER Famous American Men of Science | i : i : Men of Science The Progress of Science eee An Outline of the Universe The A. B.C. of Chemistry Science for You Short Stories in Science Sal ee eee ee een Osiris and the Atom Soviet Science Science in Soviet Russta Se Ree ile reed ore ees Industry and Education in Soviet Russta ee re hl eet ene aha eet TIP oe tear Ltd PPP ee ee eee eters Wes ta é ii } +t An t ae AH F 4 Bhi: | Oa i H Sta vn im it 7 iH=n tt pace RRS rere eee tera Ey Eres Or ee eee, See i a a Oe eee a ee ee een wae csetnbewnwtbla Ateneo eee eeMaren grnpd inieinony - RT AP ete OFF PETES Tee ee net pene een es Wet tet ers at beg oh 1B — ed erg ORE itwaage-8—— na ET et ee ete ne J. WriLvarp GIBBsFamous American MEN of SCIENCE os BY [.G. GROW THER Weep ee “Os New York W:-W-NORTON & COMPANY: INC: Publishers a ne ae FO Tage ee rey Weeetarre Sak! — SSS a ee mee EST IE HH i i i i ny] | 4 i | ; : Ca aE Pe Ne Re | Pre an Pe ee ee eerCopyright, 1937, by W-W-:+NORTON & COMPANY, INC. 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City Ww FIRST EDITION Ww ala cee ee eee reat ~~ a er a a a IR a a ee Te am hat CP ae ta ed oes t ee ieee ee errs PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR THE PUBLISHERS BY THE VAIL-~BALLOU PRESS(contents FOREWORD _ ix I. Benjamin Franklin Page 17 rie Joseph Henry Page 157 III. Josiah Willard Gibbs Page 227 IV. Thomas Alva Edison Page 299 INDEX 493 Se Se a a er Tre ee eros SS i A | 3 i | H f vk : ‘ , i x t i i a ! SN a ee ee ap onesmmrel 7) - errr LiasN er Rett eric t Sr FESea a orc te deers eam, Dennen ee ede see eee ee Sie a ee a a ee ey Z / } ' I et oe Sl aa ant rem RR rE ne eer kd cee eee ee

FUT ip een to rer ET aoeee eer t Pera ies ada oe ee ened Be ey tees \ j i —— se Senha ant he die eee een eee ee Saharan / a ce aR Le eran a ET ee ee TT eee a ee tn ee ee ea eee eee PO eed ee Feet hs Lal eae 28 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE make yourself. Walk but a quarter of an Hour in your Garden when the Sun shines, with a part of your Dress white, and a Part black; then apply your hand to them alternately, and you will find a very great difference in their Warmth. The Black will be quite hot to the Touch, the White still cool. An- other. Try to fire Paper with a burning Glass. If it is white, you will not easily burn it. But if you bring the Focus to a black Spot, or upon Letters, written or printed, the Paper will immediately be on fire under the Letters. “Thus Fullers and Dyers find black Cloths, of equal Thick- ness with white ones, and hung out equally wet, dry in the Sun much sooner than the white, being more readily heated by the Sun’s Rays. It is the same before a Fire; the Heat of which sooner penetrates black stockings than white ones, and so is apt sooner to burn a Man’s Shins. Also Beer much sooner warms in a black Mug set before the Fire, than in a white one, or in a bright Silver Tankard. “My Experiment was this. I took a number of little square Pieces of Broad Cloth from a Taylor’s Pattern-Card, of vari- ous Colours. There were Black, deep Blue, lighter Blue, Green, Purple, Red, Yellow, White, and other Colours, or Shades of Colours. I laid them all out upon the Snow in a bright Sunshiny Morning. In a few Hours (I cannot now be exact as to the Time), the Black, being warm’d most by the Sun, was sunk so low as to be below the Stroke of the Sun’s Rays; the dark Blue almost as low, the lighter Blue not quite so much as the dark, the other Colours less as they were lighter; and the quite White remain’d on the Surface of the Snow, not having entered it at all. “What signifies Philosophy that does not apply to some Use? May we not learn from hence, that black Clothes are not so fit to wear in a hot Sunny Climate or Season, as white ones; because in such Cloaths the body is more heated by the Sun when we walk abroad, and are at the same time heated by the Exercise, which double Heat is apt to bring on putrid danger- ous Fevers? That Soldiers and Seamen, who must march and labour in the Sun, should in the East or West Indies have anTHE, SCOPE OF (HISTIDEAS 29 Uniform of white? That Summer Hats, for Men or Women, should be white, as repelling that Heat which gives Head- aches to many, and to some the fatal Stroke that the French call the Coup de Soleil? That the Ladies’ Summer Hats, how- ever, should be lined with Black, as not reverberating on their Faces those Rays which are reflected upwards from the Earth or Water? That the putting a white Cap of Paper or Linnen within the Crown of a black Hat, as some do, will not keep out the Heat, tho’ it would if placed without? That Fruit-Walls being black’d may receive so much Heat from the Sun in the Daytime, as to continue warm in some degree thro’ the Night, and thereby preserve the Fruit from Frosts, or forward its Growth?—with sundry other particulars of less or greater _Im- portance that will occur from time to time to attentive Minds?” Franklin’s contribution to the study of the absorbent prop- erties of common materials has even today not been completed. The Army authorities in England have been inspecting with much enthusiasm recent experiments on the absorbent proper- ties of clothing and building materials, suitable for uniforms and barracks in tropical countries. Extensive experiments have been made in America to de- termine the best colours and compositions for the paints used to cover the tanks for storing petroleum. The evaporation of the oil in tanks is wasteful and dangerous, so it is desirable that as little as possible of the heat in the sun’s rays should pass through the walls of the tanks into the oil. Experiments have proved that paints such as aluminum paint are the most effec- tive, and minimize evaporation. 3 The clarity of Franklin’s thought owed probably more to social than to climatic influences. The American provinces were still young pioneer communi- ties in Franklin’s time. A powerful class of academic scientists had not yet grown. As late as 1801 Priestley, who was then in America, wrote to Humphry Davy that he was “perfectly in- Mi He, iia hs ) AG He i nf Hi | i I; a p / H i | Hj hi H ih i i iP 4 { i } | | j i H N | H 4 | { , 5 an ara alte; Sa a tn eet a peratcies Ec Cet ae? Pee ena SL Cn Eery ee aed ee Ce ee a eee Ee a a aie Oe ee ont eet eet teen Lt er ee ie a eT ee Fie tt Le eee tee — oo al ae PP pie em Sn a ae cs or z ; fal wa i] 30 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE sulated” from scientific news and developments, owing to the small and scattered number of scientists in the country. Such conditions have bad and good effects. They prevent many men of ability from discovering their bent through education. But if a man has a mind powerful enough not to have to lean much on academic science, such conditions may protect him from acquiring false traditional ideas. Franklin’s mind was of this powerful order, and he benefited by his freedom from pre- conceived notions acquired in European academies. The isola- tion which would have killed the scientific work of a lesser man protected him from misleading intellectual fashions. The European academic tradition was non-scientific. The study of science at Oxford and Cambridge was not in a healthy condi- tion. The experimental science of the succeeding centuries was being founded outside universities by self-taught investigators such as Guericke and Priestley, and later, Davy and Faraday. As J. D. Bernal has remarked, Priestley’s researches were largely inspired by Franklin. Indeed, Priestley says so. Priest- ley had a very powerful mind but it was not so bold or keen as Franklin’s. Davy wrote of Franklin with profound respect, and deeply appreciated his combination of expository and in- vestigatory power. 4 The masterfulness of Franklin’s mind has not been suffi- ciently recognized. He controlled the intellectual destinies of many remarkable men. Besides deciding the direction of Priestley’s career, he influenced that of William Small. This Scottish mathematical and medical doctor was born in 1734. He emigrated to America and became professor of nat- ural philosophy in Williamsburg. Thomas Jefferson attended his lectures. Jefferson writes in his autobiography that Small “probably fixed the destinies of my life.” Jefferson’s confidence in the value of rational enquiry, and his distrust of legalistic po- litical forms, may have been strengthened by Small’s instruc- tion in science. American political ideas show many peculiarTHE SCOPE OF HIS IDEAS 21 marks of scientific influences. Small and Jefferson were two of the most important agents through which science has left these marks on American political thought. Small’s influence on history did not end by fixing the destinies of Jefferson’s life. He appeared in another event of immense historical impor- tance. With Matthew Boulton of Birmingham, England, he assisted James Watt to draw up the patent specification of his steam engine with a separate condenser. This was the most important patent in history, and the largest single contribution to the development of modern industrialism. According to an article by J. Hill, published in the Biryuneg- ham W eekly Post in 1899, Small’s settlement at Birmingham was due to Franklin. Hill writes that Franklin probably be- came acquainted with Small at Williamsburg. Franklin made his third visit to England in 1764, and Small returned from America about the same time. Franklin had become acquainted in 1758 with Boulton, the great Birming- ham magnate by whom the modern principles of standardiza- tion, mass-production and factory organization, were chiefly founded. In May 1765 Franklin gave Small a very earnest written introduction to Boulton. This letter enabled Small to secure Boulton’s friendship, and a practice as a medical doctor in Birmingham. Small was a close friend of another Scot, James Watt. Boulton’s engineering factory at Soho, Birmingham, em- ployed six hundred skilled workmen, at that time a huge number. The machinery was driven by a water-wheel. In dry summers there was not enough water to drive the water-wheel. Boulton conceived the notion of installing a steam pumping- engine that would pump the water, after it had run through the water-wheel, back to the supply channel, so that the same water could be used over and over again for providing the factory with power. This arrangement would have made the power supply independent of the weather. L. T. Hogben has informed the writer that other manufacturers in the adjacent pottery district had the same idea, and Boulton may have got it from them. a ea, aaa a et hares ce eC TTS i i i h at NEL eae eect SO rere aa Pure nape et i To Street a eee peereee ors perso a ea Le eee eee imle a eee Ce, eee ee Ie ek ree ei ene Fe a a Aen ee eee ieee - — 34 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Franklin’s definition is scientific, as it is made in terms open to all observers. No definition of man which includes ref- erences to private qualities unobservable by anyone except himself is scientific. John B. Watson could claim Franklin as a behaviorist. The recognition of the importance of the tool is the key to sociology. The tool is the parent of the machine. It is the pro- ducer of goods, and hence of property. The behavior of human society 1s conditioned by the system of the distribution of prop- erty. Law consists largely of rules by which property is dis- tributed, as historians such as Coulton have remarked. Civili- zation 1s produced by tools. Experimental science is conducted with the assistance of tools in the form of instruments. Theo- retical science is conducted with pencil, paper and symbols, also forms of tools. Concepts essential for the interpretation of the nature and history of man are implicit in Franklin’s definition. It is a per- fect expression of the modern spirit. Johnson’s comment exhibits the reaction of a pre-scientific tradition; of a mind whose training had been restricted to theology, literature and scholasticism. It seems to belong to centuries before the Renaissance, yet Johnson was three years younger than Franklin. The younger man could have thun- dered comfortably with Augustine; the elder could have been at ease with Pavlov. 6 Franklin showed the usual American interest in genealogy. He had compiled a complete account of his ancestors from the middle of the sixteenth century. The American interest in genealogy probably started from the pioneers’ memories of their home country. Their relatives in Europe were inaccessible. As they could not easily go to see them, they thought about them more. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” When the country was first settled, no aristocracy was in ex-THE SCOPE OF HIS IDEAS 35 istence, because there was no civilized population. The pioneers started to make an aristocracy by the criterion of early arrival of ancestors. The search for ancestors in the Mayflower stimu- lated the study of genealogy. The introduction of negro slavery gave another strong stimulation to genealogical studies. Large numbers of persons wished to prove themselves entirely white. The wide American interest in genealogy has probably pro- vided an important part of the foundation for the American achievements in the science of genetics. The present leaders of world-research on genetics and heredity are Americans such as T. H. Morgan and H. J. Muller. Modern studies of human heredity give a slight suggestion of the origin of Franklin’s extraordinary ability. Like his fa- ther, grandfather, great-grandfather, he was a youngest son. L. T. Hogben * has remarked that the statistics of mental ability and defect in London children show that “relatively bright and defective children tend more often to turn up late in the family group. As regards the scholarship children, the significance of this may reside in the possibility that the most favorable social environment for a child is an environment composed of other children.” Franklin belonged to the fifth generation of a series of per- sons all possessing an extra chance of being bright, owing to their late position in their respective family groups. The five extra chances may all have combined in his favor. The sug- gestion is speculative, but perhaps not entirely without sig- nificance. The colonization of America put a series of vast biological problems to the early settlers. They knew how to cultivate the various crops, such as wheat, under European conditions, but they had to learn by experiment how to adapt them to Amert- can conditions. They also found a highly developed native agriculture, with native plants such as maize, already in ex- istence. Bogart states that the American Indians had bred plants such as maize, beans and squashes, very far from the * Genetic Principles in Medicine and Social Science. a , H { ny i | ie ' | i 8 { a f i { 4 | : ; A } i. ! i i Hi te % M4 . d 4 Wece, te) porta Sietescetsd Tt Daeet Te rere Pee Teer Teg —_ > serie errr Fo Lenn aea a te, ae , ee ee ee Se ete Bee eel cere ee " — Ne ee ett eee ee Some es AGE YT et Tt til eae eT tL eee ee ie - Se et eee et See Ca ee ed eta ad Pere art ates : \\ Re rt im pes 36 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE wild original types, and had given them a wider range in cli- matic adaptation than any comparable plants of the Old World. Carrier estimates that at least one-third of present American agriculture is based on the agricultural inventions of the native Americans before the European invasions. The Indian method of cultivating maize was horticultural rather than agricultural. The difference of this technique and plant from those of the Old World was striking. European plants and animals introduced into America grew and behaved differently in the new environment. These circumstances were another spur to American biology, and help to explain its present excellence. Franklin was interested in the introduction of new crops and plants. He introduced the rhubarb plant, and continually sup- plied information about rice, silk-worm mulberry trees, and other plants. The extension of empire by the colonization of North America did not have the same effect on biology as the ex- tension by the conquest and government of less advanced peo- ples. In North America the settlers had to solve new prob- lems in practical biology, but in India and elsewhere the conquerors had merely to drive and extend a native system that already existed, and extract from it profits to be spent in Europe. The conquerors of subject races are not directly in- terested in practical biology because they do not work on the land themselves. The divorce between government and tech- nique is one of the causes of the decline of slave and pseudo- slave states. 7 Two of the most remarkable American scientists have been intimately connected with communications. Franklin was con- nected with the American postal system for more than half his life, and became deputy postmaster general. Edison became a telegraphist when he was a youth, and his first important invention was an improvement of an electric telegraph instrument. Both of these men traveled considerablyTHE SCOPE OF HIS IDEAS 37 ‘n connection with their postal and telegraphic work. Franklin frst became interested in electricity during such a visit to Boston. His influence with the post was essential to the success of his newspapers and journalism, for the postal connections put him at the center of the arrival of news. The continual receipt of news is stimulating to the inquiring and observant mind; and the psychological and practical char- acteristics of communication provide fertile material for the scientific imagination. The development of communications encourages new types of political genius. It enables politicians without oratorical ‘fts to exert influence through journalism and letter writing. Franklin and Jefferson are notable examples. In earlier ages, when public speaking was the chief mode of communication, they would have had far less political influence because they were poor speakers. 8 Fay has shown that Franklin was deeply influenced by the theories of the British Pythagoreans. When he was about six- teen years old he happened to find a book written by Tryon, who belonged to that group. Franklin writes that he was con- verted by Tryon to vegetarianism. It appears that he adopted the theory of metempsychosis from the same source. He may have met some of the British Pythagoreans during his first visit to London, and have acquired a stronger belief in their tenets through discussion with them. He composed a Pythag- orean epitaph in 1728, at the age of twenty-three, shortly after his first return from London, and sixty-two years later he willed that it should be inscribed on his tomb, unchanged. THE BODY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PRINTER 4 Macs? ghey ee TY treet port Tye raenat = SS 2S Posimamrma a See ee ae ET et gies Des ar ieee aea el ee ee eee ata ete nT eee Soneehiceienemee kee eel ener eee ee ee ee a on Se cme OO a ee Tene Sed pe ial cma hae Lelie En eet Eee gk nr oe ae chee a a 38 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE (LIKE THE COVER OF AN OLD BOOK ITS CONTENTS TORN OUT AND STRIPT OF ITS LETTERING AND GILDING) LIES HERE, FOOD FOR WORMS. BUT THE WORK SHALL NOT BE LOST FOR IT WILL (AS HE BELIEVED) APPEAR ONCE MORE IN A NEW AND MORE ELEGANT EDITION REVISED AND CORRECTED BY THE AUTHOR. Franklin believed that new and more elegant editions of his personality would be issued for ever. This is a version of the Pythagorean belief that when the body dies the soul finds a new habitation in a new human or animal body. Pythagoreans were vegetarians partly to avoid the risk of eating the present habitation of a soul that previously had inhabited a human body. The importance attached to number and science by the Pythagoreans probably strengthened Franklin’s interest in science. His acceptance of metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, familiarized him with the notion of things which passed through endless transformation and yet remained indestructi- ble. It prepared his mind for acceptance of the principles of the conservation of matter, and a crude form of the conserva- tion of energy. His ideas on the conservation in nature are ad- vanced for his day. Metempsychosis predisposed him to conservation. Study of nature confirmed his belief in conservation, and then in later life he began to quote the conservation of matter in support of the metempsychotic beliefs acquired in his youth. He deduced the probability of human immortality by anal- ogy from the conservation of matter. He wrote in 1785 that he observed great frugality in God’s works. Compound sub- stances are continually reduced to their elements, and their constituents used over and over again, and the same species ofTHE SCOPE OF HIS IDEAS 39 animals and plants continually populate the world, so God 1s without the “trouble of repeated new creations.” “JT say that when I see nothing annihilated, and not even a drop of water wasted, 1 cannot suspect the annihilation of souls, or believe that he will suffer the daily waste of millions of minds ready made that now exist, and put himself to the continual trouble of making new ones. Thus finding myself to exist in the world, I believe I shall, in some shape or other, always exist.” The scientific notions of the conservation of matter and energy are to a large degree products of trading and industrial civilizations. In the processes of exchange and manufacture things are continually transformed, yet the products remain. The higher forms of steam and electric machinery cannot be properly designed without an exact knowledge of the trans- formations of matter and energy, so the modern principles of the conservation of matter and energy come to be exactly es- tablished when the demand for refined engine design has be- come urgent. The analogies between the notion of the conservation of matter, which is such a characteristic philosophical product of industrial civilizations, and the metempsychotic ideas of the Pythagoreans suggest that Pythagoras himself had close con- nections with a trading and industrial civilization. It would be interesting to see what might be deduced concerning the trad- ing and industrial features of the Greek society to which Pythagoras’ sect belonged from the metempsychotic features in Pythagoras’ philosophy. As Fay remarks, Franklin’s views on religion are related to Pythagoreanism and Freemasonry. Parton has suggested that Franklin in his youth acquired a belief in the possibility of subordinate gods who superintended the revolutions of the heavenly bodies from Isaac Newton, through conversations with Pemberton, Newton’s disciple, about 1726. In 1790, a month before he died, he answered a friend’s queries concerning his religion. “Tt is the first time I have been questioned upon it. But I i I i | | 1 | SSS ET eee nt ey | Tt er a ae er ee er nee eet Lee ed a ea ret erty Se ~ edie te Trae Pert Pet eee ene erica Ft treet ees CaS re ae La DE er EE ek anesel ae oe ee ee a ee a renee Ryton eB ang te ee ee te ls act te aaah td eT a i ie a ee “ot ery —. Re tae ee eel — em a a eee ee ee ee hs a Cn aah He i , h i" Ni fn SE ip Es 40 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE cannot take your curiosity amiss, and shall endeavour in a few words to gratify it. Here is my creed. I believe in one God, the creator of the universe. That he governs it by his proyidence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever sect I meet with them. “As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you par- ticularly desire, I think his system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is like to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the present dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity; though it is a ques- tion I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble. I see no harm, however, in its being believed, if that belief has the good consequence, as probably it has, of making his doc- trines more respected and more observed; especially as I do not perceive that the Supreme takes it amiss, by distinguishing the unbelievers in his government of the world with any pe- culiar marks of his displeasure.” He was opposed to direct attacks on religion. He left the draft of a letter to a correspondent who had argued in favor of atheism. He wrote that the author should remember that while he might live a virtuous life without religion, the many weak and ignorant men and women require religion to restrain them into virtuous conduct until it becomes habitual. For this reason, an atheist might be indebted to an early religious education, which it would not be decent to spurn later. “For among us it is not necessary, as among the Hottentots, that a youth, to be raised into the company of men, should prove his manhood by beating his mother.”THE SCOPE OF HIS IDEAS AI 9 After Franklin finally returned to America he considered the condition of some of the institutions he had founded. He had started the Philadelphia Academy in 1749 asa high school for youths. He had proposed, partly under the influence of Locke, that the courses of instruction should be based on Eng- lish literature, with emphasis on the cultivation of good habits of reading and pronunciation. His scheme has interesting re- semblances to the course of instruction that Faraday devised for himself. Faraday based his own education on the writing of English, and elocution. Franklin was annoyed to find in 1789 that his Academy had degenerated into an old-fashioned classical school, in which the dead languages had been made the chief subjects, and the teacher of Latin the rector, at a much higher salary than the teacher of English. It happened that Kinnersley, the teacher of English, was a talented man, who had given Franklin valuable assistance in his electrical researches, and had toured America and the West Indies, lecturing and demonstrating the new knowledge. If Kinnersley had been made the rector of the Academy, he might have helped to give an early valuable modern impress to American education. The snobbery and blindness of the upper classes of Philadelphia prevented this, for they wished that their children should be taught Latin, because of its so- cial prestige in Europe. The adoption of Latin in the early American high schools was reactionary and tended to put the new American governing classes under the intellectual influ- ence of Europe, while they were struggling for economic in- dependence. It indicated that they had no fundamental philo- sophical quarrel with Europe. They did not wish to disown the principles of European society, except in so far as they in- terfered with their own possession of power in America. This produced a conflict which is seen in men such as John Adams, who regarded the ancient learning of Europe as the natural source of knowledge, and yet fought against Europe eco- Ld —— cea ee Te et aa H i j i / i : { IE ee ae pa age oe = : ‘ ae ren Re on ee Set) - Bo att ot tre eee dere en ay es ern cea pert Oreste ere OI eer eter Saree eenCee ae SO cht ent enn sae ta ee eee ee os eee es — Oe enon ter ok eee tliat dS emma bk Peace a Peter Ct Tate hth ee rac aad WE a a a a er \s ae a He ‘vy ! i 42 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE nomically and politically. In spite of his greatness, Adams never lost a petulance which resembles that of an undergradu- ate who has revolted against the university whose intellectual authority he accepts. American Latinism helped to establish the authority and influence of American lawyers, which has contributed to the conflict between the pre-Renaissance spirit of American law with the modern spirit of American technology and science. IO Swift complained that “a usurping populace is its own dupe, a mere under-worker, and a purchaser in trust for some tyrant, whose state and power they advance to their own ruin in their corrupt notions of divine worship, they are apt to multiply their gods; yet their earthly devotion is seldom paid to above one idol at a time, of their own creation, whose oar they pull with less murmuring, and much more skill, than when they share the leading, or even hold the helm” The condition of the world in the second quarter of the twentieth century offers much evidence for Swift’s opinion. He had a low estimate of human nature. But he also shared the common opinion of his time, that the condition of men could be improved only by a reorganization of the balance of power between the classes. Franklin was not so pessimistic of humanity, nor did he attach much weight to the conception of history as a complex of interacting class forces. He was an ex- perimentalist, and inclined to believe that much was to be discovered by experiment about human beings and the science of politics. This view was valuable, especially as an indica- tion of the direction in which humanity might gain more po- litical knowledge. He was conscious of the limitations of the theorists of the Madison school, who, like Swift, conceived history as a mechanical circus activated by the forces of con- flicting social classes. These theorists were the American heirs of the theorists of the English mercantile classes, They as- sumed that the chief motive forces of history were known,THE SCOPE OF HIS IDEAS 43 and that nothing more of primary importance was to be dis- covered by sociologists. As an experimentalist, Franklin could not accept that. His dislike of this view prevented him from appreciating its analytical value. The notion of history as a balance of social forces will give much insight into the nature of the social or political position at any moment, but in the form in which it was accepted in Franklin’s time, it was not suggestive of the new forces and positions that might be ex- pected to appear in society in the future. Franklin’s failure as an analyst of social conditions is shown by his surprise at the French Revolution. He had lived in France for ten years just before the Revolution, with extraor- dinary opportunities for receiving information about the social tendencies of the people, and completely failed to compre- hend the portents. On November 2nd, 1789, he wrote: “The revolution in France is truly surprising. I sincerely wish it may end in estab- lishing a good constitution for that country. The mischiefs and troubles it suffers in the operation, however, give me great concern.” Il Franklin’s weakness and strength as a social philosopher were illustrated by his rejection of the conception of history as a balanced interaction of social forces. He could not be contented with a conception that did not include the possibility of the incursion of new factors into history. He disliked the notion of society as a machine that went round and round for ever, without arriving at any new place. Though his rejection of this conception limited his power of social analysis, his be- lief in experiment and novelty gave him a freedom in interpre- tation that had some of the advantages of an evolutionary conception of social history. This enabled him to make con- tributions towards the escape of humanity from the apparently closed circles of historical change. If the people are to avoid the tendency noted by Swift of appointing dictators over themselves, they must learn that SS Rar eer eet nese reese od ee tr ear et nr Tre as Fe Deedee sec liziay ai ease ocare > rine ieee —— — om md =e — : : em = = os . i Se eee ed ee ce ian te Mere tt te ee a Spry ees ieee Pes a BR NT ented eeeTe op TRE Mi 2 + 2 eR ET ee ery nev ep ws Deri eds ee atl eee ee ee eee ee oe ene os ieee at teed pr AER ETRE 9 Cee er eee Etat ahaa aaa A, Le a eet ceed ra rs toe ee eens TL en eE te te ete ila PT oe oe ol a eee ee ie Le aii : a tei All) > oa : Li 4 44 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE better possibilities exist. They must acquaint themselves with the possibilities of society and nature, and gain some general idea of the system and tendencies of the forces that govern society. Franklin’s particular genius was for the first part of this task. No one was more sensitive to new knowledge, and had greater power of explaining it to the people. He was a philosophic journalist. He put a vast range of human knowl- edge within the reach of the people. Until the people have knowledge they will not know how to avoid dictators. Modern civilization was produced by the sub-division of labor, and the rise of the specialist. The limitation of the specialist is one of the greatest dangers to society. He tends to exaggerate the importance of his specialty, and to under- rate other knowledge. He is naive on matters outside his sub- ject, and liable to be misled on these by charlatans. He may be protected from deception only by continued broad education during adult life. As adults will not go to schools for the whole of their lives they must learn through other agencies. The most important is philosophic journalism, in which the general ideas of new knowledge are explained to uninformed persons of adult intel- ligence. Franklin was one of the first and greatest of the philo- sophic journalists, whose existence became necessary through the growth of specialization. At the present time, H. G. Wells is a distinguished member of the same class. Both have op- timism and love of novelty, and both are weakest in analysis of historical forces. Specialization enhances individual naiveté, and hence the danger of the rise of dictatorships. The antidote for specializa- tion is the universalism of the philosophic journalist. Franklin is the grandest example of a social type essential to the ad- vance of modern society. The ability with which he employed journalism is un- equaled. As Adams peevishly observed, he made himself the most famous man of his generation. “His name was familiar to government and people, kings, courtiers, nobility, clergy, and philosophers, as well as plebeians, to such a degree thatTHE SCOPE OF HIS IDEAS 45 there was scarcely a peasant or a citizen, a valet de chambre, coachman or footman, a lady’s chamber-maid or a scullion in a kitchen, who was not familiar with it, and who did not con- sider him as a friend to human kind.” Adams writes that his reputation was more universal than that of Leibnitz, Newton, or Voltaire, and he was free from the hatred that canceled the adoration for Louis XIV, Fred- erick, and Napoleon. Adams explains that “He had been educated a printer, and had practised his art in Boston, Philadelphia, and London for many years, where he not only learned the full power of the press to exalt and to spread a man’s fame, but acquired the intimacy and the correspondence of many men of that pro- fession, with all their editors and many of their correspond- ents. This whole tribe became enamoured and proud of Mr. Franklin as a member of their body, and were consequently always ready and eager to publish and embellish any panegyric upon him that they could procure. Throughout his whole life he courted and was courted by the printers, editors, and cor- respondents of reviews, magazines, journals, and pamphleteers, and those little meddling scribblers that are always buzzing about the press in America, England, France and Holland.” Franklin performed his task as a philosophic journalist, an educator of the adult members of democracies, with pro- digious skill, and thereby acquired an equal fame. With his fame and skill he helped to split a reactionary British Empire, and secure an independent United States of America. As scientist, journalist and diplomat he exhibited an un- paralleled combination of great abilities. Neither America nor England has since produced his equal as a universally de- veloped human being. a i i P| | { a } 4 i ‘ i i : H in 1 | } | 4 4 { a i 4 H a AY 4 iP) Saal : erent rey ares pee b tT eerarcas eee emer <= ———— ~ SS - ——— Se aL a Oa bret Tee mercer CMM eta ae Amaia rd erat tl pide firs oe ar areee\ Pay [. i i : } Tas ee el ne a Sy ne ee ee ee ee im phen rt ae et ree eee ete es Cee nee be et eet Pe a Gee ett nhs kote eee 4 i} ~ if) iF 4 I] Life and ‘Researches I. EARLY LIFE FRANKLIN HAS WRITTEN A FAMOUS AUTOBI- ography and numerous letters, pamphlets and articles, of which about fifteen thousand are extant. As he discussed a vast range of interests in a simple and fascinating style, his writings provide one of the most expressive accounts of a personality. Few geniuses of his degree have possessed a style intelligible to an almost universal public. General influences, including the readability of his writings and the incidents of his career, made him very famous. Many of his contemporaries did not under- stand him well, and during the nineteenth century his reputa- tion declined. No man will ever be completely comprehended by himself, his contemporaries, or his successors, but the pas- sage of time brings out some perspectives less visible in his own day. Time abets the collection of facts. In the twentieth century many important new details about Franklin have been collected by scholars such as A. H. Smyth and Bernard Fay. These circumstances assist a better comprehension of the sig- nificance of Franklin in the history of civilization since the Renaissance. Benjamin Franklin was born at Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17th, 1706. His father, who had left England in 1682 to escape from religious persecution, had strong sense, health, and sociable habits, and died at the age of eighty-nine years. His second wife bore him ten children, of which Benjamin was the youngest boy, and died at eighty -five years. Franklin was the fifth of five generations of youngest sons. As he was 46LIFE AND RESEARCHES 47 the tenth * son his father wished him to become a priest. He had already shown facility in learning. He had “an exceed- ingly good memory,” but could not remember when he learned to read, so he must have learned very early. He was sent to a rammar school at eight years of age to begin education for the church, but left after one year. His father decided he could not afford the expense of a clerical training, so he sent him to a modern school qualifying pupils for trade and prac- tical careers. Fay suggests the economical spirit which prompted F'rank- lin’s father not to spend money on education for a learned pro- fession was the formative psychological influence of Franklin’s life. When Franklin was an infant, he bought an attractive whistle for an excessive price. His father, with his economical spirit, laughed at him for being swindled. According to Fay, this left a psychological complex which never faded from his mind, and gave a utilitarian shape to his character. He left the second school at the age of ten. His father had been a dyer in England, but could not make the trade pay in America, and had become a tallow candle maker. Benjamin assisted him in this work, but hated it, so his father tried to discover his aptitudes by taking him to watch mechanics and carpenters at work. Franklin records that “Tt has ever since been a pleasure to me to see good workmen handle their tools; and it has been useful to me, having learned so much by it as to be able to do little jobs myself in my house when a work- man could not readily be got, and to construct little machines for my experiments, while the intention of making the experi- ment was fresh and warm in my mind.” Near the end of his life he refers to his love of hammering and carpentering in the bequest of a box of nails to one of his French philosophic friends. His father finally decided to make him into a printer be- cause he showed a taste for reading. Franklin records that he read Bunyan, R. Burton, Plutarch, Defoe, Locke, and Cocker’s Arithmetic. He was apprenticed to his elder brother, who * Fay states he was the ninth. TO Ee ar race Dar ites os Shey ERS scare litip oh Spewebsies Wise i F H nt i | i | i | fi ry i : | | i | : ne | | i i f Hi eas Sear roe Tpesersin secs ree re ate Pee a — a co ane ayeee eerie Be leet CN en ee ee leet re ahs Tee eee tte te - a eee A a mma at \ ae oe a a a a seen Sateen ad TTT os ta ee Ee ek een von 1 fa 48 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE printed the second newspaper to appear in America. About 1721 he studied an odd volume of the Spectator. He trained himself to write by reading this work, making notes of the various points in the essays, or turning them into verse, put- ting them away, and then re-writing the essays from the notes or verses. He compared his versions with the originals, and observed where they were inferior, and also, in some small points, he writes, where they were superior. His brother had learned printing in London. He returned to Boston and started a radical paper, under the influence, ac- cording to Fay, of temperament, youth, consciousness of knowl- edge of superior culture from the capital city, and the absence of opening for a conservative paper. He ran the paper by at- tacking the conservatives. One of these was Cotton Mather, who had enthusiastically introduced the technique of inocula- tion against small pox within two months of the communica- tion of it to Europe by Lady Wortley Montague. As Fay remarks, the Conservatives, such as Mather, were prepared to try things they could not understand, while the Liberals, Whigs and rationalists were not. Franklin now was fifteen years old, and assisted in the attacks. Years afterwards he lost his favorite son through neglecting to have him inoculated, and he regretted his early attacks on what proved to be good science. He wrote a number of articles, the “Dogood Papers,” in imitation of Spectator essays, and sent them anonymously to his brother’s paper, which he was himself helping to print. They had much success, but his brother became jealous when he discovered their authorship, and began to bully him so he ran away to Philadelphia. Franklin attributed his aversion to arbitrary power to this conflict with his brother. Fay suggests he was in turn jealous of his brother’s superior knowledge of the world and women, and that this also determined him to acquire equal experience. He became a vegetarian at the age of sixteen. According to Fay, he learned vegetarianism from the works of Tryon, an English Pythagorean. He learned the notion of metempsy-LIFE AND RESEARCHES AQ chosis from the same source. Fay explains that the notion of metempsychosis had a profound influence on his thought. It is implicit in his epitaph, quoted on page 37. This was written in 1728, and by his will inscribed on his tomb. He found the vegetarian diet economical. It helped him to save money to buy books, and gave him quiet dinner hours, when he could read and meditate alone in the printing shop, while his col- leagues had gone to their heavy dinners. His bookishness did not conflict with his health. He was a powerful swimmer, and sometimes drifted for hours in lakes, towed by the string of a kite. He found work as a printer in Philadelphia. His enterprise and writing talent were noticed by the governors of Pennsy]l- vania and New York. The first of these, Keith, encouraged him to set up his own business, and suggested he should go to England to choose the types. Keith promised to give him letters of introduction to personages in London. Franklin and his friend Ralph, a writer of lively talent but superficial char- acter, sailed before they discovered that the governor, accord- ing to Franklin, was one of those men who try to secure popu- larity by giving more promises than they can keep. Fay writes that Keith was unable to help Franklin owing to more credit- able reasons. He was intelligent and radical, and introduced paper money, which greatly helped the community. His ad- vanced policy made him enemies, and the absorption in his struggles against them prevented him from giving more help to Franklin. When the friends arrived in London, they had to find work as soon as possible, instead of buying equipment for a printing shop in America. Franklin was not yet nineteen years old. He immediately got work at an important printer’s named Palmer, and presently had to compose the second edition of Wolla- ston’s “Religion of Nature.” He disagreed with some of the reasonings, and wrote and printed a little pamphlet concerning them, entitled “A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain.” A surgeon named Lyons noticed it, and sought Franklin’s acquaintance, and took him to a club of ii = } ~ — = — an ee rn ha Le ete Tr TS SES pe aT PTs a a ee Oe i H : i i t i : i i 4 ; Copter tae ns oe BES aces apie tT ererars Eh Trees a pease Fo LE a ee Tr eee eeeaa Is p a Te eet ht ed eee nn ee aah tebe tenet Ss ee ee ia a a eae Pe ee es a ee nn ee — Pen ete he ae Dette Ee aaa a iM 50 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE which Mandeville, the author of the Fable of the Bees, was the leader. Lyons introduced Franklin to Pemberton, the editor of the third edition of Newton’s Principia, the printing of which was begun about the end of 1723, and finished in 1726. Franklin very much desired to see Newton, and Pem- berton promised him the opportunity, but this never occurred. Newton died in 1727. Franklin discovered an old lady who was willing to board him for thirty cents, or one shilling and six pence, per week. She enjoyed his company and approved his regular habits. He did not drink while at work, and was given the most urgent, best-paid jobs, because he was never absent or blue on Mon- days. Franklin has left numerous accounts of his ingenious per- sonal economies, and abstemiousness. His creed of self-hel acquired for him much of his popular fame. Yet in his old age he wrote “Frugality is an enriching virtue; a virtue I never could acquire myself; but I was once lucky enough to find it in a wife, who therefore became a fortune to me.” While in London he taught two of his friends to swim in two lessons. This came to the notice of some gentlemen during a visit to Chelsea, so Franklin stripped and leaped into the river to demonstrate his abilities. He swam to Blackfriars, a distance of more than three miles, “performing on the way many feats of activity, both upon and under the water.” After this performance he was advised to open a swimming school. His friend Ralph became intimate with a milliner. He owed money to Franklin, and had to leave London to obtain work, and commended the milliner to his protection. Franklin tried to seduce her, but was repulsed. Ralph considered the incident canceled his debts to him. At the beginning of the eighteenth century the intellectual and social life in London was radical, progressive and vigorous. The triumph of the mercantile classes, represented by the de- thronement of James II in 1689, was being spiritually con- summated. Franklin lived in this atmosphere while he was of student age, and before his mind had become set. He returnedLIFE AND RESEARCHES 51 to America with the knowledge and the optimism of the ideology of a new governing class. Freemasonry was one of the new social movements arising out of mercantilist social ideas. It was growing rapidly and spreading to other countries. Franklin was immediately attracted by a movement so ex- pressive of the spirit of the period. Franklin had strong passions. He records that before he was married in 1730 the “hard-to-be governed passion of youth hurried me frequently into intrigues with low women that fell in my way, which were attended with some expense and great inconvenience, besides a continual risque to my health by a distemper which of all things I dreaded, though by great good luck I escaped it.” A. H. Smyth writes that the Franklin manuscripts in the Library of Congress include letters to young women at home and experienced matrons abroad, which contain passages too bawdry to “be tolerated by the public sentiment of the present age” (1906). He considers Franklin remained to the end of life a proletarian in spirit, the descendant of hard-handed blacksmiths, and possessed of “strong and rank” “animal in- stincts and passions.” His wife was Deborah Read, to whom he had been be- trothed before he went to England. He had deserted her, and had married her afterwards, partly from pity and duty. Franklin returned to Philadelphia after spending eighteen months in London. At first he was unable to find work except with Keimer, his former employer. After some maneuvers he succeeded in starting a printing business with a partner. About the same time, he formed the Junto club, for intel- lectual discussions among his friends. This club persisted for forty years. Its membership was restricted to twelve, and the subjects of discussion included ethical questions such as “Is self-interest the rudder that steers mankind?”; “Does the im- portation of servants increase or advance the wealth of our country?”; “Whence comes the dew, that stands on the out- side of a tankard that has cold water in it in the summer time?”—ethics, political economy, and natural philosophy. mer NU eta pest eon tT ee oe ee Tae ee ers Pat as Ce a is lemma TT ies es nn i i i F ; fi nn Le nee — i = : a ene ae eee ee Se eee es ee See ie ee re tea ere, ae ee tiene ie eed le eee! —_— eee eee ee eee Teen os . ee ee nD Le een See oe see rere tk Te ee et eee . Bat ered es me ws ITT SG, io ed ee eee ae * if ta | a 52 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Keimer had been forced to reémploy Franklin because he had obtained a profitable contract to print paper money for the province of New Jersey, and Franklin was the only per- son in America who could make copper plates for printing notes. Having seen there were profits for a printer in print- ing paper money, Franklin discussed the principles of paper money with his Junto friends and wrote a pamphlet entitled: “A Modest Inquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency.” Under the influence of Governor Keith and this pamphlet Pennsylvania decided to print paper money and Franklin received the profitable contract. He remarked that the common people were in favor of paper currency and the rich against, but the rich had no adequate exponent of their views. In the course of the argument concerning the nature of money Franklin writes: “as silver itself is of no certain perma- nent value, being worth more or less according to its scarcety or plenty, therefore it seems requisite to fix upon something else more proper to be made a measure of values, and this I take to be labor.” Wetzel suggests that Franklin learned the notion of the labor theory of value from Sir William Petty’s “Essay on Taxes and Contributions.” Franklin also gives a definition of natural interest on capital. He assumes that rent is the most secure form of interest, and that interest on capital should be equal to that rate, plus an increase proportional to the differ- ence in risk between the investment of the capital in land and in any project. On May roth, 17 history. “That the great affairs of the world, the wars, revolutions, etc. are carried on and effected by parties.” The parties follow their immediate interests, which pro- duces the usual confusion of social affairs. As soon as a party gains its point, its members become intent on their particular interests. Few public men act “from a meér view of the good of their country.” 31, he made some notes on his reading ofLIFE AND RESEARCHES 53 Franklin considered founding a United Party for Virtue, whose membership should be restricted to young and single men. Its principles were to resemble those of the Freemasons. He founded the first subscription library in America in 1730, to assist the reading of his friends in the Junto, and con- tribute to the general education. The library secured through one of the members of the Junto, an influential patron: Peter Collinson, an eminent Quaker connected with the Penn family, and a distinguished botanist. From 1730 until 1768, when he died at the age of 75, Collinson helped to collect and send books for the library, and accounts of the most recent discoveries in agriculture, arts and science. Franklin writes that Collinson sent an electrical machine and an account of the Ger- man experiments on electricity in 1745 (he acknowledged the receipt of the machine in 1747). This stimulated his interest in electrical experiments, and Collinson’s friendly reception of his letters describing his results encouraged him to proceed with his researches. The library was imitated throughout the American colonies, with important results. Mrs. John Adams noted at the begin- ning of the nineteenth century that the common people of America were, on the average, far better informed than those of England. He introduced Poor Richard’s Almanac in 1733. He “filled all the little spaces that occur’d: between the remarkable days in the calender with. proverbial ‘senténces, ‘chiefly such as in- culcated industry asd frugality; as: the means’ of procuring wealth, and thereby securing virtue.” At this date, almanacs were of great importance. They con- tained notices of the chief holydays, market days, and other events of the year. They were essential to farmers, shop-keep- ers, and craftsmen. Many homes possessed only two books: the Bible and an almanac. Franklin adopted the traditional style of the almanacs, but improved it by his superior understand- ing and literary expression of the proverbial philosophy of the masses. Poor Richard’s Almanacs had a wide sale in America, and were translated into many languages. They established EP we re a ~ => = : — é at p ae ~ eee ae =——S = = Si comet ee Te a pee ete Sie Liat ee See = a ~ ie ite ee = 2 ey sero Sparc et Litre Ranh ae reer as a ert rer rt arene TERRE om nena ee pee rea ieee er, S| ee ee ee ee ee ——--— Sort Meo ee — DO a eee eT ee oe ee Ot hh ee ee Ce Leama SLE oe Se ends ted Rn ih A ar a ee =e ae — = pliant ae dear ‘ pease —— ——_ ; 54 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Franklin’s fame among the masses, and are his most effective literary works. The success of Poor Richard was not due entirely to Franklin’s literary skill and psychological insight. His Poor Richard rode on a scientific horse, as almanacs are records of time. L. T. Hogben and other writers have com- mented on the profound influence of the construction of almanacs on the cultivation of science. Early astronomy was created in order to construct almanacs for the control of agri- culture and the processes of human society. Franklin’s under- standing of the importance of the sequences of nature was connected with his aptitude for science. Almanacs gave scope to the scientific besides the literary aptitudes of his mind. In the same year he made a partnership with one of his printers, to start a printing house in Charleston. He provided one-third of the capital, and took one-third of the profits. He extended this system of holding capital in various businesses, and, according to Phillips Russell, invented the American trust. Fe attributed much of the success of the scheme to the care with which the deeds of partnership were devised. He published Constitutions of the Free Masons in 1734, and an essay “On the Usefulness of Mathematics” in the Penn- sylvania Gazette, in 1735. He remarks that no business or com- merce can be managed or carried on without numbers, and geometry is‘ecsential for mariners,: architects, engineers, and geographers, : pda wens ’ He became‘clerk :to the General Assembly of Pennsylvania In 1736, and postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737; “tho? the salary was small, it facilitated the correspondence that im- prov’d my newspaper . . . as well as the advertisements.” He began to turn his thoughts to public affairs, and among other projects founded a fire-brigade, the Union Fire Com- pany. The preacher Whitefield arrived in America in 1 739. Frank- lin writes: “I had the curiosity to learn how far he could be heard, by retiring backwards down the street towards the river; and I found his voice distinct till I came near Front- street, when some noise in that street obscur’d it. ImaginingLIFE AND RESEARCHES 55 then a semicircle, of which my distance should be the radius, and that it were fill’d with auditors, to each of whom I allow’d two square feet, I computed that he might well be heard by more than thirty thousand. This reconceil’d me to the news- paper accounts of his having preach’d to twenty-five thousand people in the fields, and to the antient histories of generals haranguing whole armies, of which I had sometimes doubted.” Franklin acquired Whitefield’s friendship. Fay suggests that this enabled him to secure the preacher’s demagogic gifts in aid of his own popularity. His rational mind could not ap- eal to mob emotions, but Whitefield could appeal to them on his behalf. In some degree he used the preacher as his heu- tenant of the mob. Franklin maintained relations with Whitefield for many ears. He discussed with him methods of influencing the peo- ple, and other problems concerning the arts of salvation and government. He wished to learn from him the psychology of the herd, and how it should be applied. In a letter to White- field, written in 1749, he quotes the view of Confucius, that peoples should be reformed by converting the grandees. When this is done, the masses follow by imitation. “The mode has a wonderful influence on mankind; and there are numbers who, perhaps, fear less the being in hell, than out of the fash- ‘on. Our most western reformations began with the ignorant mob; and when numbers of them were gained, interest and party views drew in the wise and great. Where both methods can be used, reformations are likely to be more speedy. O that some method could be found to make them lasting! He who discovers that will, in my opinion, deserve more, ten thou- sand times, than the inventor of the longitude.” Franklin proposed the foundation of the first American Philosophical Society in 1743. The Philadelphia members were to include a physician, botanist, mathematician, chemist, mechanician, geographer and general natural philosopher, be- sides a president, treasurer and secretary. He offered himself as secretary. The Society was to promote Useful Knowledge. This is in contrast with the purpose of the Royal Society of i “h H a | : H ay SS atts peret oe elects sy tres es ee race Sint aa ee arte eer Te ire 1 Ce ee erie eae LL tri ttl ls iar tts Se a TE en S Sea aa ae : a — — ee er CE ene ee ee i A eeepc a Pea eats bend a ee oe i - ee ene Ce ne a eed ee a ee eee ———— aa — a ee ee ens ees a et er eae aie at te ered 56 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE London, which was founded to promote Natural Knowledge. The differences in aim show that the two societies were founded on behalf of different social classes, one a leisure class and the other a tradesman’s class. He published an account of a new sort of fireplace in 1744, which he had invented in 1742. He refused to patent it be- cause “we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours.” As colonization proceeded in the Eastern states, wood-fuel became more expensive. Franklin designed a more economical stove, which created enough draught to ventilate the room adequately, and heated enough air to warm the room evenly by convection, and yet allowed a sight of the fire. He afterwards elucidated the movements of air in chim- neys, and explained that the air flowed up or down according to differences in temperature. In the summer, food could be kept fresh by covering it with a wet rag, and putting it in the chimney, where the air current made the water evaporate, and so cooled the food. There were many wars in Europe and America in 1745. Exposed ports such as Boston feared attacks, and their popula- tions were active in military preparations for defense and counter-attack. During a visit to Boston in 1746 Franklin ac- quired the military fervor and returned with it to Phila- delphia. Many persons in Pennsylvania were nervous over the inadequate defenses, owing to the influence of the pacifist Quakers in the provincial government. Franklin proposed the formation of a militia, and artfully persuaded the Quakers not to oppose it. He wrote an enthusiastic letter to his brother at Boston, and suggested the Americans should succeed in their attack on Cape Breton because “five hundred thousand petitions were offered up to the same effect in New England, which, added to the petitions of every family morning and evening, multi- plied by the number of days since January 25th make forty- five millions of prayers; which, set against the prayers of aLIFE AND RESEARCHES 57 few priests in the garrison, to the Virgin Mary, give a vast balance in your favour.” During his visit to Boston, Franklin happened to meet a Dr. Spence, who had just arrived from Scotland, and had brought some apparatus for making experiments with statical electricity. Franklin was fascinated by the apparatus, though ‘t did not work very well, for Spence did not know how to use it properly. In 1747 Peter Collinson included an electrostatic machine with one of his parcels of books for the library company. On March 28th, 1747, Franklin acknowledged the gift in a letter to Collinson: Sir, Your kind present of an electric tube, with directions for using it, has put several of us on making electrical experiments, in which we have observed some particular phaenomena, that we look upon to be shall therefore communicate them to you in my next, though possibly they may not be new to you, as among the numbers daily employed in those experiments on your side the water, tis prob- r has hit on the same observations. For my own tudy that so totally en- as lately done; for what new. I able some one or othe part, I never was before engaged in any s grossed my attention and my time as this h with making experiments when I can be alone, and repeating them to my Friends and Acquaintance, who, from the novelty of the thing, come continually in crouds to see them, I have, during some months past, had little leisure for any thing else I am, &c. B. Franklin. Within a few months Franklin and his friends discovered facts and conceptions which transformed the theory of statical electricity. This was an important contribution to the modern- ization of the human concepts of nature. 2. ELECTRICAL RESEARCHES THE distinction of Franklin’s contributions to the science of electricity becomes clear when his work is compared with that of his predecessors. SSS = = = a eat eee i i t | : | | | i i . i ‘| ; C b F i 4 to] oo Hen SSeS etetetrs tt ttre CA FETT ere Tht ee ere rete = Sime axe f i } } ' }a aa Leela ent, Se a a eeeieneesmeaatl ee * oo - _ ees : oe le tal Le ete -_ a - ad eet neers ’ , . Sierra ee mates = San ee eee ee ol Tha) s) —— PTS Eee Se acacia 58 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE The first record of an electrical phenomenon occurs in the writings of Theophrastus in 300 B. c. He described how am- ber, when rubbed, attracted light bodies. Later writings state that Thales, who lived in 600 pz. c., was familiar with this phenomenon, and deduced from it that amber is animated. Nearly two thousand years passed before anything more was added to the knowledge of electricity. About 1600, Wil- liam Gilbert of Colchester in England, a physician to Queen Elizabeth, proved that many other substances besides amber could be electrified. His list included diamond and several other real and imitation precious stones, glass, sulphur, colored sealing wax. The science of electrostatics developed after the Renaissance partly because expanding trade provided a wider variety of materials for experiments. The materials of the early experiments on electrostatics sound like the stock of a shop; diamonds, wax, silk, wool, linen, etc. Gilbert ob- served that electrified bodies would attract bits of wood, metal, stone, and drops of water and oil. Thick smoke was noticeably attracted but not thin smoke, air or flames. He found that electrical effects were strongest when the air was dry, and the wind blew from the north or east. Under these conditions electrified bodies would retain their charges for ten minutes, Moist air or southerly winds destroyed the electrification. He found that moisture of any sort, such as that carried in the breath, had the same effect. Sprinkling with brandy also de- stroyed electrification, but sprinkling with oil did not. He pre- sented a drop of water on a dry substance to an electrified body, and observed that it was distorted into a conical shape. Gilbert asserted that magnetism exhibited attraction and repulsion but that electricity exhibited attraction only, and never repulsion. He supposed that electrical attraction is analogous to cohesion. Two drops of water brought into contact rush together. Simi- larly, an electrified body is surrounded by an effuvium which brings it into contact with the objects it attracts, and makes them rush together. These researches, and others on magnetism, w derful advance in experimental science. They w and ere a won- ere an impor-LIFE AND RESEARCHES 59 tant inspiration to Galileo, who envied their author’s achieve- ments. The study of the electrical properties of the atmosphere and gases has led to several of the most fundamental advances ‘n electrical science. The first student of electricity in modern times did not fail to observe the influence of the weather on electrification. L. Hogben has suggested that Gilbert’s interest in magnetism was inspired by the desire of British navigators to fnd some new method of determining longitude. The Portu- guese and Spanish navigators used Moorish astronomical meth- ods for determining longitude which depended on the use of eclipses and occultations. With their aid Christopher Colum- bus discovered America. They were exact, but not useful to the English because they could not be easily used in cloudy northern latitudes. The famous inventor of the air-pump, Guericke, was the next important contributor to the science of electricity. He in- vented the first electrical machine. This consisted of a sphere of sulphur which could be rotated on a shaft through its center. The sphere was charged by rubbing it with the hand as it ro- tated. He discovered electrical repulsion, that two bodies bear- ing electricity from the same source repelled each other. He noticed electric sparks for the first time, and heard the asso- ciated sounds. He observed an effect due to electric induction, which was not appreciated for nearly a century. Contemporary with Guericke, Robert Boyle discovered that electrical attractions may occur in vacua. He proved by experi- ment that attracted objects pull the electrified body as strongly as they are themselves pulled. Newton’s law of the equality of action and reaction was not yet established. Electric discharges were first compared with thunder and lightning by Wall, a friend of Boyle, about 1680. Wall pub- lished a description of the experiments which inspired this classical suggestion in the transactions of the Royal Society in 1708. His paper, “On the Luminous Qualities of Amber, & cont.,” was communicated to the Society by Sloane. Franklin met Sloane in 1726, during his first visit to London, and sold him a purse made of asbestos. Wall’s paper contains three re- eae? SOIR ae AE wet ely SSS Poe ope et caries nes ne OE re al ee a oon peter ner as - HS ay | i = HYa ae haley, ee SE ee Soe eee — . ee > a eee 7 a Pe a Ee CPE er a ae Pett eee ee ee Lene - ae ete al tees met PT sz ay Coat Pere heated Ce ere a ee eee Thales sairidestic rete i aed Pa + 60 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE markable features. Boyle was interested in phosphorus, but disliked the usual method of preparing it, which consisted of evaporating urine. Wall searched for methods of manufactur- ing what appeared to be phosphorescence, and found that am- ber and other substances would apparently phosphoresce when rubbed. Indeed, amber would produce big flashes and crack- lings, resembling lightning and thunder. He perceived the importance of the discovery, and forecast the event of a genius who would interpret it. Wall concludes his paper with the hope that his observations will commend him to posterity. Several passages are quoted, in order to illustrate the style of one of Franklin’s predecessors, and Wall’s own scientific talent, and nobility of mind. “You may remember my telling you many Years ago of my good Friend Mr. Boyle’s communicating to me, about the Year 1680, his way of making the Phosphorus with Urine, at the same time desiring me to use all my Endeavours to find out some other Subject, from whence it might be made in greater quantity, and perhaps he might have made the like Request to many more; for, to use his own Words, he said, he really pitty’d his Chymist, who was forced to evaporate so prodigious a Quantity of Urine, to get a very little of the Phosphorus. Soon after, in order to see some Experiments in Chymistry, I lodg’d for a short time at his Chymist’s House, one Mr. Bilgar, then living in Mary le Bone Street near Pic. cadilly, who indeed was equally, if not more importunate with me than Mr. Boyle, to try if I cou’d find out some other Mat- ter from which more might be made than from Urine, tellin me there was so great a demand for it, that it wou’d be of very great advantage to him. It being then a very hot summer, [| caused a piece of the dry’d Matter in the Fields, where the empty the Houses of Office, to be dige’d up, in which, when broken in the Dark, a great number of small Particles of Phos- phorus appear’d. This Matter I carry’d to Mr. Boyle, who viewed it with great Satisfaction, and Mr. Bilgar, by his Direc- tion, fell to Work thereon, but from it cow’d make very little or no Phosphorus, till another Matter was added to it in Dis-LIFE AND RESEARCHES 61 tillation, and then he cow’d therewith make large Quantities, to his great Profit; for while I was at his House, I often saw him make it, and sell it for six Guineas, and six Louis d@’Ors an Ounce, whereby he got so much Money, that, I believe, he thought himself above his Business, and quickly left Eng- land; so that we lost an Honest and Industrious Chymist, and Mr. Boyle a Faithful and Industrious Servant.” .. . _. . “Now, Sir, my being, as you have heard, well ac- quainted with the Artificial Phosphorus, was the occasion of my making many Reflections about it, and caus’d me to con- sider, whether there might not be i rerum natura other natu- ral ones, besides those that Mr. Boyle and some others have given an account of. “You well know, Sir, that Humane Urine and Dung do plentifully abound with an Oleosum and Common Salt, so that I take the Artificial Phosphorus to be nothing else but that Animal Oleosum coagulated with the Mineral Acid of Spirit of Salt, which Coagulum 1s preserv’d and not dissolv’d in Water, but accended by Air. These Considerations made me conjecture that Amber, which I take to be a Mineral Oleosum coagulated with a Mineral Volatile acid might be a Natural Phosphorus, so I fell to make many Experiments upon it, and at last found, that by gently rubbing a well polished Piece of Amber with my Hand in the dark, which was the Head of my Cane, it produc’d a Light; whereupon I got a pretty large piece of Amber, which I caused to be made long and taper, and drawing it gently thro? my Hand, being very dry it afforded a considerable Light. I then us’d many Kinds of soft Animal Substances, and found none did so well as that of Wool. And now new Phenomena offered themselves; for upon drawing the piece of Amber swiftly thro’ the Woollen Cloth, and squeezing it pretty hard with my Hand, a pro- digious number of little Cracklings were heard, and every one of those produc’d a little flash of Light; but when the Amber was drawn gently and slightly thro’ the Cloath, it produc’d a light but no Crackling; but by holding one’s Finger at a little distance from the Amber, a large Crackling is produc’d with a a ca nL Sepseebtae et ath Serer ere tees ecraeet ne co ee Sa = a a eee en ner eres ee Nee Se Sn A leery eens SF ae cme Ce penealae oa See ee Sie a al a eae a slit tiie ae eee ee Tee a oe Sate Sf oe reemmee SLT TTT) Poe bees ee net ae = 4 ee r Ce A na arene teehee * FO a en Na Sit iF iW i \} Mi! il tN 62 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE a great flash of Light succeeding it, and, what to me is very surprizing, upon its eruption it strikes the Finger very sensibly, Wheresoever apply’d, with a push or puff like Wind. The Crackling is full as loud as that of Charcoal on Fire; nay five or six Cracklings, or more, according to the quickness of plac- ing the Finger, have been produc’d from one single Friction, Light always succeeding each of ’em. Now I make no ques- tion, but upon using a longer & larger piece of Amber, both the Cracklings & Light would be much greater, because I never yet found any Crackling from the Head of my Cane, altho’ 'tis a pretty large one; and it seems, in some degree, to repre- sent Thunder and Lightning; but what to me is more strange than all I have been telling you is, that tho’ upon friction with Wool in the daytime, the Cracklings seem to be full as many and as large, yet by all the Tryals I have made, very little Light appears, tho’ in the darkest Room; and the best time of making these Experiments, is when the Sun is 18 Degrees below the Horizon; and when the Sun is so, tho’ the Moon shines never so bright, the Light is the same as in the darkest Room, which makes me chuse to call it a Noctiluca.” Wall concludes his paper, which was the only one he con- tributed to the Philosophical Transactions, with these noble words: “I am not without hopes but that some more elevated and happy Genius may arise, under whose Conduct these hints may be carry’d on to a height not easie to be foreseen by Per- sons of short Views, whose Conceptions are confined within the narrow limits of what’s already known, and whose Self suf- ficiency sooths ’em with a Ne plus ultra. “Thus, Sir, I please myself with the remote prospect of new Scenes in Nature, which, tho’ imperfect at present, may in time by some skilful Hand be finish’d and fitted for a nearer view, tho’ before that time shall come, nothing may remain of me besides this Testimony of my good Will to Mankind, and particular respect for you.” Wall imagined he had observed a connection between the sparking of electrified amber and the position of the sun.LIFE AND RESEARCHES 63 Isaac Newton made some electrical experiments about 1675. He discovered that electrified glass attracted light bodies on the side opposite to that which had been rubbed. This showed that electrical attraction might pass through a solid dielectric. He supposed that electrified bodies emitted an elastic fluid which freely penetrated glass, and that the emission was per- formed by vibrations of the constituent particles of the elec- trified bodies. In 1670 Picard had observed an electric glow in vacua over mercury, and before the end of the century Italian experi- menters of the “de Cimento” discovered that electrified bodies could be discharged by flames. The ability of glass to take a high electrification was first observed by Hawkesbee, and described, with many other valu- able observations, in his book on Physico-Mechanical Expert- ments, published in 1709. He whirled a hollow glass globe, which was electrified by rubbing with the hand. This machine was the forerunner of the glass electrostatic machines. He ex- amined the various glows produced in the air within the globe, when the pressure of the air was varied. He observed that if the globe was filled with dry sand, its strength of electrification decreased. He found that the electrification of a solid cylinder of glass was slightly less, but more permanent, than that of a hollow cylinder. Thus he compared the properties of various dielectrics. Hawkesbee did not clearly distinguish between insulators and conductors. He supposed he could not electrify a metal because “all the attrition of the several bodies I have used for that purpose, have been too weak to force it from it.” He believed that friction forced electricity out of bodies. The progress of electrical research for the next quarter of a century was slow, probably owing to the failure of Hawkes- bee’s successors to adopt his electrical machine. Experimenters returned to the rubbing of rods, which did not provide them with powerful supplies of electricity, and hence increased the difficulty of their experiments. The incident is an instructive example of the results of neglecting large-scale experiments, a 7 nN Sg re re laine eat ee EC Cates ene en eT I re eat ee ed ee eae a eT ST nD SO eS Ee Ee ee ee eee SF ae 7 Mies c wee. et eee — a een nin ad eee et be Lee tn a bee Le een io ee. ne CEPT ae ete te ee i ee ss asete ee fou 2d cirenagart eRe ne SE le na i kere n De Deak Ferd eat elt tls ee LE en eet had A : Ty HA A rr Stet 64 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE and failing to take advantage of increased power provided by improvement of machinery. This may have some connection with the arrest of scientific and technical development in the early eighteenth cent ; owing to the ease with which wealth was procured from India, according to the suggestion of G. N. Clark. A remarkable series of experiments was made by Stephen Gray and his friend Wheeler about the year 1728. They dis- covered electricity could be conducted along threads of liner or hemp. They constructed lines of thread over a hundred feet long, supported by silk, and succeeded in detecting electricity that had passed from one end to the other. “Mr. Wheeler was desirous to try whether we could not carry the Electrick Vertue horizontally. I then told him of the Attempt I had made with that Design, but without Success, telling him the Method and Materials made use of, as men- tioned above. He then proposed a Silk Line to support the Line by which the Electrick Vertue was to pass. I told him it might do better upon the Account of its Smallness so that there would be less Vertue carried from the Line of Communica. tion, with which, together with the apt Method Mr. Wheeler contrived, and with the great Pains he took himself, and the Assistance of his Servants, we succeeded far beyond our Ex- pectation.” The silk was made as thin as possible, as Gray and Wheeler assumed that its conducting power depended on its thickness. The silk proved to be too thin to support the weight of the thread, so they tried other materials, They tried brass wire, because that could be both strong and thin. But the electricity would no longer pass down the thread, as it seemed to disap- pear into the brass wire. As the conduction did not appear to depend on thickness, they returned to the use of thicker silk. They found that hempen lines supported by loops of silk would conduct electricity some eight hundred feet. Thus Gray and Wheeler discovered the distinction between conductors and non-conductors. These ingenious experimenters studied the effects of elec-er a at 7 ae band Sotto Sperarcers Fy seepereeetere Bre ce ea iad lara een ete BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (from B. Wilson’s Portrait painted in 1759.) Pe Agr auter PR ated a (ee Laced cab neeet ee eee See ee | | i Hi i : | | a OE a ee ee TE ot dL eee eed Seen ee ee eet et ee eee TR te he ee ot Moe Lh Aieetete eT No aa ate a neLIFE AND RESEARCHES 65 tricity conducted on to load-stones, red-hot pokers, chickens and boys. Gray proved that liquids could be electrified by charging soap-bubbles. “JT dissolved Soap in the Thames Water, then I suspended a Tobacco-Pipe by a Hairline, So as that it hung nearly hori- zontal, with the Mouth of the Bowl downwards: then having dipped it in the Soap-Liquor, and blown a Bubble, the Leaf- Bras laid on a Stand under it, the Tube being rubbed, the Bras was attracted by the Bubble.” Gray was a brilliant experimenter, but had a peculiar temper- ament. In 1739, after Gray’s death, Desagulier wrote that he had not entered on electrical researches because Gray, who had wholly turned his thoughts to electricity, “was of a temper to give it entirely over, if he imagined that any thing was done in opposition to him.” Gray felt he had a proprietary night in electrical discoveries. As experimenters in England were afraid of encroaching on Gray, it is not surprising that the next great advance occurred in France. Dufay discovered “that there are two distinct kinds of electricity, very different from one another; one of which I call vitreous, the other resinous electricity. The first is that of glass, . . . the second is that of amber... . . The charac- teristic of these two electricities is, that they repel themselves, and attract each other. . . . From this principle, one may easily deduce the explanation of a great number of other phe- nomena; and it is probable, that this truth will lead us to the discovery of many other things.” Dufay transmitted electricity over spaces of twelve inches of air, when a lighted candle was placed in the middle of the space. He observed that when he insulated himself and was charged with electricity, sparks visible in the dark could be taken out of him. The number of sparks was increased if a piece of metal was presented to his charged body. When Gray found that Dufay was not trespassing on his ground, but advancing knowledge, he resumed research. He concluded that if the charged person and the metal were re- rts a I ef ernest Sa a ee Ore as eee eens DIT a ae a Eee eI ey WG i v t ‘t es = imae seer. et el ee ee = ee ee Te TT ee eee “pee —te! Sai et ead eee Fa ee eet east ee he eee! i Fe ee eae atbees Hi ad _—— 66 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE versed in position, sparks should come from the metal. He tried the experiment, and found that sparks could be drawn from charged insulated iron pokers, etc. Priestley states that this experiment introduced the notion of metallic conductors. Gray and his friends noticed that when the experiments were performed in the dark, cones or pencils of light streamed from the metals. They noted separate threads of light in the cones. Thus the brush discharge was discovered in these ex- periments. Gray found that a pointed rod discharged a body with gentle snaps, but a blunt rod discharged with one loud snap. From these experiments in 1734 he concluded: “in time, there ma be found out a way to collect a greater quantity of the electric fire ... which . . . seems to be of the same nature with that of thunder and lightning.” Gray died shortly after this date. The day before he died he described to the secretary of the Royal Society some ex- periments that convinced him that the solar system was oper- ated by electrical forces. A small charged iron globe was laid on resin. The experi- menter held a small body over the globe by a string several inches long. It was found that the body will of itself begin to move in a circle round the globe, and constantly from west to east. With slightly different dispositions, the orbits will be ellipses of various eccentricities. Wheeler and others tried the experiments repeatedly after Gray’s death, and concluded that the movement from west to east was due to the unconscious desire of the experimenter who held the string. Gray had been bemused by the planchette. A new period of electrical research started in Germany in 1740, with the reintroduction and improvement of the ma- chines of Guericke and Hawkesbee. Winkler used a pad in- stead of the hand for rubbing the glass globe, Gordon intro- duced a cylinder instead of the globe, and Boze added a metal conductor insulated with silk threads. The larger electrical powers of these machines allowed new and striking experiments. Small animals were killed by sparks,LIFE AND RESEARCHES 67 colors were bleached, and spirits were fired. Small bells and wheels were operated by discharges. In 1740 Nollet exhibited a continuous electric discharge in a partial vacuum, and described various purple-colored stream- ers that appeared in the discharge vessel. Grummert produced brilliant discharges in vacuum tubes and suggested in 1744 that they should be used “an mines and places where common fires and other lights cannot be had.” In the same year Winkler suggested that words could be spelt out in bent vacuum tubes, which could be illuminated in the dark. J. W. Ryde translates his account of the experiment: “Some exalted persons, to whom I had the honour of showing electrical experiments, were very delighted when they saw the initial letters of the most illustrious name of Augustus Rex suddenly shine out brightly in a darkened room and noticed the flood of light which instantaneously filled the glass letters.” As Ryde remarks, the modern uses of discharge lamps for illumination and display had been proposed in 1744. In 1752 Watson demonstrated a tube 32 inches long which gave a steady light. This was a positive column tube of the type now used for advertising and flood lighting. By 1744. large number of properties of electricity had been discovered, many of which were not utilized until the twenti- eth century. Electrical studies in the eighteenth century, though an expression of the philosophical attitude of the period which was rapidly becoming commercial, were not yet close enough to industrial and commercial interests to receive much direct impetus from those interests. The natural philosophers who appeared with the Renaissance were influenced by many mo- tives. The deepest were economic and material. They applied in the sphere of intellectual work the attitude which the dom- inant classes of the Renaissance showed to life. This was a concern with the exploitation of the material world. The rise of the city merchants and craftsmen was accompanied by a turn of the philosophic gaze of humanity from heaven to earth, from the world of magic to the world of materials. The pre-Renaissance ideas of magic persisted strongly into Seti 5 Sey ree ee Peeprreeeeare teres erase Rsenaeh Ee ele ae beet hha reach tas Sr ae ae Te Pa et a Fe ea ee Pe Na a ae I re A RE a a ET S er Se . RN Se ecenticmep ic acwed analeaonee a ele Lenape tee = Ne ee ee ee Se ee than et ee ee ene Oe Rl LE ete tn a te aE eh een ee renee oF aterm ess — eae ee tae eal ates —= rey —— a Fire er ei i 68 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE the succeeding period. In one form, they persisted as enter- tainment for the leisure classes. This motive was strong among the early members of the Royal Society. But a study of the early Royal Society papers shows utilitarian motives were at least as strong. It has been noticed that the first comparison of electric discharges with lightning occurred in a research in- spired by utilitarian motives, an attempt to find an easier way of making phosphorus. It appeared that the manufacture of phosphorus was so profitable that the maker could quickly re- tire abroad with a fortune. Motives of utility are generally much more powerful than motives of entertainment; never- theless, motives of entertainment may have considerable in- fluence. The increase and distribution of wealth that accom- panied the Renaissance increased the size of the leisured classes. A considerable part of the increased number of persons of leisure spent their time acquiring education. As the size of the leisure class increased, the proportion of intellectual members increased. What were these clever persons without work to do? They could not become monks, because society was no longer fundamentally interested in the next world. They had to busy themselves with this world. They unconsciously adapted in their entertainment the attitude of mind characteristic of the dominant trading and manufacturing classes. Playing with scientific instruments and experiments was a vicarious form of manufacturing. By the seventeenth century the entertainments of chivalry appeared ridiculous to the keenest minds. Substitutes for Boc- cacclo were required. The concentration of population made hunting and the old entertainments less accessible. There was a demand for more compact forms of entertainment which could be given in rooms in cities. Electrical phenomena were particularly suitable for this purpose. They gave flashes and cracks, and colored lights in the dark, and could be produced by neat and clean apparatus. The electricity seemed to be made out of nothing, and ap- peared far more magical than the false products manufactured by the messy process of the alchemists.LIFE AND RESEARCHES 69 E. L. Nichols has compared the public excitement raised by the discovery of the Leiden jar with the modern discoveries of X-rays and radium. He explained that the simplicity of the jar made it more striking, as nearly everyone could make ex- periments with it if he desired, whereas X-rays and radium cannot be demonstrated without complicated apparatus. Another motive for the popularity of the Leiden jar was the shortage of amusements. There were no cinemas in the eighteenth century, and doubts of the propriety of public exe- cutions were beginning. Kleist discovered the condenser accidentally. He charged a nail that had been inserted in a medicine glass. He found that he received a sharp shock when he held the glass in one hand, and touched the nail with the other. The strength of the shock was increased when the glass was filled with mercury or alcohol. The Dutch experimenters accidentally invented the jar in attempts to prevent leakages of charge. They surrounded charged bodies with glass to prevent leakage through the air. Water was placed in a glass bottle and charged by a wire. The experimenters accidentally found, like Kleist, that if the glass was held in one hand and connection with the water was made with the other, a surprising shock was experienced. The wonders of the shocks from Leiden jars excited wide interest. Priestley describes the “sentiments of the magnani- mous Mr. Boze, who with a truly philosophic heroism, worthy of the renowned Empedocles, said he wished he might die by the electric shock, that the account of his death might furnish an article for the memoirs of the French Academy of Sciences. But it is not given to every electrician to die the death of the justly envied Richman.” (Riehmann, who was killed in St. Petersburg by electricity he had drawn from thunder clouds. ) Everybody was eager to see and feel the effects of dis- charges from Leiden jars, and in many European countries numbers of persons earned a livelihood “by going about and showing” them. The properties of the jar were strenuously investigated by i i i D i in iB H | : | a } | | i | \ / | j i oY | “ie i a q a its eee — Se Shaan Di ren eben SSE ete ated ae eo ets a eta = —— eer tne = Sa tS —= So nO ee TE ad Le ene Sea ae = a Soins ——= A Oe NE Se ae Pet eros Gentes a Secetones" q ay i}eel er a ee ee ere ee tg eee Sener tet= mes eee eee a cr eh earn aaa oT Pd eT ed re Phi Cee eee tas is Pe ee Se ett cabin eS ee a ah a AM HY eo ES 82 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE first not from choice but from necessity, when numbers be- ing driven by war from their hunting grounds, and prevented by seas, or by other nations, from obtaining other hunting grounds, were crowded together into some narrow territories, which without labor could not afford them food.” He is in favor of workhouses, which, he hears, are being established in England. “I should think the poor would be more careful, and work voluntarily to lay up something for themselves against a rainy day, rather than run the risk of be- ing obliged to work at the pleasure of others for a bare sub- sistence, and that too under confinement.” The connection between individualist competition and biological notions of the survival of the fittest, which became prominent in the nine- teenth century, are seen here in embryo. Franklin afterwards foresaw that the high wages paid in America would tend to increase the wage-level in other coun- tries. “The independence and prosperity of the United States of America will raise the price of wages in Europe, an ad- vantage of which I believe no one has yet spoken.” He con- tended that the principle of reducing wages in order to increase exports was mistaken. Exports should be increased by decreas- ing the price of goods, not by decreasing the wages of the workmen who made them. “The price of labor in the arts, and even in agriculture, is wonderfully diminishing by the perfection of the machinery employed in them.” He explains that improved machinery and “judicious sub- division of labor” will reduce the costs of production, and hence the price. These principles do not have any logically necessary connection with low wages. High wages attract the best workmen, who spoil fewer tools and material, work faster, and produce the best goods. “The perfection of machinery in all the arts is owing, in a great degree, to the workmen.” They make the inventions and improvements. Low wages are not “the real cause of the advantages of commerce between one nation and another”; but are “one of the greatest evils of political communities,”LIFE AND RESEARCHES 83 “Wages in England are higher than in other parts of Eu- rope, owing to more efficient machinery and labour organiza- ‘ion. In America wages are still higher, owing to the special ‘ircumstances of high demand for labour in a new country whose population and agriculture are expanding rapidly. The expansion of the American market will increase the demand for goods, and hence increase wages, in Europe. Emigration to America will decrease the number of workmen in Europe, and increase the wages of the remainder through competi- tion.” Franklin discusses the argument that improved technique will not necessarily increase wages, because the very small number of “proprietors and capitalists” will keep wages as low as possible, owing to the operation of forces “anherent in the constitutions of European states.” He suggests that “the causes, which tend continually to accumulate and concentrate landed property and wealth in a few hands” may be dimin- ished by political action inspired by the success of the Ameri- cans in securing independence and liberty. “The remains of the feudal system might be abolished,” the mode of taxation changed, and commercial regulations amended. The problems of defense against the French and Indians were the occasion for an assembly of commissioners from the various colonies at Albany. Franklin represented Pennsy]l- vania. The question of union had been ardently discussed. in the colonies, so Franklin, without instructions from his as- sembly, presented to the commission a plan containing Short Hints towards a Scheme for Uniting the Northern Colonies. Other unauthorized plans were also submitted, but Franklin’s was approved. The scheme consisted of a governor-general, a soldier ap- pointed and paid by the King, and a council containing dele- gates from the assemblies. The council was to propose acts, which would be carried out, or vetoed, by the governor-general. Its funds were to be drawn from an excise duty on strong liquors. Franklin said that the assemblies found the scheme gave EE ae er eens : E FR AL npn nner ne eS n= E : we Stet ape eee ne ee ae mapagaset en cewns momense Mw e owe deren 3° => = 5 eceeenelielitiaT as le Sea ee ne een Nel Ne ee Ee ee —— ee aniline Sr mas « “ace, en bios Sires Torben au, Str ee cee heise Po eet ee Th ae eee y" Fae ors Peer ee 7 Foe ee gtr ES I eae To ees Seeaa ie ee nn eee Teen PR a a i ee ad ee Ean Tee eee Cr ee ee CaS eh ee hee Tae Petes. 4 re ig te eeebs tt Mi . ih ui — 84 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE too much power to the crown, and the British Government thought it too democratic. The scheme was the first plan of union of the American colonies which received official discussion. It contained no sug gestion of American independence. The colonists considered the plan gave the crown half the power, whereas “in the British constitution, the crown is sup- posed to possess but one third, the lords having their share.” As the choice of the commissioners “was not immediate] popular, they would be generally men of good abilities for business, and men of reputation for integrity; and that forty- eight such men might be a number sufficient.” Later in 1754 Franklin was asked by Governor Shirley of Pennsylvania to report secretly on a suggestion of the British to nominate members of the proposed grand council and to tax the colonies. John Adams said that “this sagacious gentleman and distinguished patriot, to his lasting honor, sent the gov- ernor an answer in writing” which powerfully opposed the suggestion of taxing the colonists “by act of Parliament, where they have no representation,” and “excluding the people” “from all share in the choice of the grand council.” This an- swer was published in England twelve years later. The disputes on taxation became serious by 1757, so Franklin was sent by the Pennsylvania Assembly as their Agent to Lon- don to negotiate their disputes with the Penn family, the proprietors of Pennsylvania, and the British Government. While waiting to embark at New York, he wrote to a friend his reflections on the production of cold by evaporation, of which he had just heard from Professor Simson of Glasgow. He has supposed electricity to be a fluid, and considers heat is also a fluid. Heat expansion is due to the filling of the pores of bodies with the fluid. Melting and evaporation are due to the forcing apart of the constituent particles; “a damp moist air shall make a man more sensible of cold, or chill him more, than a dry air that is colder, because a moist air is fitter to re. ceive and conduct away the heat of his body.” The fluid fire is attracted by plants in their growth and isLIFE AND RESEARCHES 85 consolidated with the other materials of which they are formed. When bodies burn, the fluid fire and air escape again. “J imagine that animal heat arises by or from a kind of fer- mentation in the juices of the body, in the same manner as heat arises in the liquors preparing for distillation, wherein there is a separation of the spirituous from the watery and earthy parts. And it is remarkable that the liquor in a distiller’s vat, when in its highest and best state of fermentation, as | have been informed, has the same degree of heat with the human body—that is, about 94 or 96. “Thus, as by a constant supply of fuel in a chimney you keep a room warm, so by a constant supply of food in the stomach, you keep a warm body.” Clothing does not give a man warmth, but prevents the dissipation of his natural heat. He supposes that mixtures of snow and salt cool because they are better conductors than the constituents. This would explain why the snow and salt appear to dissolve into water, at the low temper- ature, without freezing. In another letter he refers to the ancient knowledge in the East of cooling by evaporation. Water flasks were cooled by wrapping in wet woollen cloths. Water in unglazed pots was cooled by evaporation through the pores. The evaporation o sweat therefore explained how the human body kept cool in hot weather, and why the temperature of a live body kept below high summer temperatures, whereas a corpse acquired them. Evaporation explained why reapers in Pennsylvania were liable to drop dead if they did not drink freely. If they did not drink freely, they did not sweat, and so could not be cooled to a healthy temperature. Plants probably remain cool in the sunshine by evaporation. Franklin concludes by suggest- ing that painful inflammations would be cooled better by rags soaked in spirit than in water, because the spirit evaporates more quickly. Soon after Franklin arrived in England he sought his rela- tives and ancestors, showing the characteristic American in- terest in genealogy. He took rooms in the house of Mrs. Stevenson of Craven ten rT ek ree tetas es aes a aaa ES Nl Toei en to ren Sa nae it} F H f 7 i } { t { i & | Pe = SO NODE eT leat ne oe ees ote pa per Pe,ee ER eee ein a ere Fe eee ee eT ee sad TEST i ree ee Tee etait a eS Teed pre) eet ad Stee yet hie TE otha bn Laan] ny oan 86 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Street, by the Strand. She had a charming daughter, to whom he enjoyed giving lessons in, and writing letters on, science and learning. In one of these, which has already been quoted, he described experiments by which he had compared the power of different colored bodies to absorb heat radiation from the sun. In another, he summarized the utility of insects to man, and concluded his remarks: “The knowledge of nature may be ornamental, and it may be useful; but if, to attain an eminence in that, we neglect the knowledge and practice of essential duties, we deserve repre- hension. For there is no rank in natura] knowledge of equal dignity and importance with that of being a good husband or wife, a good neighbour or friend, a good subject or citizen— that is, in short, a good Christian.” The end of the war between England and France was ap- proaching in 1760. Some in England were in favor of leaving Canada to the French, and taking territory in the West Indies. Franklin combated this view in a pamphlet. He discussed the future of North America, and the need for controlling the un- settled lands of the Mississippi, in the interests of England. The English were jealous of the rise of manufactures in America, because it would damage their export trade. Frank- lin wrote: “Manufactures are founded on poverty. It is the multitude of poor without land in a country, and who must work for others at low wages or starve, that enables under- takers to carry ona manufacture, and afford it cheap enough to prevent the importation of the same kind from abroad, and to bear the expense of its own exportation. “But no man, who can have a piece of land of his own, suf- ficient by his labor to subsist his family in plenty, is poor enough to be a manufacturer, and work for a master. Hence, while there is land enough in America for our people, there can never be manufactures to any amount or value.” It was therefore to the interest of England to retain the unsettled lands of Canada, and the West. He explains that the establishment of industrialism in a sparsely populated country is complicated and cannot be in-LIFE AND RESEARCHES 87 troduced in parts, owing to the subdivision of labor. A com- plete set of skilled workmen cannot be persuaded to leave their own country. Countries rarely lose established industries, ex- cept by bad police oppression or religious persecution. “They sometimes start up in a new place” “like exotic plants,” but do not pay “until these new seats become the refuge of the manu- facturers driven from the old ones.” The presence of manu- facturing in any place is not due to soil, climate, or freedom from taxes. As Agent for Pennsylvania Franklin had to negotiate with the British Government concerning the numerous disputes be- tween the Proprietaries, who had been presented with the land of the province by Charles the Second, and the inhabitants represented by the Assembly. His experiences inclined him to think in 1764 that “the cause of these miserable contentions is not to be sought for merely in the depravity and selfishness of human minds.” He suspected “the cause 1s radical, inter- woven jn the constitution, and so become the very nature, of proprietary governments; and will therefore produce its ef- fects, as long as such governments continue. And, as some physicians say, every animal body brings into the world among its original stamina the seeds of that disease that shall finally produce its dissolution; so the political body of a proprietary overnment contains those convulsive principles that will at length destroy it.” In another discussion of proprietary troubles he remarks: “Such is the imperfection of our language, and perhaps of all other languages, that, notwithstanding we are furnished with dictionaries innumerable, we cannot precisely know the im- port of words, unless we know of what party the man 1s that uses them.” Franklin returned to America in 1762. In the same year his son William was appointed Governor of New Jersey, at the age of thirty-one years. William Franklin had been born in 1731, the year after Franklin was married, but his mother was not Franklin’s wife. He was carefully educated and pushed by his father. Franklin said the appointment was not solicited, oe — Seine Re D { H i i i 4 i aan ~ = ~ ~ _ tei te en ed ee ee et a ss sehen eel or ee 2 er = - LDL Sane oe ar ee ae!a a ai ar Sen Dene ns 11 eee, a ne ie eee Lt ees FO a a Sea Orr See ibaa a anes St eee LLL Eee eens tl eee oe a i eae Pee ah obineed ph nace in i ft Hw Rau! a Pa 88 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE and opponents of the British Ministry suggested it was an in- direct bribe to embarrass him in his work as Colonial Agent. Thomas Penn, one of the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, wrote: “TI am told you will find Mr. Franklin more tractable, and I believe we shall, in matters of prerogative; as his son must obey instructions, and what he is ordered to do his father can- not well oppose in Pennsylvania.” William Franklin became an ardent Royalist. He resolutely resisted the insurgents in the War of Independence, and retired to England with a pen- sion and reparation from the British Government. He died in 1813 at the age of eighty-two years. His son William Temple Franklin was also illegitimate. Franklin took the youth with him to Paris, to act as private secretary, and afterwards re- peatedly solicited Congress to give him a place in the diplo- matic service. Congress evaded these solicitations. The grand- son was of mediocre ability. He was unhappy in America, after living with Franklin for many years in Paris, and finally re- turned to his father in England, and died at Paris in 1823. The great wars by which England captured the colonies of France in Canada and India were ended in 1763. The British Government had difficulty in finding the money to pay for the wars, so they decided to tax the American colonies. They con- sidered the Americans owed their protection against France chiefly to the British navy and army, and therefore the Ameri- cans should contribute to their cost. The size of the contribu- tions was to be decided by the House of Commons, and not by the colonial assemblies. An act was passed, by which all busi- ness and legal transactions in America were declared invalid without stamps. These could be purchased with gold or silver money only. The colonists violently opposed the act, as they disliked paying increased taxes, had real difhculty in finding gold to send to England, owing to the drain on it to pay for imports from England, and disputed the right of the House of Commons to tax them when unrepresented. They contended that taxation without representation was contrary to the prin- ciple of British political liberty. At the beginning of this agi-LIFE AND RESEARCHES 89 tation Franklin was again sent to England to protest against the stamp proposals, and to petition for the recognition of Pennsylvania as a crown colony. Nevertheless, the Stamp Act was passed, and the petition failed. The Stamp Act excited riots in America, and even demon- strations against Franklin’s relatives. His wife describes how she prepared to protect her house with firearms against demon- strators. Franklin was consulted in London by the British author- ‘ties on the causes of the uproar. His brilliant advocacy of the colonies’ case when examined before members of the House of Commons and explanations to other important persons, weak- ened the influence of the British Ministry, and helped to force it to resign. The new ministry repealed the act in 1766. In the summer of 1766 Franklin visited the Continent of Europe with Sir John Pringle, the physician and scientist. They visited Paris in 1767, and Franklin became personally acquainted with many eminent Frenchmen. This contact proved of great importance later in his career. Pringle was elected President of the Royal Society in 1772. When the struggle between the British Ministry and the colonies became acute, George III, in his annoyance with Franklin and the Americans, ordered that the lightning conductors on Kew Pal- ace should have blunt knobs instead of sharp points. Franklin, the inventor of conductors, had directed that the points should be sharp, so that an overcharge of electricity might be dis- ersed silently and without explosion . . . the question of blunt and sharp conductors became a court question, the cour- tiers siding with the King, and their opponents with Franklin. The King asked Sir John Pringle to take his side, and give him an opinion in favor of the knobs. To which Pringle replied by hinting that the laws of nature were not changeable at Royal pleasure. It was then intimated to him by the King’s authority that a President of the Royal Society entertaining such an opinion ought to resign, and he resigned accordingly. This incident inspired the epigram: Sf POT Sp ey to ere Shei rte eS ol See . Se = oe ~ a a aE ee = : : - a ee Te Cree : aga = se ta ~ ee en eres oer eT = cee = aeemerre tht ieee anaes beeen eet fe erie SS re Severe cess is ne 7 ss & 2 ee LL ——— —- = ee er eee ene ee Loe tate eea eet ear, oot, we eet ee eS EE Rhian ome : Ce ee ee yee en as Ree kee Det een Seed ee Te lente ae ead 92 Senet TOs Ses Festa. - etal eget Tee eee rea 106 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE founded by Franklin and still includes his ideas. It is of fundamental importance in many industrial and biological processes, and is one of the most important branches of modern science, Franklin proposed Ax Abridgment of the Books of Com- mon Prayer in 1773. He had noticed the declining attendance at church, so he prepared a shorter and simpler scheme of common prayer. He rationalized the Prayer Book. The pro- posal failed completely. Franklin apparently forgot that men do not expect intelligible religion. They do not go to religion for persuasion, but for emotional support. The incident shows he was extremely non-mystical. Franklin had become an established figure in London since his arrival in 1757, Owing to his skilful representation of the interests of the colonies he gradually became their mouth- piece in England. His discreet personality attracted a group of social friends, and his contributions to science and social philosophy secured him a much respected position in the cir- cles of the Royal and other learned societies. Fay has emphasized the value of his connection with the Freemasons. This consolidated his position. Its full strength was suddenly revealed in 1774, by the affair of the Hutchinson letters. These had been written b born Americans, urging the British Government to force their countrymen to accept taxation by the House of Commons, without representation in that body. Hutchinson wrote that “there must be an abridgment of what are called English lib- erties; for a colony cannot enjoy all the liberty of a parent state.” Franklin obtained these letters by means w been explained, and sent them to New England, for con- fidential inspection by a few of the leading politicians, A knowl- edge of their contents spread, and presently they were pub- lished, contrary to Franklin’s instructions. Franklin said he thought that if the American protestors knew some influential American-born citizens were advising the British Government hich have neverLIFE AND RESEARCHES 107 to use force against them, they would become more patient with the British Government, recognizing that it had been misled by some of their own people. The event did not pro- mote peace, as Franklin had expected, but raised fury on both sides of the Atlantic. The Americans were furious with the machinations against them, and the British Government were furious that the contents of such secret documents had become public. The British Government made Franklin submit to a public examination concerning his conduct in the affair. He was called before the Privy Council, consisting of the Lord Prest- dent, the Secretaries of State, and many other Lords. A num- ber of distinguished visitors such as Edmund Burke and Joseph Priestley were in the public audience. The examination was conducted by the Attorney-General, Wedderburn, with the extremest personal abuse, and the President did not trouble to preserve decorum among the members of the council, who laughed and clapped at the Attorney-General’s witticisms. Franklin wore “a full-dress suit of spotted Manchester vel- vet, and stood conspicuously erect, without the smallest move- ment of any part of his body. The muscles of his face had been previously composed, so as to afford a placid, tranquil ex- pression of countenance, and he did not suffer the slightest alteration of it to appear during the continuance of the speech.” This event destroyed Franklin’s hopes for the creation of an empire of British commonwealths. It finally convinced him that the governing classes of Britain were not to be persuaded into a progressive imperial policy. Further, the personal insults showed that he could no longer hope to be personally assim- ‘lated into the British upper classes. His recognition of the ermanency of his exclusion from those classes helped to 1n- tensify that part of the Anglo-American conflict which involved struggles between different social classes. Britain’s snub to Franklin was not only a snub to America, but from a merchant- landowner class to a class of relatively small property owners. The bitterness of the Anglo-American contest was increased by AF v aw Sacha ain Ge Bt ss = a SSI = rare eeeibenree Tet ratte puttin get ee erate Santes ee om mene oes UE ee, metbaeieanaee Se aaa s SS = o = eee ee Sa Cn ie tee ce aa FE ee ee er EE ee ea r= iH q AA t | B " =a a eee, Te ee 7 dd eet eee ee ere a Lee ee me De eae Te Sr ea tain eat ent | eet eee ee Se ee ee Peer Gt tabs Eten os 7 —— ss ‘S t re Ue he ti j My “| ; | 108 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE the psychology of class conflict. The American governing classes resented the assumption of superior social status by the English governing classes as much as the English attempts to tax their property. If the Americans had been allowed to feel that the contest was between two groups of gentlemen of equal Status for a rich prize, they would perhaps have compromised without independence. But the English would not accept the American leaders as gentlemen. This class division added class hatred to the other motives for dispute, and made the combat- ants far more implacable. Franklin felt he had been stupidly and unjustly treated, as indeed he had, even from the point of view of the British gov- erning classes, and the collapse of his political and social as- pirations converted him into a relentless enemy. The British Government withdrew their recognition of his status as a colonial agent, and dismissed him from his position of Deputy Postmaster General of the colonies. Franklin described to Joseph Priestley in 1774 his recogni- tion of the existence of marsh gas. When passing through New Jersey in 1764 friends told him that if a lighted candle were applied near the surface of certain rivers, “a sudden flame would catch and spread on the water, continuing to burn for near half a minute.” Fis philosophical friends in England were incredulous. Finley of New Jersey sent the following letter to the Royal Society in 1765: “A worthy gentlem distance, informed me that in a certain small cove of a mill- pond, near his house, he was surprised to see the surface of the water blaze like inflamed spirits. I soon after went to the place, and made the experiment with the same success. The bottom of the creek was mudded, and when stirred up, so as to cause a considerable curl on the surface, and a lighted candle held within two or three inches of it, the whole surface was in a blaze, as instantly as the vapor of warm inflammable spirits, and continued, when strongly agitated, for the space of several seconds. It was at first imagined to be peculiar to that place; but upon trial it was soon found that such a bottom in other an, who lives a few miles’LIFE AND RESEARCHES 109 places exhibited the same phenomenon. The discovery was ac- cidentally made by one belonging to the mill.” The letter was read to the Royal Society in 1765, but deemed beyond credulity, so it was not printed. Comparisons of the chemical constitutions of olefiant gas and marsh gas gave John Dalton valuable inspiration in his development of the atomic theory of chemistry. He showed that the marsh gas contained exactly twice as much hydrogen as the olefiant gas for equal contents of carbon. This whole- number relation suggested to him that ultimate particles of marsh gas contained one atom of carbon, and two of hydro- gen, while the ethylene particle contained one of each. Marsh gas occupies an important position in the history of chemical theory, because its constitution could be easily com- pared with that of other gases containing the same constituents in different proportions, and led to the discovery of the chem- ical Law of Multiple Proportions; that if two elements com- bine to form more than one compound, then the weights of one of those elements that combine with a fixed weight of the other bear a simple ratio. The nature of the origin of marsh gas was also important. As it was found in ditches and marshes, it was particularly apt to interest the self-taught meteorologist, and observer of the country-side, John Dalton. He extracted a large part of the atomic theory out of marsh gas because it came from phenom- ena of the country-side with which he had a profound acquaint- ance. His discovery of the Law of the Partial Pressures of Gases arose out of his prolonged studies of the properties of the air, in connection with the weather. Franklin and Dalton surpassed the London fellows of the Royal Society in being able to recognize the reality of peculiar henomena. Franklin’s recognition that the “will o the wisp,” or flame that flitted over marshes, was an example of gaseous combustion and not a strange illusion, is a parallel to his recog- nition of the material nature of the flashes of lightning. It is interesting to note that he twice detected the material reality under natural flame phenomena, with lightning, and with oT Bese rere Se riers Se aa Err ron poe nearer rar anes i) | { ; \ P| j i i it 1 | H i H 1 Ce ee eet Nene a ree at manatee — ee ees oe aeeE oer ieee at iS reno eee 3 rseine, | Se ee Tala a De aS ene ieee et Eee tee one east rte ee eet te eee ee epee eta tthe tae {) iy i iw g y $ f | 110 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE marsh gas. He had the power of viewing common things without common illusions, which is one of the rarest intel- lectual gifts. Franklin’s capacious intellect could advance and follow all these matters, even in the midst of increasing political tension, and political labors. He could still find energy to keep con- tact with the formative personalities of the time, besides the established politicians and scientists. Tom Paine made his acquaintance, and sailed for America in 1774, with introduc- tions from him. Franklin became the world’s intellectual ex- change in the third quarter of the eighteenth century. The dispute between England and America deepened. The English insisted on the Americans accepting tea subject to an import duty from the East India Company. This company had at least seventy nominees who had been bribed into mem- bership of the House of Commons. The Americans preferred not to consume tea which had been taxed without their con- sent, so they boycotted English tea, and either went without tea, or obtained it from smugglers. The effects of the boycott on the East India Company, and thence on British commerce generally, were profound. The company was left with four million pounds’ worth of tea in its warehouses, and the price of its stock fell from 280 to 160, occasioning private bankrupt- cies and distress. The Government then arranged for the company’s tea to be sold duty-free in certain American ports, but without technically repealing the tax. A consignment of tea arrived in Boston. The infuriated population, led by some of the richest citizens, prevented it from being landed, and a number of persons in disguise threw the tea into the harbor. These events were followed by military actions against the Bostonians by the forces of the British Government. War between England and the colonies became imminent. Franklin made a last effort to move all influences for peace. He succeeded in meeting Chatham, who had evaded him for eighteen years. The Imperialist statesman considered that the unity of the empire was ultimately more valuable financially and in every way, than the disputed interests of the moment.LIFE AND RESEARCHES TT He was quite willing to allow considerable self-government to the constituent colonies, but was absolutely against inde- pendence. Franklin helped Chatham with the notes for his speeches against British military compulsion. They complimented each other on their similar ideals for the future of the British Em- pire, and Franklin assured him that he had never met anyone in America, drunk or sober, who desired independence. It is impossible to believe that Franklin did not deceive Chatham on this point. But Chatham would not proceed without the assurance, so Franklin gave it, and hoped for the best. He drew up schemes of reconciliation for the secret con- sideration of the British Government. One of these contained a series of articles, of which the twelfth 1s particularly inter- esting. This concerns the conditions of appointment of judges. These were formerly appointed by the crown and paid by the assemblies. The duration of the appointment was decided by the crown, and the duration of the salary by the assemblies. It had been urged against the assemblies that they exerted undue influence over the courts of justice through their control of judges’ salaries. The assemblies replied that making them dependent on the crown for the continuance of their places allowed the crown an undue influence; “that one undue influence was a proper balance for the other.” The assemblies would grant permanent salaries to the judges, if the crown would consent to retain judges only during good behavior. This passage shows the notion of a balance of forces was included in the mechanism of the proposed administrative ar- rangements. Chatham moved in the House of Lords of January 20th, 1775, that the British army should be removed from Boston in order to “allay ferments and soften animosities.” Franklin writes that he “was quite charmed with Lord Chatham’s speech in support of his motion. He impressed me with the highest idea of him, as a great and most able statesman.” He informed Chatham that “he has seen, in the course of life, sometimes eloquence without wisdom, and often wisdom with- ON ne le care ee —e ss a — = — a a te er nee Ne ee | aoe | At is i ay | eo Bi bs) i Ps i) TT sat, Ta erestar Et tet ree sah ee ET ae ea — Er ar ee ee ee nore pie ener ies eeeae a eee Oe ees a ee on ee Oe et ened aed ree Na TT age an eect mee ones ceed cata eee +o en Fe el ak eens Lee SEZs eeu t clbaerts ns a neat EM ale ge FA Ls i a Ae 112 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE out eloquence; in the present instance he sees both united, and both, as he thinks, in the highest degree possible.” It is said that Chatham concluded his speech: “If the ministers thus persevere in misadvising and misleading the king, I will not say that they can alienate the affections of his subjects from his crown, but I will affirm that they will make the crown not worth his wearing. I will not say that the king is betrayed, but I will pronounce that the kingdom is undone. “The motion was rejected. Sixteen Scotch peers, and twenty- four bishops, with all the lords in possession or expectation of places, when they vote together unanimously, as they gen- erally do for ministerial measures, make a dead majority, that renders all debating ridiculous in itself.” Chatham was ill, and had lost favor, and was at the end of his career. His last actions showed that his former evasion of Franklin had been an evasion of the American problem, and that his judgment of that problem had been profoundly faulty. After this, Franklin could do little more, so he sailed for America, not without fear of arrest, and announcing that the death of his wife in 1774 required his return for the set- tlement of his affairs, They had been parted for nearly ten years. Franklin had corresponded with her loyally, but not very ardently. He had not seemed to mind whether she was in America or England. While he had quite liked her, he was probably not sorry that she had not encumbered his European diplomatic movements. When he arrived in America he was welcomed by his daugh- ter Sarah, who had become the head of his household. She had married Richard Bache in 1767. The sole surviving descend- ants of Franklin came through her line. She looked after him during his last years. The colonies had organized a congress at Philadelphia of leading representatives to discuss what should be done. When Franklin arrived, he was appointed a delegate for Penn- sylvania. He had spent part of his time on the journey over the At-LIFE AND RESEARCHES 113 lantic observing the temperature and appearances of the water in the Gulf Stream. Shortly before his arrival in America, fighting between English soldiers and Americans started at Lexington. Franklin threw himself into the work of defense. Chevaux-de-frise were constructed in the River Delaware according to his design, which retarded the advance of the British ships for two months. The Congress declared the Independence of the United States of America in 1776. They needed aid desperately, for they were fighting the most formidable power in the world. They naturally decided to send Franklin, their most famous citizen, to solicit aid. He sailed again for Europe, to collaborate with Deane and Lee in the negotiation of a treaty of commerce and friendship with France. The success of the American in- surrection depended on French aid, and therefore on Franklin, who was the leading personality among the commissioners. He was nearly seventy years old when he set forth on this tre- mendous task. The commissioners struggled against the lack of confidence of the French in the future of the United States. The French wanted their traditional enemy to be weakened, but were anx- ious not to support a losing cause. Unofhcial methods of help- ing the Americans with money were devised by Beaumarchais, but the French would not give more ofhcial assistance until they could see more clearly how the contest would end. Frank- lin, Deane and Lee lived in the midst of a clash of social forces which were to determine the paths of empires and of English and French cultures. Their status was not recognized, and they had little money to finance their activities. The influence of personalities on the direction of social af- fairs is often exaggerated, but in some situations it may be great. The balance of social forces in an unstable equilibrium provides such a situation. The French could not make up their minds whether to support the Americans as full allies. While they were trying to decide, the extraordinary personality of ry { | i i | | | i ot il ‘ it zi, oie er ’ Peresrars Fy Tehri it tt —— 3 —— — ——— S _ SSS ae ae a ee a eee et ere ET re eT) ee pe ee ee EE er eed ae ne EO a ne pee eS Care ee rr by rh ia i 4 Fl Nar.Nee ee ee eee ene th ns a eae en ee ee Pete ee a ee a eee Sie ae a otf te een Ab eee ee ana i} i eee aes it Sa oe 114 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Franklin was constantly before them, as an advertisement of a nation. He was even more famous among French than among other scholars. His electrical researches had at first been ap- preciated better in France than in England. Besides his fame, he possessed extraordinary vitality. His mind was twenty years younger than his age. He behaved with extreme discretion and modesty, he had social charm, and adapted himself apparently without effort to the manners of the French. Yet the structure of his culture was different from that of the French or the English. Talleyrand said he was remarkable in conversa- tion because of his simplicity and the evident strength of his mind, Franklin was the first important ambassador of a new na- tion, and he appeared to be a superman. Presumably other supermen might be found in the place where he came from, so the people he represented were not to be abandoned without much deliberation. Franklin was the living advertisement of the present and future greatness of America. He fascinated the French while they deliberated. After nearly two years, Washington captured Burgoyne’s army at Saratoga. The French now had courage to give the Americans full support. Franklin’s réle and task be- came more normal. He had to deal with exceedingly compli- cated diplomatic maneuvers, spying, and intrigue, but it was no longer necessary for him to appear as a magician or super- man. His long experience of difficult negotiations, his mastery of journalism and Freemasonry, his intellectual prestige, his understanding of a wide variety of special subjects, enabled him gradually to solve the diplomatic problems. Franklin’s difficulties in Paris were vastly increased by difhi- culties with his colleagues. The complicated diplomatic and financial maneuvers were beyond Deane’s comprehension. Deane could not give a satisfactory account of the financial arrangements, and was suspected of peculation. Arthur Lee was the son of Virginian slave-owners, and had been educated at Eton. He was a member of the governing classes by birth, and was separated by the traditions of class behavior fromLIFE AND RESEARCHES 115 Franklin, who had been born in the lower middle class, and had become a member of the governing classes through inher- ent ability, and not through the possession of traditional gov- erning class position and habits. Lee wished to conduct Amer- ican affairs in Paris like a man accustomed to government, with aristocratic manners. His class sensitivity was increased by a morbidly suspicious temperament. He suspected the discreet and subtle habits that Franklin had had to acquire in order to rise to power. He believed that Franklin was liable to sell the United States to England or France, and communicated his suspicions to powerful groups in Congress. He even directly suggested that Franklin should be recalled, in favor of him- self. The efficiency of the British spying system in Paris was re- markable. A large fraction of the American Commissioners’ acquaintances were in English pay. Great efforts were made after Saratoga to persuade Franklin and his colleagues to ac- cept peace terms which would concede nearly everything ex- cept independence and alliance with France. George III and his advisers sent peace commissions to Amer- ica partly to avoid negotiating with Franklin. The king wrote to his prime minister, “The many instances of the inimical con- duct of Franklin towards this country makes me aware that hatred of this country is the constant object of his mind, and therefore I trust that, fearing the rebellion, colonies may ac- cept the generous offers | am enabled by Parliament to make them by the Commissioners now to be sent to America; that his chief aim in what he has thrown out is to prevent their go- ing... . Yet I think it so desirable to end the war with that country, to be enabled, with redoubled ardor, to avenge the faithless and insolent conduct of France, that I think it may be proper to keep open the channel of intercourse with that insiduous man.” Franklin’s hatred of the British governing classes was born during his abuse before the Privy Council by Wedderburn. When he went to Versailles to sign the treaty with France, he wore the “full-dress suit of spotted Manchester velvet,” er ee eee ES i | t i Wl 1 4 i i a | i lg / ' i i a a Eee ete cece airs a eno a i rc cs a O TT Ee = Re te ier err io seenee pea eT es ney ee ae ine eeepc ne Pn aes ee oh" rdalarms, arte tT} ee a ee eR al. ee er en Eon ene a a, io ee eee Ee nites hd RE oe feat re obser io ke pete st nena ieee Ses ace tees 116 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE which he had not worn after he had been insulted in it, and he never wore it again after the occasion of the signature of the treaty. Franklin continued his philosophic interests in the midst of his great diplomacy. He attended the Academy of Sciences reg- ularly. He read a paper on the Aurora Borealis in 1779. He ascribed it to the action of electricity in the upper atmosphere, which, being at a low pressure, would be a good conductor of electricity. He supposes the electricity is brought into the polar regions on the raindrops of clouds, which drift there with the hot air rising from the tropics and falling near the poles. At- mospheric electricity is normally able to escape in lightning discharges, but cannot so escape in the polar regions, he be- lieves, because those regions are covered with ice, which is a non-conductor. The melting of the ice-cap in summer would explain why the Aurora is weaker in summer than in winter. He supposes that the polar air owing to its extra density offers more resistance to the electric matter passing through it, and thus makes it visible. “The rays of electric matter issuing out of a body, diverge by mutually repelling each other, unless there be some con- ducting body near to receive them; and if that conducting body be at a greater distance, they will firsz diverge, and then conver ge, in order to enter it. May not this account for some of the varieties of figure seen at times in the motions of the luminous matter of the aurorae?” Franklin is here using the notion of lines of force. About the same time he wrote to the Journal of Paris about An Economical Project. This was a suggestion of systematic early rising in order to use daylight fully and save the cost of illumination. He calculates “that the city of Paris might save every year by the economy of using sunshine instead of can- dles” the sum of $2 5,000,000,000, or £5,000,000. He proposes to make the people rise early by taxing win- dow shutters, restricting the sale of candles, stopping vehicular traffic after dark, and ringing church bells at dawn. The plan of advancing time by the clock, as in the modernLIFE AND RESEARCHES a7) systems of Summer Time, apparently did not occur to him. The proposal of systematic daylight saving by the son of a candle maker is an example of the influence of industrial ex- perience on the conception of inventions for the improvement of the organization of social life. In 1779' Franklin issued a general order to the captains of American ships to give a safe passage to Captain Cook, whose return from his last world voyage was expected. Franklin be- lieved science, medicine, and even all productive labor should be exempt from interference during war. He persuaded the Congress not to put an embargo on the import of English sci- entific instruments and learned books, and was proud of in- corporating a similar provision in the Constitution of Penn- sylvania. Franklin’s interest in economics procured him the friendship of the French physiocrats and economists. His belief in the superiority of farming to industry as a foundation of society agreed with that of the physiocrats. As Fay remarks, the French liberal economists drew him away from the ideas of the British mercantile economists. But Franklin had emanci- pated himself before he met them. The French economic thinkers did not provide him with principles, but added en- thusiasm to them. Franklin showed more optimistic belief in humanity after his contact with the French, but not a new e€co- nomic philosophy. He wrote from France in 1779 concerning the liquidation of the national debt by the depreciation of paper money: “This effect of paper currency is not understood on this side the water. And indeed the whole is a mystery even to the politicians, how we have been able to continue a war four years without money, and how we could pay with paper that had no previously fixed fund appropriated specifically to re- deem it. This currency, as we manage it, is a wonderful ma- chine. It performs its ofhce when we issue it; it pays and clothes the troops and provides victuals and ammunition; and when we are obliged to issue a quantity excessive, it pays itself off by depreciation.” ae aT et a OORT | i | { t i ay ; if i { ! i i A fi ry ! } H } ote ee - 7 x ae ae ee ee ee ee en ae Aree PE a eee <== = = ery Sata renee oh) re hh oni te SY seep mene Tbe ae Se ae P= pa etaa a a par a te ln ee tee POT tel een eee a as bee el een Le ed actress 8 Fan Sees Oe eet eed ies > a ee ae ete ia Es stare rabies Ay hh A | ri ion ee a ar Ne ad A ei EE 118 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Franklin’s remarks on “managed currency” and its value in social crises have a modern air. Franklin continued to correspond with Priestley, Price and other English protestant philosophers. “Dr. Priestley, you tell me, continues his experiments with success. We make daily great improvements in watural—there is one I wish to see in moral—philosophy: the discovery of a plan that would induce and oblige nations to settle their dis- putes without first cutting one another’s throats.” He writes to Priestley: “I always rejoice to hear of your being still employed in experimental researches into nature, and of the success you meet with. The rapid progress ¢rue sci- ence now makes, occasions my regretting sometimes that I was born so soon. It is impossible to imagine the height to which may be carried, in a thousand years, the power of man over matter. We may perhaps learn to deprive large masses of their gravity, and give them absolute levity, for the sake of easy transport. Agriculture may diminish its labor and double its produce; all diseases may by sure means be prevented or cured, not excepting even that of old age, and our lives length- ened at pleasure even beyond the antediluvian standard. O that moral science were in as fair a way of improvement, that men would cease to be wolves to one another, and that human beings would at length learn what they now improperly call humanity!” “The greatest discovery made in Europe for some time past is that of Dr. Ingenhousz’s relating to the great use of the leaves of trees in producing wholesome air.” Then he describes Rochon’s invention of a range-finder based on the double refraction by Iceland spar. The anti-Catholic Gordon riots occurred in London jn 1780. Franklin wrote to a friend: “The beginning of this month, a mob of fanatics, joined by a mob of rogues, burned and de- stroyed property to the amount, it is said, of a million ster- ling.” After these riots Gibbon wrote: “Our danger is at an end, but our disgrace will be lasting, and the month of June 1780 will ever be marked by a dark and diabolical fanaticismLIFE AND RESEARCHES 119 which I had supposed to be extinct, but which actually sub- sists in Great Britain perhaps beyond any other country of Europe.” Franklin and Gibbon were in some agreement on the Gor- don riots, but on each other, they were not. Franklin once found that Gibbon was staying in an inn at which he had just arrived. He sent an invitation to Gibbon, who was upstairs, to spend the evening with him, and received the answer that it was impossible to converse with a “revolted subject.” Franklin replied that when “the decline and fall of the British Empire should come to be his subject,” he “would be happy to furnish him with ample material which was in his possession.” Franklin objected to religious tests for citizenship and ap- ointments. “I think they were invented not so much to secure religion itself as the emoluments of it.” Some experiences with the swelling of mahogany wood in Europe drew his attention to the humidity of the air. He re- marks: “The greater dryness of the air in America appears from some other observations. . . .” Veneer woods which were durable in Europe “never would stand with us,” the thin sheets shrank, and “were for ever cracking and flying.” “In my electrical experiments there, it was remarkable that a mahogany table, on which my jars stood under the prime conductor to be charged, would often be so dry, particularly when the wind had been some time at northwest, which with us is a very drying wind, as to isolate the jars.” .. . “I hada like table in London . . . but it was never so dry as to refuse conducting the electricity.” In 1781 Franklin found himself “rather inclined to adopt that modern” view “which supposes it best for every country to leave its trade entirely free from all incumbrances.” During a visit to Hanover, he met an educated man, who subsequently applied to him for a place as a soldier. He re- marked that he could not “conceive what should reduce him to such a situation as to engage himself for a soldier.” The difficulties of the American commissioners in their ne- db, “ecn' = aie Ny ert pera, ey Coser d Se 2 af —— r x 2 - — en I ae ae ae Ser sere aaa Se NT ee ne petra an tT sr tise t tt Semen gets oe tear as | it i Oe Sree OR i eo cane e : ; Se = ee cee ee a eT Te > ee ~ oe eer re eee ee Be eee Sate tte ps /ae acinar, ee ee ee Pa eek ee, ee an ee ee eee: Se ee Riad aerate ee ie en kee ee es Bp res ig caterer ets rt ae a i 4 at Vy — 120 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE gotiations and between themselves became almost unmanage- able. Lee was recalled and Franklin offered to resign. Deane was recalled owing to misunderstandings of his affairs. Frank- lin’s offer was not accepted, and Adams and Jay were sent to join Franklin and Lee as commissioners with authority to make peace with England when permissible. The quarrels continued almost as ferociously. Adams was a very able man. The appointment of Washington as commander-in-chief of the American Army was chiefly due to him, and he was prob- ably the most influential politician in Congress. Though ex- tremely honest, Adams was introspective and sensitive. He was little and fat, and was unable to carry off his appearance without looking slightly comic. Paris could not imagine that he could be more important in American home politics than such an immense personality as Franklin. Adams did not re- ceive very much notice. He felt slighted. He was also inex- perienced in the technique of European diplomacy. When he asserted himself the French objected to his diplomatic man- ners. This increased his anger, and his introspective suspicions. His psychological state had put him in sympathy with Lee. Further, his principles of social philosophy were far nearer to Lee’s than to Franklin’s. A measure of Franklin’s discretion and diplomatic subtlety is given by his skilful management of this very difficult situa- tion. Adams was perhaps the most powerful American of the moment, but Congress decided that Franklin must become the sole American ambassador to France, while Adams was ap- pointed to Holland, and Jay to Spain. Franklin had always been susceptible to attractive women. His amiability was an essential factor in his marvelous success at Paris. He was very friendly with the widow of the philoso- pher Helvetius, and may have proposed to her when he was seventy-five. In one of his letters to her, he discussed why her house was one of the most distinguished and frequented salons in Europe. He ascribed it to her power of making everyone feel happy there. Mrs. John Adams, who in her own style was also a charm-LIFE AND RESEARCHES 121 ing woman, wrote of a visit to Mme. Helvetius: “She entered the room with a careless, jaunty air; upon seeing ladies who were strange to her, she bawled out, ‘Ah! mon Dieu, where is Franklin? Why did you not tell me there were ladies here?” You must suppose her speaking this in French. ‘How I look!’ said she, taking hold of a chemise made of tiffany, which she had on over a blue lute-string, and which looked as much upon the decay as her beauty, for she was once a handsome woman; her hair was frizzled; over it she had a small straw hat, with a dirty gauze half-handkerchief round it, and a bit of dirtier auze than ever my maids wore was bowed on behind. She had a black gauze scarf thrown over her shoulders. She ran out of the room; when she returned, the Doctor entered at one door, she at the other; upon which she ran forward to him, caught him by the hand, ‘Helas! Franklin’; then gave him a double kiss, one upon each cheek, and another upon his fore- head. When we went into the room to dine, she was placed between the Doctor and Mr. Adams. She carried on the chief of the conversation at dinner, frequently locking her hand into the Doctor’s, and sometimes spreading her arms upon the backs of both the gentlemen’s chairs, then throwing her arm carelessly upon the Doctor’s neck. “J should have been greatly astonished at this conduct, if the good Doctor had not told me that in this lady I should see a genuine Frenchwoman, wholly free from affectation or stiff- ness of behaviour, and one of the best women in the world. For this I must take the Doctor’s word; but I should have set her down for a very bad one, although sixty years of age, and a widow. I own I was highly disgusted, and never wish for an acquaintance with any ladies of this cast. After dinner she threw herself upon a settee, where she showed more than her feet. She had a little lap-dog, who was, next to the Doctor, her favourite. This she kissed, and when he wet the floor she wiped it up with her chemise. This is one of the Doctor’s most intt- mate friends with whom he dines once every week, and she with him. She is rich, and is my near neighbour; but I have not yet visited her. Thus you see, my dear, that manners differ ex- Se. pr a fre Pear Tt Bite z bos terete tT SE Fear Sr a == — So ar a Ne hee hii er pep ce i : i | : t i Sees Poe aoe : : : a at aE OO ee —— = -— = : ne a a rn ee ee — aver re nape cAhein soa St, ke cette et ete ad ——s ee SN a na Se ee | tate as \) iy " , a 122 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE ceedingly in different countries. I hope, however, to find amongst the French ladies manners more consistent with my ideas of decency, or I shall be a mere recluse.” Franklin was informed of the defeat of Cornwallis, and the virtual collapse of the British campaign, in the autumn of 1781. The long negotiations for the final peace commenced. Of the English he wrote: “though somewhat humbled at pres- ent, a little success may make them as insolent as ever. I re- member that, when I was a boxing boy, it was allowed, even after an adversary said he had enough, to give him a rising blow. Let ours be a douser.” He took shares in the newly-formed National Bank. He restrained Congress from asking too much of the French. “This is really a generous nation, fond of glory, and particularly that of protecting the oppressed. Trade is not the admiration of their noblesse, who always govern here. Telling them their commerce will be advantaged by our success, and that it 1s their interest to help us, seems as much as to say, ‘Help us, and we shall not be obliged to you.’ Such indiscreet and improper language has been sometimes held here by some of our people, and produced no good effects.” A friend sent him a copy of Cowper’s poems. “The relish for reading poetry had long since left me; but there is some- thing so new in the manner, so easy and yet so correct in the language, so clear in the expression, yet concise, and so just in the sentiments, that I have read the whole with pleasure, and some pieces more than once.” In 1782, Franklin wrote to Priestley that he would rejoice if he could recover the leisure to search “into the works of nature; I mean the inanimate, not the animate or moral part of them; the more I discovered of the former, the more I ad- mired them; the more I know of the latter, the more I am disgusted with them. Men I find to be a sort of beings very badly constructed, as they are generally more easily provoked than reconciled, and more disposed to do mischief to each other than make reparation. . . .” He suggests that as Priestley grows older he may “repent of having murdered in mephiticLIFE AND RESEARCHES 123 air so many honest, harmless mice, and wish that, to prevent mischief, you had used boys and girls instead.” A few days later he writes to another friend “I have been apt to think that there has never been, nor ever will be, any such thing as a good war, or a bad peace.” The peace negotiations between America, England and France dragged on and on, and were conducted with suspicion and clumsiness by every participating government. At the age of seventy-six years, Franklin had to exert in- tellectual direction over the conflicting political forces. His mental alertness and vigor in these affairs were quite extraor- dinary, but few persons, especially his American colleagues, understood that his physical lassitude, partly due to gout, and partly to “diplomatic ‘Ilnesses” for bluffing negotiators, did not reflect the activity of his political intelligence. He was ac- cused of apathy in his country’s cause. Franklin’s colleague Jay was of Huguenot descent, and like Adams a Puritan. He had an excellent character, but his tra- ditions excited suspicion against the French Catholic monarchist politicians. Though his temperament was more amiable than Adams’, his political principles were fundamentally similar. He is reported to have said in negotiations with an English peace commissioner concerning security for the guarantee of peace that “he would not give a farthing for any parchment security whatever. They had never signified anything since the world began, when any prince or state, of either side, found ‘t convenient to break through them. But the peace he meant was such, or so to be settled, that it should not be the mzerest of either party to violate it. This, he said, was the only security that could be proposed to prevent those frequent returns of war, by which the world was kept in continual disturbance.” Almost at the same moment, Franklin was assisting a poor peasant from Provence to publish schemes for making peace treaties durable, and was trying to have privateering outlawed in warfare between nations. The lawyer Jay had no faith in international law, while Franklin hoped that the cruelty of war might be mitigated } t i a { i i ; | : i} 1 ; } i | i ; / 1 i | iH b i i nf Te as ae rn ree rT promeene herent toe Se en et i | iAeral tr Sr, ks ee) . Ca eee Per eee eet Sern eee toe ta EN Es ia tee Tt iret haste on ef eeeeteeel oY rte crs kn Beet ee ee ae Bese Cota dab i Ae telat ah ‘2 a ae a 124 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE by the gradual extension of agreed prohibitions on violence against civilians. Franklin continued to follow his scientific interests. He dijs- cussed the reports of live toads being found in stone, and how long they might have been there. Pringle had written to him in 1780: “Sir:—Last year I had the honor to inform you that two of those large moths called Muskitoe Hawks, which appear about September, and disappear about the beginning of December, lived seventy-one days after I had cut their heads off with a pair of scissors.” In 1782 he outlined a nebular theory of the origin of the earth, to account for the facts of geology, such as buried coal strata. “I should conceive, that, all the elements in separate particles being originally mixed in confusion, and occupying a great space, they would (as soon as the almighty fiat or- dained gravity, or the mutual attraction of certain parts, and the mutual repulsion of others, to exist) all move to their common centre. “The original movement of the parts towards their common centre would naturally form a whirl there.” He is pleased to hear of the “ferruginous nature of the lava which is thrown out of the depths of our volcanoes. “It has long been a supposition of mine that the iron con- tained in the surface of the globe has made it capable of be- coming, as it is, a great magnet; that the fluid of magnetism perhaps exists in all space; so that there is a magnetical north and south of the universe as well as of this globe, and that, if it were possible for a man to fly from star to star, he might govern his course by the compass; that it was by the power of this general magnetism this globe became a particular mag- net: Fe supposes the shape of the earth may have been changed by shifts of the axis. As the equatorial diameter is many miles greater than the polar, this would produce flooding by the seas, and the laying of new strata on the tops of old mountains.LIFE AND RESEARCHES 125 The contact of water and fire under the earth may produce explosive shocks that send waves through the “internal pon- derous fluid.” These waves will pass under all countries, and shake them. “Men cannot make new matter of any kind.” In 1783 he corresponded with the Italian scholar Filangieri on the principles of the American Constitutions. According to Bigelow, it is said that the correspondents became impressed by the American concern to place restrictions on the popular will, while the European philosophers and democrats wished to abolish such restrictions. The quarrel between Adams and Franklin became public in 1783. Adams abused the intentions of the French minister de Vergennes, even in front of English ministers, and had for years been attacking Franklin through his friends and relatives in Congress. Franklin had hitherto ignored these attacks, but at last he had to warn the Congress against Adams’ attacks. He summarized their nature, and then delivered an immortal judgment of his able colleague: “J am persuaded, however, that he means well for his coun- try, is always an honest man, often a wise one, but sometimes, and in some things, absolutely out of his senses.” In spite of the most distracting political quarrels, and his age, he preserved his interest in science. The Brothers Montgolfier demonstrated their hot-air bal- loon in 1783. The invention excited great interest, and later in the year Saint Fond, the Roberts, and Charles constructed a varnished silk balloon filled with hydrogen manufactured by treating iron filings with weak sulphuric acid. The diameter of the balloon was twelve feet. It was released in Paris before an enthusiastic crowd of five thousand persons, including Franklin. An attached note reauested the finder to return the balloon. It fell twelve miles distant, and was reported to con- tain some Ice. Franklin sent lively descriptions of the experiments to Sir Joseph Banks, the President of the Royal Society, and sub- rasorones ee ee terre ea nein a a ger fre CEU ne a ots Soe ] : 4 i i i rySe ar eee oo ee wt k= ae: re Se eee Ree el eae! Serre Tere ee gs 2 AO Oa ese ee er rere a] Ce eet ne ae ht cei oT ee PE ea cab! i) ey AM Bt HY VGH ey f a 1246 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE scribed to funds for further experiments. He immediately con- sidered that the invention “may pave the way to some discov- eries in natural philosophy of which at present we have no conception.” He thought that persons might bound across the country attached to small balloons, so that they would press the earth with a weight of not more than ten pounds. Horses might be assisted in the same way. Water might be frozen by hauling it up to a captive balloon, and persons might be given a view of the country from a height of one mile, for a guinea, etc. “A few months since the idea of witches riding thro’ the air upon a broomstick, and that of philosophers upon a bag of smoke, would have appeared equally improbable and ridicu- lous. “These machines must always be subject to be driven by the winds. Perhaps mechanic art may find easy means to give them progressive motion in a calm, and to slant them a little in the wind. “Beings of a frank and Sic nature far superior to ours have not disdained to amuse themselves with making and launching balloons, otherwise we should never have enjoyed the light of those glorious objects that rule our day and night, nor have had the pleasure of riding round the sun ourselves upon the balloon we now inhabit.” Franklin sent an admirable description of the ascent of Charles and Robert to Banks. “Never before was a philosophi- cal experiment so magnificently attended.” A small balloon fell in a direction contrary to that of the ground wind. Franklin remarks that a knowledge of the differ- ent directions of winds at different heights “may be of use to future aérial voyagers.” He wrote to Ingenhousz that ballooning appears “to be a discovery of great importance, and what may possibly give a new turn to human affairs. Convincing sovereigns of the folly of wars may perhaps be one effect of it, since it will be im- practicable for the most potent of them to guard his domin- ions. Five thousand balloons, capable of raising two men each,LIFE AND RESEARCHES 127 could not cost more than five ships of the line, and where is the prince who can afford so to cover his country with troops for its defense as that ten thousand men descending from the clouds might not in many places do an infinite deal of mischief before a force could be brought together to repel them!” Franklin’s previsions of the possibilities of aérial warfare have been fulfilled brilliantly. The military experiments of landing hundreds of troops behind the supposed enemy’s lines by parachutes are today familiar to the newspaper reader. He reports to Ingenhousz that Morveau has proposed fill- ing the balloons with gas “made from sea coal”—coal-gas. Owing to his interest in balloons, he received “a letter in France, the first through the air, from England.” Thus Frank- lin received the first Anglo-French air-mail delivery. Meanwhile the definitive peace treaties between all the bel- ligerent powers were signed at last, in September, 1783. News from America that the people are remiss in paying taxes prompts him to express his conception of property. “All property, indeed, except the savage’s temporary cabin, and other little acquisitions absolutely necessary for his sub- sistence, seems to me the creature of public convention. Hence the public has the right of regulating descents, and all other conveyances of property, and even of limiting the quantity and uses of it. All the property that 1s necessary to a man, for the conservation of the individual and the propagation of the species, is his natural right, which none can justly deprive him of; but all property superfluous to such purposes is the prop- erty of the public, who, by their laws, have created it, and who may therefore by other laws dispose of it, whenever the wel- fare of the public shall demand such disposition. He that does not like civil society on these terms, let him retire and live among savages. He can have no right to the benefits of so- ciety who will not pay his club towards the support Olsitew Franklin was visited in 1783 by Baynes and Romilly, who were then young men. Bigelow quotes Baynes’ notes of their conversations. Franklin discussed the plans of Price and others for a general peace in Europe. He thought it would be -- > Se Bait eess Pet rae a eae Cie ta are \ i i ey | | { i i : i S| ie. = ~aw a= ~ = EAL nm iene yee ears een. opera teat ee 2 4 Sect,! eae Stross irsecss pore tieet 1 treme Cad ipcite ere, te) eee ot Pte = Oe ee ee ee ee ee ee ett en i Sod PT en te ae ee SN ee heed Pere ti hate a told - err ea rt cabeaets i Pe mn a = tes 128 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE dificult to persuade the various sovereigns to send delegates to one place “but if they would have patience, I think they might accomplish it, agree upon an alliance against all aggres- sors, and agree to refer all disputes between each other to some third person, or set of men, or power. Other nations, seeing the advantage of this, would gradually accede; and perhaps in one hundred and fifty or two hundred years, all Europe would be included.” Franklin’s lower limit for the date of a successful league of nations was 1933. The event showed his estimate was par- tially correct; perhaps by 1983 it will have become adequately verified. Samuel Romilly, the English legal reformer, wrote in his diary: “Of all celebrated persons whom in my life I have chanced to see, Dr. Franklin, both from his appearance and his conversation, seemed to me the most remarkable. His vener- able patriarchal appearance, the simplicity of his manner and language, and the novelty of his observations, at least the novelty of them at that time to me, impressed me with an opinion of him as one of the most extraordinary men that ever existed.” Franklin read to him some passages from the American Constitutions, and expressed surprise that the French Govern- ment had allowed them to be published. They made a “very great sensation in Paris, the effects of which were felt many years afterwards.” The psychologist and charlatan, Mesmer, appeared in Paris in 1784. He became very fashionable, and was supported by Lafayette, and other eminent persons. The Academy of Sci- ences was requested by the King to report on Mesmer’s claims. Franklin and Lavoisier were appointed members of the com- mittee of investigation. Mesmer refused to make any experi- ments under expert observation, but his disciple Desson of- fered to make demonstrations. These were done at Franklin’s garden at Passy. The investigators easily proved that Desson consciously or unconsciously attempted to deceive the audi- ence. Franklin pointed out in an unpublished paragraph ofLIFE AND RESEARCHES 129 the report the relation between the emotionalism of the Mes- merists and eroticism. Mesmer fled, discredited, but his pupil de Puysegur demonstrated some of the phenomena of hyp- nosis, such as controlled automatism and insensibility to pain, in 1785. Franklin helped to expose the mistakes, or swindling in Mesmerism, but he did not help the recognition of its val- uable part, which was an important psychological discovery. Franklin was interested in the improvement of the tech- nique of printing. French printers had proposed that type con- taining groups of letters should be used in order to save time in composition. Franklin devised his own scheme of “logog- raphy,” as it is called. John Walter, the founder and printer of the London Times, discussed logography with Franklin and originally printed the journal with such type. The experiment was expensive, and unsuccessful, as the time saved in compo- sition was lost in distributing the type. Franklin was asked in 1784 by the American astronomer Rittenhouse to describe his speculations on the nature of light and matter. His reply contained expressions of scientific faith which form an interesting parallel with the famous address given by Faraday at the Royal Institution in 1846. A lec- turer was unable to fulfil his engagement, so at the last mo- ment Faraday offered some extempore “Thoughts on Ray- vibrations.” One of these consisted of the electro-magnetic wave-theory of light: “The view which I am so bold as to put forth considers, then, radiation as a high species of vibration in the lines of force, which are known to connect particles and also masses of matter together. It endeavours to dismiss the ether, but not the vibrations.” Franklin suggested that “universal space, as far as we know it, seems to be filled with a subtile fluid, whose motion, or vi- bration, is called light. “The power of man relative to matter seems limited to the dividing it, or mixing the various kinds of it, or changing its form and appearance by different compositions of it, but does not extend to the making or creating of new matter, or an- nihilating the old. Thus, if fire be an original element, or kind <7 a SEs. aia) SPeTevrer FY TL rey chime hc Se Fae PRS Sc eee ceenap as oa . ie: | [- & i) HT a } v4 si i : 4 P| : aR | i J en a RT ee ee ee Oe Pe re are Ee ee a ee aE ee eel eens 1 4a ae ites rh, ee ey ate wo tagenon geo ERPS serene, a ea ill ake ee i CE eee ere ee eee a tice a oer aet eee eet eae —— per Saree pet Trees Wi ie a a | - 130 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE of matter, its quantity is fixed and permanent in the world.” The germs of the theories of the conservation of mass and energy are seen in these notions. Franklin suggested in 1784 for the first time in Europe or America the use of water-tight bulkheads in the construction of ships. He had had some part in the management of the packet or postal and message boat service between England and America, so he had had some professional interest in ships. When the French proposed to start a packet service after the peace, he advised that “‘as these vessels are not to be laden with goods, their holds may, without inconvenience, be divided into separate apartments after the Chinese manner, and each of those apartments caulked tight so as to keep out water. In which case if a leak should happen in one apartment, that only would be affected by it, and the others would be free; so that the ship would not be so subject as others to founder and sink at sea. [his being known would be a great encouragement to passengers.” Franklin invented bifocal spectacles. He describes in 1785 how he was prompted to do so. “I had formerly two pair of spectacles, which I shifted occasionally, as in travelling I sometimes read, and often wanted to regard the prospects. Finding this change troublesome, and not always sufficiently ready, I had the glasses cut, and half of each kind associated in the same circle. By this means, as I wear my spectacles con- stantly, I have only to move my eyes up or down, as I want to see distinctly far or near, the proper glasses being always ready. This I find more particularly convenient since my being in France, the glasses that serve me best at table to see what I eat not being the best to see the faces of those on the other side of the table who speak to me; and when one’s ears are not well accustomed to the sounds of a language, a sight of the move- ments in the features of him that speaks helps to explain; so that I understand French better by the help of my specta- cles,” Franklin left Europe in 1785. His health had become weak, as he suffered from gall-stones. He could not walk much, norLIFE AND RESEARCHES 131 ride on horseback, or in an ordinary carriage. On his departure he received magnificent expressions of regard and honor, and was carried in the Queen’s litter to his ship. At Southampton he was met by his son, who had recently revived relations with him. His reply to his son’s letter con- tains expressions of his views on the involuntary nature of hu- man opinions, and the relations between personal and political duties. He wrote that the meeting would be very agreeable to him. “Indeed, nothing has ever hurt me so much, and affected me with such keen sensations, as to find myself deserted in my old age by my only son.” But “our opinions are not in our own power, they are formed and governed much by circumstances that are often as inex- plicable as they are irresistible.” He considered his son might have remained neutral in the struggle, and not have taken up arms against his father’s countrymen, as there “are natural duties which precede political ones, and cannot be extinguished by them.” Though he was seventy-nine years old, and departing from Europe gloriously, he was not distracted from work during the voyage by the multitudes of memories that must have risen in his mind, as he watched the ocean. He wrote long descriptions of various scientific matters which he had not been able to describe before, owing to lack of time. He described a boat he had seen on the Seine, driven by air-screws turned by hand. He made the first scientific study of the Gulf Stream, with numerous measurements of the temperature of the water. “This stream is probably generated by the great accumula- tion of water on the eastern coast of America between the trop- ics, by the trade winds. “TJ find that it is always warmer than the sea on each side of it, and that it does not sparkle at night.” The differences of temperature were about 6° F.-10° F. and the water was fre- quently warmer than the air above. He suggests that it warms the air above, and forms “those oT stoe Seereet ETL et Se Se ON Ne ene at rn eves _ Hae 4 Serk,! Son ORT hock H Ht A i Hr] f HY Hi E i B | } i : Hy} at a z i i a H H i} a ee ee ee -4 Pee ie = ee ee /eee a ee Nr a len a a ole ae ete eee | Pee See Raa en een ee ars Pee es ree ted = Se eet anette SR tse atineres iN +) porte —— a il ae Sa cates nL : i} A vn 1 132 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE tornados and waterspouts frequently met with and seen near the stream.” The condensation of the moisture in this warm air by the cold water of Newfoundland produces the fogs there. The drift of the stream is sufficient to retard a sailing vessel sixty or seventy miles in a day. Franklin drew a chart of the stream from information supplied him by American sea-captains. The temperature of water at various depths was obtained by letting down corked bottles. At thirty-five fathoms the cork was stove in by the water pressure. When hauled to the surface the temperature of the water in the bottle was 6° F lower than that of the surface water. He records more of his ideas on fireplaces and ventilation. He complains that architects “have no other ideas of propor- tion in the opening of a chimney than what relates to sym- metry and beauty, respecting the dimensions of the room, while its true proportion, respecting its function and utility, depends on quite other principles; and they might as properly proportion the step in a stair-case to the height of a story in- stead of the natural elevation of men’s legs in mounting.” This contains the statement of the principle of modern func- tionalist architecture. “In time, perhaps, that which is fittest in the nature of things may come to be thought handsomest.” “Some, I know,” are “so bigoted to the fancy of a large, noble opening, that rather than change it, they would submit to have damaged furniture, sore eyes, and skins almost smoked to bacon.” Franklin was opposed to the abolition of capitals for nouns in printing. He considers it less easy to understand the mean- ing of passages without capitals. The modern functionalist printers do not use capitals, so he would not have been in agree- ment with them on that point. He disliked gray printing and preferred black. He describes experimental models by which the ventilation of buildings could be investigated. He suggests that mines could be ventilated by tall chim- neys, which commonly produce vertical draughts through temperature differences between the walls and the air inside.LIFE AND RESEARCHES 133 If the chimney be painted black it will absorb more heat from the sun’s rays, and hence produce more draught. His physical infirmity prompted him to invent an instru- ment for lifting books off high shelves in his library. This con- sisted of two thin laths on the end of a stick. The laths could be ‘nserted round the desired book, and then clapped tight by a string. In 1787 Franklin, who had introduced Tom Paine to Amer- ica, gave him an introduction to Rochefoucauld, asking him to assist the development of Paine’s invention of the iron bridge. The pamphleteer was the first to suggest that bridges should be built of iron, and made a model to illustrate his idea. Franklin was in favor of free-trade, but considered direct taxes impracticable in a sparsely populated country. He agreed in 1787 with his friend Morellet that “liberty of trading, cul- tivating, manufacturing, etc.” is preferable “even to civil lib- erty, this being affected but rarely, the other every hour.” Franklin was elected a delegate to the Convention for the new Constitution. He was eighty-one years old, and had little influence on the deliberations. It is said that friendly guards were set to watch him in company, and prevent him from giv- ing away the Convention secrets. He did not approve of the Constitution, but proposed that it should be signed unanimously, for the sake of unity. Accord- ing to Jefferson, in his proposal of the general signature, Franklin said that it did not fully accord with his sentiments, but he had lived long enough to have experienced that one should not rely too much on one’s own judgment. He had often found himself mistaken in his favorite ideas. He re- peated that he materially objected to certain points, but as the Constitution was the best possible under the circumstances, it should go forth with united signatures. He informed his French friend Veillard that he did not consider two chambers of representatives necessary. He hoped the Congress would soon improve the Constitution. He be- lieved his countrymen “are making experiments in politics,” as he wrote to Rochefoucauld. SS ee ee ear ree | i hi 1 ee esp toe tert eT TTT ea Ory SPE Se os ee ae aa Sern tar a pee ae Spen a a wy sos scstetetertnee w ee eet eet et ee eta ee, ee enh ate eee eee = es ~ Oe a her ee ha eRe Tee ere ee petaronst rel Sesto Pore otal cata Brrr ——. aR ace Ea ba eat, | Hf : ; H p i : 134 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE His faculties waned in extreme old age. He was unable to perceive the genius of John Fitch, who built the first steam- boat. Fitch’s boat plied on the Delaware River jn 1788. Frank- lin saw it and described the sight in letters to friends. But he would not subscribe for the continuation of Fitch’s experiments. When the inventor called on him, he was offered six dollars as a charitable gift, which was not to be accepted as a subscrip- tion for the boat. He declined the offer, and was quietly in- furiated. Fitch was unlettered and uncouth. His boat broke down, and he was considered crazy. He emigrated to Ken- tucky, and committed suicide near the Ohio River, after hav- ing prophesied that some day the Ohio would be navigated by steamboats, and men more powerful than he would gain riches and fame from his invention. Franklin’s popularity declined with his powers. As he ap- proached death, his acquaintances became fewer, and when he died in 1790, the younger generations were not keenly moved. To them he appeared rather gross and grasping. He was not universally mourned. The French celebrated his memory mag- nificently, and the United States House of Representatives observed official mourning, but the Senate did not.x Ww Il eyctence and the American (onstitution SCIENTIFIC IDEAS HAVE HAD AN EXCEPTIONAL influence on the history of America, more, perhaps, than on the history of any other country, except the U:SS:R. The structure of the American Constitution has provided one of the channels for the exertion of this influence. At the present time, the Constitution is more than ever the center of Amert- can political thought. The contentions between the executive, the houses of Congress, and the Supreme Court, affect the foundations of American life. If the form of the Constitution is partly due to the influence of certain scientific ideas, science has had a part in the rejection or delay, for good or ill, of social plans such as the New Deal. As Franklin was the first great American scientist, and a member of the Convention that devised the Constitution, it 1s necessary to enquire whether the aspects of the Constitution which show the influence of certain scientific ideas were due to him. In 1814 John Adams wrote a letter to John Taylor con- cerning the nature of different types of government. Taylor had enquired whether the differences between monarchy, aristocracy and democracy were numerical or characteristic. Were they merely different ways of partitioning power among the members of the population, so that the one, or the few, or the many were sovereign; or were they reflections of qualitative differences between the members of the popula- tion? Did kings possess some higher quality not possessed by nobles, and did nobles possess some quality not possessed by the ordinary man? 135 a eS er rene fort ne ee rete tee 4, Weci,! a - ioe CS Perecst ry rrr edett ic tee eee od ee wees oa RE nt TEL Re = Se eaten Oe ge et eee a Idan aE en re eae E PE En aaa aT Be gee iene. ert coat ih eel Fee ti te TP ne nt RATES TET § 4 on ot a a = a ay ay SH i pe ie if rf , Peer tenet een ee Pee ee ee te mM : 136 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE According to the first notion the differences between king, noble and citizen are merely due to size. One governs because it has more power than the others. According to the second notion, one governs because it possesses power of a higher type, not merely more power than the others. It will be noticed that the first notion appeals to the ideas of arithmetic and mechanics, where one quantity is bigger or smaller than another, but not different in nature. Power in a system of government consisting of reactions between larger or smaller powers, all of the same nature, depends on the balance be- tween the various powers. As Taylor wrote, it is “complicated with the idea of a balance.” The second notion involves characteristic differences be- tween king, nobles and citizens. For instance, the king may be supposed to be divine, while the others are not. He rules because he possesses a higher quality that places him above others, and gives him a higher order of wisdom. His power overcomes that of others not because it is merely larger, but be- cause it is of a higher type. The notion of the divine right of kings is derived from a dangerous extrapolation of biological observation. The differ- ences between men and animals are very great, and appear to be qualitative; to the primitive observer man seems to possess qualities fundamentally different from those of animals. Every man has been dependent on his parents or elders, and at an early age acquired an impression that they possess powers quali- tatively superior to his own. The notion of divine right is de- rived from the belief in the qualitative differences between men, and between men and animals. It is interesting to note that Taylor illustrates the notion of king, nobles and citizens as qualitatively different by a biological example: the character- istic differences between “the calyx, petal, and stamina of plants.” Taylor denounces both the mechanical and the biological notions of the system of government, and says that “they have never yet . . . been used to describe a government deduced from good moral principles.”SCIENCE AND THE CONSTITUTION 137 Adams replied that the Constitution of the United States was certainly not deduced from good moral principles, but asks: “Js not the constitution of the United States ‘complicated with the idea of a balance?’ Is there a constitution upon record more complicated with balances than ours? In the first place eighteen states and some territories are balanced against the national government, whether judiciously or injudiciously, | will not presume at present to conjecture. . . . In the second place, the house of representatives 1s balanced against the senate, and the senate against the house. In the third place, the executive authority is in some degree balanced against the legislative. In the fourth place, the judiciary power 1s balanced against the house, the senate, the executive power, and the state governments. In the fifth place, the senate is balanced against the president in all appointments to office, and in all treaties. This, in my opinion, is not merely a useless, but a very pernicious balance. In the sixth place, the people hold in their own hands the balance against their own representatives, by biennial, which I wish had been annual elections. In the seventh place, the legislatives of the several states are balanced against the senate by sextennial elections. In the eighth place, the electors are balanced against the people in the choice of the president. And here is a complication and refinement of bal- ances, which, for any thing I recollect, is an invention of our own, and peculiar to us.” John Adams continues: “However, all this complication of machinery, all those wheels within wheels, these imperia within imperus have not been sufficient to satisfy the people. They have invented a balance to all balances in their caucuses. We have congressional caucuses, state caucuses, county caucuses, city caucuses, district caucuses, town caucuses, parish caucuses, and Sunday caucuses at church doors; and in these aristocratical caucuses elections are decided. “Do you not tremble, Mr. Taylor, with fear, that another balance to all these balances, an over balance of all ‘moral Snr ee ees od - a en = : i | 4 a} l | i SS Se : = ys x i Fe alae OR ape eS > Ee NP IR «Dr oD OLD CR ee a 2 = nm TT oreola eee S 5, | eet oT a Steet Re ee ee etd ee — eer i tee SN ee ee eke = eT rt de emma < So eee veel il | i aca ek ete abies at te ieee eee Fee geet see ee eet PP ee ease a q F 7 orl SS on 138 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE liberty, and to every moral principle and feeling, may soon be invented and introduced: I mean the balance of corrup- tion? Corruption! Be not surprised, sir. If the spirit of party is corruption, have we not seen much of it already? If the spirit of faction is corruption, have we seen none of that evil spirit? If the spirit of banking is corruption, ever heard or read of any country in which this spirit pre- vailed to a greater degree than in this? Are you informed of any aristocratical institution by which the property of the many is more manifestly sacrificed to the profit of the few?” Students of constitutional law, such as Woodrow Wilson and W. A. Robson, have cited this passage as an early exposi- tion of the degree in which the notions of “checks and bal- ances” entered into the structure of the Constitution. Wilson writes that “the government of the United States was constructed upon the Whig theory of political dynamics, which was a sort of unconscious copy of the Newtonian theory of the universe. In our own day, whenever we discuss the structure or development of anything, whether in nature or society, we consciously or unconsciously follow Mr. Darwin, but before Mr. Darwin they followed Newton.” Wilson brilliantly argues that under Newtonian influence any system, including that of government, is conceived as a system of bodies moving according to the laws of mechanics and gravitation, in which action and reaction are equal and opposite, and all bodies are nicely poised by a balance of the forces acting on them. He writes that the Whigs tried to give England a balanced constitution. They did not destroy the King, but offset his power by a system of checks and balances, which would regulate his course, or at least make it calculable. Wilson considers that the English politicians, true to their habits, did not clearly apprehend what they were doing, and the nature of their actions was first clearly explained by Mon- tesquieu. He writes that “the admirable expositions of the Federalist read like thoughtful applications of Montesquieu to the political needs and circumstances of America.” Wilson comments “that government is not a machine, but « « wie youSCIENCE AND THE CONSTITUTION 139 a living thing. It falls, not under the theory of the universe, but under the theory of organic life. It is accountable to Dar- win, not to Newton.” It should be subject to the laws of adap- tation, and its organs should not be offset against each other, but codperate quickly in the interests of life, and provide a “ready response to the commands of instinct or intelligence.” Wilson, like Taylor, invoked biological illustrations in con- trast to the purely quantitative principles of the Whig theory of government. Wilson’s comments on the Newtonian characteristics of the Constitution are important and interesting, and exhibit an intellectual originality with which he has not commonly been credited. There are also parallels between the “checks and balances” of the American Constitution, and the mental conflicts, or “checks and balances,” in puritan psychology. The psycho- logical frustrations of an Adams are related to the principles of the Constitution. It is significant that Franklin, who was free from complexes and frustrations, was philosophically op- posed to the Constitution. It js well-known that the Constitution was devised by fifty- five statesmen, during four months’ secret sessions of a special convention. Franklin was a member of the convention, though eighty-one years old. He expressed his opinion of the new Constitution in 1789, ina letter to a friend. He wrote that the provision of two houses, of representatives and senators, was a device for giving superior influence to the rich. He asked, “Ts it supposed that wisdom is the necessary concomitant of riches?” “Private property is a creature of society, and is sub- ject to the calls of that society, whenever its necessities shall require it, even to its last farthing.” The payment of taxes does not confer a benefit on the public, but discharges a social obligation. “The combinations of civil society are not like those of a set of merchants,” or board-meetings, in which the holder of the majority of shares decides policy. The important ends of civil society are personal securities and liberty, and the poorest has as much right to these as the richest. He regretted === SS re POS ah ST a re OI nr ree FS SaaS S r= 3 —_— Rasen a Den ei > = ; - : : ee Tao ee a a ea en nn ee I TE tra ee ee Rea Viera Va. AL t ra ERG roea ee ete et eer ee ee tt a a a a alr mei ea a er | Ta Dec Fl er aa Rha TE Tore een ett kd Eo pe tensa Soe Ce ee i ee gaantsi siread ast ET one ——- ys ay LS ‘- a 4 f f 140 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE that there was a disposition to create an aristocracy of the rich. He doubts whether the division of the English legislature into two or three branches was a product of wisdom, and sug- gests it arose from historical necessity, owing to the pre- existence of an odious feudal system. Notwithstanding its division of powers, the English Government had become an absolute monarchy, owing to bribery of the people’s represent- atives by the king. He considered two houses defective in prac- tice. A bad motion might be passed by one house because the persons who understood the matter best happened to be in the other house. This provoked contentions between the houses, which would never have arisen if all] representatives had been in one house, so that those with special knowledge could have explained defects in the motion as soon as it had been proposed. Franklin disagreed with the Constitution, but proposed that all delegates should sign it, as a better was not to be had, and he hoped it might soon be amended and improved by Con- gress. He thought that any form of government might serve, if operated by suitable men. It is evident that the Newtonian notions of checks and balances, and mechanical equilibrium, were not introduced into the Constitution by Franklin, though he was a scientist. They were introduced by philosophic statesmen and lawyers who were not scientists. The incident provides an example of the dangers of the misapplication of scientific ideas by polli- ticians who do not properly understand them. Mistakes of the same sort are occurring at present in various countries, where political oppression is excused by false biological theo- ries of the nature of human beings. The most perfect state- ment of the principles which inspired the Constitution was made by James Madison in the tenth number of the Feder alist. He wrote that “the diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an in- superable obstacle to a uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government. From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiringSCIENCE AND THE CONSTITUTION 141 property, the possession of different degrees and kinds of property immediately results; and from the influence of these on the sentiments and views of the prospective proprietors, ensues a division of the society into different interests and parties. “The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man; . . . but the most common and durable source of fac- tions has been the various and unequal distribution of prop- erty. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever formed distinct interests in society. Those who are creditors, and those who are debtors, fall under a like dis- crimination. A landed interest, a manufacturing interest, a mercantile interest, a moneyed interest, with many lesser interests, grow up of necessity in civilized nations, and divide them into different classes, actuated by different sentiments and views. The regulation of these various and interfering interests forms the principle task of modern legislation, and involves the spirit of party and faction in the necessary and ordinary operations of the government.” Madison conceived the Constitution as a machine for the regulation of the various interfering interests. The struggles between the classes of society were to be nicely balanced by the machinery of the Constitution so that the wheels of society re- volved for ever in an equilibrium comfortable to those who have the greatest faculty for acquiring property. In the view of Madison’s explanation, it 1s astonishing to read in James Bryce’s chapter on the Origin of the Constitu- tion, in his book on The American Commonwealth, that among the creators of the Constitution “There were no ques- tions between classes, no animosities against rank and wealth, for rank and wealth did not exist.” The chief engineer of the construction of the Constitutional machine was Alexander Hamilton, of coarser but more power- ful genius than Madison. Hamilton passionately believed in the superiority of the rich and well-born. As Bertrand Russell has remarked, this belief may have been strengthened by re- action from the feeling of inferiority due to his illegitimate a ee Sees Ss gh as bers PrP {ex oss, i ) Li i H n | P| H i a y : 1 _ =: = % —- - . ~ eet ee tere te eet aa SL ka y Po PLT aoe var PPR ane se eee SEO en eee ia Ves aM pcecacas ccna Aa lates ath aT, on hn Ot ee tet he en ee ee ee ed eed ’ ee aa _ ede eS St nerves + a PR eT eee ae bee eee se LL ES Ste tibrea Ebene ed teeter be teen. t Tae ee He at a8 coat Sa sipiadecatcirese Re ES rs bps ss " —* 142 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE birth. Hamilton’s belief appears to have been partly a psycho- logical rationalization. He had much opportunity to become rich, but died poor. It seems that an unconscious motive of his action was not to become rich, but to receive the approba- tion of the rich and well-born, to achieve respectability. A similar motive probably inspired the royalist sentiments of Franklin’s son, and the aristocratic sentiments of his grand- son, both of whom were illegitimate. The complications of the checks, balances, and equilibria of the Constitution are an extreme form of the Whig theory of political dynamics. In some degree, t hey also are an expres- sion of reaction against illegitim acy. [he American revolution- aries Were anxious to remove any appearances of loss of re- spectability produced by recent highly unrespectable activities. They sought to do this by adopting political theories which were an extension of orthodox British theories. In a sense, they were more royalist than the King. Some of the sources of the mechanical theories incorporated in the Constitution have been indicated by John Adams in his Defence of the Constitu- tions. His order of discussion of the subject-matter was in- fluenced by that of Montesquieu in his Spirit of Laws. Mon- tesquieu’s book contains examples of Newtonian modes of thought, and was analysed by D’Alembert, the famous master of theoretical mechanics and author of D’Alembert’s In his section on Monarchy, Montesquieu writes: “It is with this kind of government as with the system of the universe, in which there is a power that constantly repels all bodies from the center, and the power of gravitation that attracts them to it. Honour sets all the parts of the body politic in motion, and by its very action connects them; thus each individual advances the public good while he only thinks of promoting his own interest.” Adams quotes examples of the notion of balances from vari- ous authors. He gives passages from Machiavelli, where the possibility of the perpetual revolution of government through the forms of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy is discussed. Machiavelli wished to discover how such “revolutions of in- principle.SCIENCE AND THE CONSTITUTION 143 ‘finity” may be prevented. He is appealing to the notion of stabilizing a machine. He wished to provide the social ma- chine with an automatic speed regulator or governor. Adams’ most interesting quotation is from Harrington: “empire fol- lows the balance of property, whether lodged in one, a few, or many hands.” In his Oceana he conceives the perfect govern- ment as an equilibrium between the king, nobility and people, which cannot exist unless they are duly balanced against each other. Adams discusses the views of various philosophers, includ- ing those of Franklin, on government. He assumes that Franklin was opposed to the notion of balances. In the Constt- tutional Convention Franklin had said that the notion of balancing two assemblies, such as a house of representatives and a senate, against each other reminded him of the practice of certain drivers of wagons drawn by four oxen. When they had a heavy load and came to a steep hill, they took a pair of oxen off, and chained them to the rear of the wagon, and drove them up hill, so that the rate of the descent of the wagon was moderated. Adams reprobated this oracular para- ble on balances, and proceeds: “The president of Pennsylvania might, upon such an occasion, have recollected one of Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of motion, namely,—‘that reaction must al- ways be equal and contrary to action,’ or there can never be any rest. He might have alluded to those angry assemblies in the heavens, which so often overspread the city of Phila- delphia, fill the citizens with apprehension and terror, threat- ening to set the world on fire, merely because the powers within them are not sufficiently balanced.” Thus the lawyer Adams began to quote Newton against the scientist Franklin. Several suggestive conclusions may be drawn from Adams’ remarks, Adams and other American lawyers were fascinated by ideas supported by the authority of Newtonian mechanics. They, who were not scientists, were ready to brandish New- ton’s authority against their opponents. Franklin, who was a scientist, was the only important mem- ——¥ een Tester Spend LL — pri oir os are erent te Nn eet eet ee rer 160 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE frailty of man, which was characteristic of his co-religionists. As a scholar imbued with the ideas of caste or class, in an aristocratic agricultural civilization, he was far more inter- ested in establishing his prestige in the scholar-class, than in making money. This attitude, reinforced by his mother’s theology, which emphasized the danger of damnation through riches, made him not indifferent to, but fearful of, money. Henry received the small salary of $3,500 for directing the Smithsonian Institution, and refused, during thirty-two years, to accept an increase. As he was in Washington, he was regu- larly consulted by the Government on scientific questions. This involved much extra work, and the connection lasted for more than three decades, but Henry refused to accept any payment. He refused to accept payment for scientific advice to the Goy- ernment during the Civil War. He refused to accept several university chairs with salaries much larger than that he re- ceived from the Smithsonian Institution, and which offered him far more free time for personal scientific research. For in- stance, he refused the chair of chemistry in the Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania “especially because . . . it might be supposed that he was influenced by pecuniary reasons.” Henry was the first to elucidate the principles of the de- sign of electro-magnets. He was the first to employ electro- magnets in a successful electric telegraph system, and the first to construct a reciprocating machine driven by direct electric current. These inventions were fundamental to the develop- ment of the electric telegraph and electrical machinery, but he refused to patent them. They were employed by Morse in his development of the electric telegraph. As is often the case, success persuaded Morse and his financial backers to assert that their predecessor had exaggerated the importance of his unpatented contribu- tions. Henry remarked in his reply to these assertions that: “My life has been principally devoted to science and my in- vestigations in different branches of physics have given me some reputation in the line of original discovery. I have soughtTHE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS CAREER 161 however no patent for inventions and solicited no remunera- tion for my labours, but have freely given their results to the world; expecting only in return to enjoy the consciousness of having added by my investigations to the sum of human knowledge. The only reward I ever expected was the con- sciousness of advancing science, the pleasure of discovering new truths, and the scientific reputation to which these labours would entitle me.” Henry would “sell to no man, nor would he deny or delay to any man the precious knowledge drawn under the provi- dence of God from the arcana of nature.” In 1865, when the Civil War had ended, he was sixty-eight years old, and established in Washington in a position of unique scientific distinction. He steadily followed his prin- ciples of conduct through the years of wild speculation which occurred before his death in 1878. His attitude to money was the exact antithesis of that of the majority of his later con- temporaries. He remained loyal to the ethics of the scholar- class, and never modified his attitude as the prestige of the financial and capitalist classes increased. He was forty-nine years old when he accepted the invitation to become the first Secretary, or Director, of the Smithsonian Institution. He interpreted his new duties as implying a cessa- tion of personal research, and for the long remainder of his life he was firstly an administrator of scientific work. Under his direction, the Smithsonian Institution acquired a unique position and reputation in the encouragement of research and the popularization of science. It became the parent of the modern system of meteorological forecasting by telegraph, of the United States National Museum, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the National Zodlogical Park, the National Gal- lery of Art, of marine biological research stations such as Woods Hole, of a world system of exchange of scientific books and specimens between research workers, and many other first-class innovations. - During his secretaryship, Henry considered he could not give time to personal research, but he gave much time to un- Sey ter Sa ar = Es SS Se eee eh ne rts imee ts) ETO ieee? = Pie ane Ee a = . ‘ > = y - a ee ed Pe : ~ tad ee a TT Ta ener nee Nee eee FE ee ens = Bh ere et Soren) =O oe aa re Sapam aaa ea at tee ee ee ts Ie eer Pees i | H ‘ |eaahs he lahat te ee Eee eee Load ee ee oe I a eee i ER Rae a cent OE at ee ESTE TT Pe ott octet eee emewtog COTE PT Ty a ee eee ee Se a eten tan ewe) Eat heehee petal free eee Te] S . ee Re ee) beg ha ma eth aS 162 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE paid research for the Government. All of this research was of direct economic and social value. He made first-class investi- gations into the acoustics of the atmosphere in connection with the fog-signal system for protecting shipping, and equally excellent researches on meteorology, the strength of building materials, ballistics, solar physics, and other subjects. This is an immense list of achievements, but it does not in- clude his greatest researches. These were done in the years about 1830, when he discovered electro-magnetic self-induc- tion before Faraday, and probably also discovered electro- magnetic induction before Faraday, but did not publish it first. In total achievement Henry was the equal of Faraday, Helmholtz, Kelvin, Maxwell, and the other great scientists of the nineteenth century. He did not discover so many im- portant new facts and theories as Faraday, but he contributed vastly more to the organization of scientific research. As G. B. Goode has explained, Henry “did much toward establishing the profession of scientific administration—a profession which in the complexity of modern civilization is becoming more and more essential to scientific progress.” This is an important remark. The creation of methods of organization is even more urgent, in the conditions of modern civilization, than the dis- covery of such a profound phenomenon as electro-magnetic induction. Society is being disrupted by the scientific forces which have been released within it. The most important contributions that may be made to modern culture are discoveries of rational methods of promot- ing and utilizing science. Henry was a distinguished fore- runner of the modern social planners, who wish to integrate science into the machinery of society. A study of Henry’s achievements shows that he was a truly great man. But an air of disappointment has always hovered around his name. His friends and countrymen regretted that though he probably discovered electro-magnetic induction be- fore Faraday, he failed to publish it first. There is a wide opinion that if Henry had made this discovery exclusively American, he would have contributed more to the advance-THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS CAREER 163 ment of science in America by this single achievement, than by the manifold contributions that he recognizedly made. He would have given American science an inspiration which might have enabled it to dominate nineteenth-century physics. This, in turn, would have raised the standard of the whole of American culture, and have made American spiritual achieve- ments in the period more equal to the material achievements. This argument appeals to the principle of individualist com- petition as the motive of progress. Henry despised money, and the principle of competition. He despised competition in priority. He refused to gamble, even in research. This code of conduct was based on his reli- ‘ous and social ideas. It prevented him from making the in- tellectual gamble that might have won world leadership in electrical research for American physicists in 1831, and which might well have persisted. Henry’s social ideas belonged to a system in which the church would have ruled the state. They were closer to those of Calvin’s theocracy at Geneva than of nineteenth-century capitalism, and have more in common with socialism than com- petitive individualism. By rejecting personal competition for fame and wealth, Henry rejected the principles which were be- ginning to dominate American life. He stood outside the main stream of the contemporary American spirit. He did not be- come assimilated to modern American individualism. This failure to enter into, and use, the dominating system of social ideas, helps to explain the atmosphere of effeteness and dis- appointment over his career and that of the Smithsonian In- stitution. His career, and the Institution, were great, but were not what the Americans of the day wanted. The great man who expressed their ideals in science, and whom they recognized as an indubitable genius, was Thomas Alva Edison. In his memorial address of 1878 R. E. Withers surprised some by stating that Henry “was not a genius.” This meant that his greatness was not of the Edison type. He probably believed that Henry’s decision to cultivate broad interests was due to the lack of an overwhelming passion to follow a nar- i H 4 i i a Hy i i 4 } 8 i Y reaivGE Tat se nsee- mamas rep gg: Ta Se en ee ee aT OE TO a eee ieee atime cielo Tee ope ee rr reper sire, tone — nT a nr ein rarea Sree) tons, RT ee yee e~aee tong nis ee - ae ete Eee el ee a ee Se ee keer ee oe Tae Pt tee Shed it ene ET ae at eee 1644 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE row, or individual interest. He did not make any over- whelming contribution in any narrow direction. He refused to exploit his circumstances and employers in order to make discoveries. He was not, like Faraday, working continuously in isolation and never assisting the work of others, and he did not sacrifice his family and social life in order to pile a pyr- amid of discoveries. He was always refusing, and constraining himself. He showed the continuous inhibitions of Scottish cau. tion. The extreme modesty of his claims to priority, and his praise of others who published before him, though they had discovered after him, show symptoms of what the modern psychologist calls masochism. He considered that science did not have any necessary con- nection with the ordinary affairs of human life. That it might be useful to man was a happy accident, due to a benevolent Providence. The majority of Americans did not sympathize with Henry’s ideals and program of work. He was not struggling for his own ends. He was in fact serving the interests of the proprietors of American industry and agriculture. He served the governing classes loyally, owing to his Calvinistic sense of duty, though his ideals were different from theirs. He did not conceive the government as the expression of certain dom- inant groups in the community. He thought it was above all particular interests, and for that reason, like God, should receive obedience. His lack of insight into the nature of the state explains why he could loyally serve classes with different ideals, and why leaders of those classes, whom he served so well, should fail to appreciate him adequately, and perceive that he was a genius. Henry disapproved of the idea that it is permissible for a scientist to make money out of his scientific discoveries, and yet the whole of his personal energies for research, after he became Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was devoted to investigations of economic importance. The economic needs of the state, of American agriculture, navigation and industry, encouraged his researches in meteorology, fog-horn acoustics,THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS CAREER 165 ballistics, strength of building materials, etc. Problems are of interest to the state when dominant or powerful classes want to make, save or get money out of them. Henry saw no contradiction between refusing to make money for himself, and agreeing to make money for a state dominated by the rich. While he refused to make money for himself, he did not object to being an instrument which in- creased the efficiency, and profitability, of agriculture and in- dustry, by the application of science. In the first part of his career he investigated the general problems to which post-Renaissance trade and industrial in- terests had directed human attention. He studied how to in- crease the efficiency of machinery, and how to elucidate its principles. The particular machines he studied were electro- magnets. Thus, at first, Henry was an indirect instrument of the advance of the interests of industrialism. And still he be- lieved that the motive for scientific research 1s divine curiosity, or the desire for insight into the “arcana of nature.” He followed his ideals with inflexible persistence in his great administration of the Smithsonian Institution. The ideals which prompted James Smithson to found the Institution were profoundly different. Smithson was the bastard son of an English duke and a woman of royal descent. Owing to the circumstances of his birth, he was denied the full privileges of his father’s class. He bequeathed the money for the foundation of the Institution from motives of revenge due to outraged class feeling. By that means, he wrote, “My name shall live in the memory of man when the titles of the Northumberlands and the Percys are extinct and forgotten.” His father, the Duke of Northumberland, disowned him, and yet his mother, descended from King Henry VII, was of even nobler blood. He hated his father, and his desire for eternal fame, more durable than that of the Northumber- lands, was increased by the psychological complex, of which Oedipus offers the most famous example. The spectacle of the great and earnest Henry, with his Puritanic sense of duty, carrying out Smithson’s will with 7 ie Se a ee idee ahd pitta? thes ete 2ots RTT reeses ne ee ~~ SS | | eee is . : : x ae nr a a SOE ale ee came OL OE ee OS 4, “acts! Feet ro ero et ET eat a =Rass ee ere Ream eee | i i | | i , f i, Pe ee ie re DE ea ities nme Bee. teeth ee ST Tees ee ee Nhe nen ee es chee Pee Seare) Ears Nee — 166 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE meticulous care, and creating with conscientious solidity, through thirty-two years, the firm foundation of Smithson’s eternal fame, is one of the most interesting examples in the history of science of the interactions of different class motives and psychologies.I] fis Sespe and Work THE GRANDPARENTS OF JOSEPH HENRY WERE Scottish. They landed at New York on June 16th, 1775, the day before the battle of Bunker Hill. His grandfather had the surname Hendrie, but adopted the form Henry, perhaps because his new countrymen elided the dee-sound when they pronounced his name. Henry regretted that his grandfather had not preserved the Scottish form, as it was more distinctive. His grandmother was surnamed Alexander. The Henry fam- ily settled in Delaware County and the Alexander family in Saratoga. Joseph Henry’s parents were living in Albany when he was born. They were poor, as his father, William Henry, worked as a day laborer. William Henry was apparently un- able to give his family much support. When Joseph Henry was seven years old, an uncle, who was the twin-brother of his mother, sent him to Galway in Saratoga, where he lived with his maternal grandmother, and attended the district school. William Henry died about two years later, when Joseph was nine years old. Thus from the age of nine years Joseph Henry was a son of a widowed mother. This increased the degree of his mother’s influence on his character. She was a small woman with delicate and beautiful features, and a refined temperament. She lived toa considerable age. She was a devout and strict member of the Scottish Presbyterian Church. Joseph Henry agreed with the view that the character 1s formed before the age of seven years. His history shows that his mother had permanently impressed Presbyterian ideals in 167 — er ee ak hee POW OSE arash et een — Fee Ds ctr srt ae eats i i n P| i i t Ff H ; ey es = Sesto titre tS er coeet res Ese Tr eet On er ee FS ee Pe roseSc a a ee ee —_ Ne ee - ee ee es u“ oo RAT OL, ce eae a OS oh cee ee ese = cs - Ppt ete Sree: ot ee san FINEST tery 7 rongs GM eee ee erence Eo a a eee 168 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE him. These were the foundation of his later behavior and decisions, in so far as those depended on personal principles. While his early religious training left the deepest impress, his early education did not proceed rapidly. He was not fond of school, and did not show special aptitude for learning. His first taste for reading was stimulated accidentally. His pet rabbit ran into an opening under the village meeting- house. He crawled in pursuit through an opening in the foundation wall, and passed under the floor. He noticed light coming through a gap where the floor was broken. He was excited by the secrets of the room and decided to explore them. He climbed through the gap, and discovered an open case of books, which happened to form the village library. He picked out one, and began to read it, and was soon deeply in- terested. This was The Fool of Quality, by Henry Brooke. G. B. Goode says that Joseph Henry was about eight or ten years old when he discovered this book. The hero of the sto is the despised younger son of a dissolute nobleman. The elder son was trained to the peerage while the younger was de- posited in the country with a farmer’s wife as foster mother. The effects of the different educations are the reverse of the intention. The elder son is ruined and the younger acquires sturdy virtues. Brooke works disquisitions on sociology, eco- nomics and religion into the story. The education of the hero is according to the precepts of Rousseau, and the views on human labor as the source of wealth are drawn from William Petty and the mercantilists. Through the experiences of the hero, Brooke speaks against the oppression of the poor. His novel was published between 1766 and 1772. He was a fore- runner of the nineteenth-century Liberals. He writes that poverty arises from ignorance, and not from laziness or in- capacity. He attributes the misery of Ireland, where he lived, to ignorance, and writes that in his time forty-nine out of fifty Irishmen were incapable of helping themselves because they did not know how. He compares the poverty of the English with the prosperity of the Dutch, and attributes the latter to knowledge of the technique of water transport. HeHIS LIFE AND WORK 169 recommends the construction of canals for increasing the pros- erity of England. Ten years after Brooke published his novel the first English industrial canals were dug. Thus the neg- lected younger son, the Fool of Quality, left to a simple Rousseauean rearing, becomes the protagonist of progress. It is significant that such a book should have interested a boy of eight or ten years. John Wesley admired Brooke’s novel. Charles Kingsley wrote in 1859 that “he purged . . . such passages as were not to his mind, and then republished (it) during the author’s life-time, as the ‘History of Harry, Earl of Moreland,’ a plan which was so completely successful, that country Wesleyans still believe their great prophet to have been himself the author of the book.” Perhaps The Fool of Quality was put into the Galway meet- ing-house library by Methodists. The different educations of the elder and younger brothers are described in the opening pages. “Richard, who was already entitled my little lord, was not permitted to breathe the rudeness of the wind. On his slightest indisposition, the whole house was in alarms; his passions had full scope in all their infant irregularities; his genius was put into a hotbed, by the warmth of applauses given to every flight of his opening fancy; and the whole family conspired, from the highest to the lowest, to the ruin of promising talents and a benevolent heart. “Young Harry, on the other hand, had every member as well as feature exposed to all weathers; would run about, mother naked, for near an hour, in a frosty morning; was neither physicked into delicacy, nor flattered into pride; scarce felt the convenience, and much less understood the vanity of clothing; and was daily occupied in playing and wrestling with the pigs and two mongrel spaniels on the common; or in kissing, scratching or boxing with the children of the vil- lage. Joseph Henry’s interesting opinions on education will be explained presently. It is possible that they were influenced ee IO eS SE Pe TS ae Deca! tom pa aacSiziay eetbutsas terete a eer Se Oh dad Cp ee eee nates = tee eet ee eee Ses a ee ae RS i eT oo ne ee oh ae Peaa ce eens ti, ee eee sae on ee eR a tee a eee Es on ee eo Japs Ltt OSS ED tener sermon eC Raton ES Tet A Sed Ts an at eee at Dae LE See peacoat hd peed rh Oo pe ieee es Se ee tear hs 170 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE by Brooke. It is possible that, as a widow’s child, he sympa- thized with the younger son in the story, who was virtuall without a father. As he played with pet rabbits, he would appreciate wrestling with spaniels. He must have read the book about 1805 or 1807. This was during the period of the ascendancy of Thomas Jefferson. Henry’s mind was formed when the ideal of an agricultural society was dominant. It never lost that mark. Henry regarded The Fool of Quality purely as fiction. It stimulated his taste for more. He repeatedly returned through the hole in the floor to the village library, and presently was allowed access through the usual door. He read the whole of the stock of fiction. At the age of ten he worked as an office boy in the local store of a Mr. Broderick. He was kindly treated, and allowed to attend school during the afternoons. Broderick’s store was the center of village gossip and popular discussion. Henry used to lounge around the store, listening to passing affairs, and recounting to other boys the stories he had lately read. He was tall for his age, thin, delicate and impulsively en- thusiastic. He left Galway when he was about fifteen years old, and returned to his mother in Albany, where he was apprenticed to a watch-maker and silversmith. After two years, the busi- ness failed, so he was released from his apprenticeship. During these years Henry learned the use of accurate tools and manip- ulation, which assisted him afterwards, when he became an experimental scientist. But his work with the watch-maker did not stimulate an interest in science or mechanics. His reading of fiction at Galway had still the chief possession of his mind. He was attracted by the theater in Albany. Between the years 1813 to 1816 there was an unusually good theater there under the management of a capable English comedian named John Bernard, whose company included several actors and actresses who became noted in America. Bernard was the author of a book on the stage, and on America between the years 1797— I8it.HIS LIFE AND WORK 171 Henry saw as many plays as possible, and succeeded in get- tino behind the scenes, where he learned how stage effects were produced. He joined or organized a juvenile debating and theatrical society named the Rostrum, of which he became president. As he was without employment he gave the whole of his time to dramatizing stories, writing comedies, and trans- lating a French play. He produced these plays, with notable ingenious stage effects, and acted in them himself. As he was tall, handsome, lively and intelligent, it seemed that he might have become a successful professional actor. His early experi- ence of the stage probably helped him to acquire his com- mand of public speaking, and effective, charming and persua- sive address. During the period of his pursuit of the theater he had a slight accident, which kept him at home for a few days. He picked up a book which had been left on a table by a young Scotsman named Robert Boyle, who was lodging in the house. It was a collection of Lectures on Experimental Philosophy, Astronomy and Chemistry, intended chiefly for the use of young persons, by G. Gregory, D.D. The author was the Rector of West Ham, near London. He edited the works of the poet Thomas Chatterton, and compiled a dic- tionary of the sciences, besides many other books. He became Bishop of St. David’s. Boyle presented the little volume of lectures to Henry, when he observed his interest in it. The edition was published in 1808, so it was up-to-date. Gregory discussed the scientific explanations of simple natu- ral phenomena in a direct, conversational style. He writes: “You throw a stone, or shoot an arrow into the air; why does it not go forward in the line or direction that you give it? Why does it stop at a certain distance, and then return to you! . . . Onthe contrary, why does flame or smoke always mount upward, though no force is used to send them in that direction? . . . Again, you look into a clear well of water and see your own face and figure, as if painted there. Why 1s this? You are told that it is done by reflection of light. But what is reflection of light?” == Es TT rt slab nd eee q { i r i i } : | H ¢ | t } | i} ay 1 } ; ! ! ‘iy re ; | 1 a | i i a Hf Ye iP.) 4 Sasa! Set Perna et eer ios er ese negra 7 Se NN a rTa ta cee ar aie ee Sete a Te se weer nets Ih a a a ee ee ee ee eee ae ot rie Pe ee cen hee PO rn ab atl anil Cretan ee tLe Pee als ers Tt Sette —_ fs ee PR ey hinge ee 172 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE The scientific attitude towards nature was new to Henry, and he was fascinated by it. He discovered that he could employ his imagination to investigate the mechanism of nature. When he saw that the investigation of natural phenomena provided more scope than drama for the exercise of an original imag- ination of a logical character, he retired from his dramatic society, after delivering a farewell address, in order to edu- cate himself in science. Henry wrote on a blank page of his copy of Gregory’s Lectures: “This book, although by no means a profound work, has, under Providence, exerted a remarkable influence on my life. It accidentally fell into my hands when I was about sixteen years old, and was the first book I ever read with attention. It opened to me a new world of thought and enjoyment; in- vested things before almost unnoticed with the highest in- terest; fixed my mind on the study of nature, and caused me to resolve at the time of reading it that I would immediatel commence to devote my life to the acquisition of knowledge.” He became a pupil in the night school of the Albany Acad- emy, and worked hard at geometry and mechanics. He was now a tall youth with a sinewy frame and strong constitution. He could work sixteen hours a day, continuously, for years, without serious fatigue. He had the Scottish intellectual char- acteristics of calm and clarity supported by determination, in an exceptional degree, but his early life had developed artistic qualities often neglected by Scots. His personality was more balanced than that of a native Scot. As soon as he was able, he became a teacher in a country school, in order to save money for the cost of a fuller course at the Academy. He found that a knowledge of higher mathe- matics was necessary for the pursuit of science, so he resolutely learned the differential calculus. When he had completed the academic course and passed the examinations, he was appointed tutor to the family of General Stephen Van Rensselaer, a landowner of Dutch descent, and president of the trustees of the Albany Academy. He was notHIS LIFE AND WORK 173 expected to teach more than about three hours daily, so he had leisure for further study. He assisted Dr. Beck, the principal of the Academy, in chemical experiments, and attended courses on anatomy and physiology, with the intention of qualifying as a medical doctor. He read Lagrange’s Méca- nique Analytique. He was now receiving general encourage- ment, but his intense studies had impaired his health. He ac- cepted an invitation secured through the influence of a friend, to act as engineer on a road-survey from West Point to Lake Erie. His health was restored by work in the open air, and he earned some money and much credit. He remained excep- tionally healthy and vigorous for the remainder of his life. He had enjoyed the engineering, and had decided to accept the direction of the construction of a canal, when he was in- formed that he had been nominated for the chair of math- ematics in the Albany Academy. He accepted this appoint- ment in 1826. He was now twenty-eight years old. He was expected to teach seven hours daily, including three and a half hours’ arithmetic to a large class of boys. In his spare time he started the electrical researches which became famous. Like many other cities at the end of the eighteenth century, Albany had a number of scientific societies. Two of these were amalgamated in 1824, to form the Albany Institute. Van Rensselaer was also the president of this organization. Scien- tific meetings were held in the Institute, lectures with demon- strations were given during the winter, and transactions were published. Dr. Beck’s lectures on chemistry, like Humphry Davy’s in London, attracted a fashionable, besides intelligent, audience. Albany was the capital city of New York State. It was the headquarters of the state administration, and had an unusually large professional and educated population. This explains why it had a good theater, and several learned societies and in- stitutes. It was a relatively admirable birthplace for a man of science, and Henry’s scientific achievements were due in a considerable degree to the circumstance that he was born in See —-s> SS ~ > css Serer erry a rea Se Ted Lae a en ere rir eres | | ny i Sc a rT Oe Nee ae PO re nat Powe art 4 acm! Seas ch tatos rR ee ae aa ee Sete ee ed eae a tt Len hE ae et ed ee ie eee Ee EE ee da eee hee Shireen — “ ~ Dh eh eh ete aE ee eter noe take rot vases aa et ee 5 hen cacemeerEsettTOY Sw BOE tr atta canter j ; i ra) ut > od 174 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE one of the most cultivated American cities of his day. His op- portunities at Albany might be compared with those of Davy at the Bristol Pneumatic Institution. Both were in provincial centers of learning. Davy had the advantage of meeting more talented men in his youth and at Bristol, before he went to the Royal Institution in London. Henry assisted Beck with the experiments, as Faraday assisted Davy. He found oppor- tunities to make experiments of his own. His first communica- tion to the Institute dealt with experiments on the cooling of steam by sudden, or adiabatic, expansion. He held a thermometer in a jet of steam escaping from a boiler, and showed that as the temperature and pressure of the steam in the boiler was increased, the temperature regis- tered by the thermometer decreased. Then he demonstrated that a jet of escaping steam will not scald the hand when ex- posed to it, if the original temperature of the steam is sufh- ciently high. Henry’s career as an experimental investigator began with research into problems that had been set by the development of the steam engine. The line of his work was determined by the growth of industrial technique. His next paper was on the production of cold by the ex- pansion of air. He put half a pint of water in a strong copper sphere of five gallons’ capacity. Air was pumped into the re- maining space, up to a high pressure. The sphere and its con- tents were allowed to cool to room temperature, and then the air was suddenly released. The water inside the sphere was frozen. Henry remarks that “this experiment was exhibited to the Institute within six feet of a large stove, and in a room the temperature of which was not less than eighty degrees of Fahrenheit’s thermometer.” These experiments did not reveal any new principles, but they showed that Henry had acquired an excellent command of experimenting, and had learnt how to describe results clearly. He undertook the road survey after they were published, and was appointed to the chair of mathematics when he hadHIS LIFE AND WORK 175 completed the survey. The Albany Academy was one of the institutions supervised by the Regents of the University of the State of New York. In 1825 the Regents organized meteor- ological observations for the State, and instruments were set up in the Academy as part of the system. Henry and others were asked in 1827 to tabulate the observations. This began a long and distinguished connection with meteorology. The ob- servers were expected to note the climatic conditions on days when any peculiar behavior of plants and animals occurred. The influence of agricultural interests on the development of the science of meteorology is seen in this instruction. Henry’s first paper on electro-magnetism was read to the Institute on October 1oth, 1827. Simon Newcomb has remarked that no American since Franklin had made any contribution to the science of electric- ity, until Henry began his researches. This interregnum of seventy-five years was, in his opinion, one of the most curious features in the intellectual history of America. There had been “plenty of professors of eminent attainments who had amused themselves and instructed their pupils and the public by physical experiments,” but they had not been inspired by Franklin’s brilliant example to discover new knowledge of electricity. This is an important problem for the students of the history of science. Many factors contributed to the phe- nomenon. The absorption of American energy in pioneering and the achievement of independence, and the slow emancipa- tion from the intellectual tutelage of Europe, are among them. Henry explains his approach to electricity in his first paper. He remarks that although electro-magnetism is “one of the most interesting branches of human knowledge, and present- ing at this time the most fruitful field for discovery,” it is less understood in America than any other branch of science. The popular lecturers have not availed themselves of the “many interesting and novel experiments with which it can supply them,” and little attention has been devoted to it in the “higher institutions of learning.” Soe iM { i i | H | 7 | Hl it i i a TT Le nae ree Fa ae oO Sir SPs eae OE Ne ei 7 a errs — ae OUT ele tT ast er Tia ST ree oy Se eT Rene ee a aePerkar eect nen atone. peel eens Ss cence ee tile eee lat hen eee ee eae ha ee ee ones SP het tare ie ne Si ate mer oe ee ees a. ee Se lg eh cateieet T= srl reat yak 2 Fo i 176 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE “A principal cause of this inattention to a subject offering so much to instruct and amuse is the difficulty and expense which formerly attended the experiments—a large galvanic battery, with instruments of very delicate workmanship, being thought indispensable.” Henry then explains that this difficulty had been removed by William Sturgeon of London, who had devised a set of instruments which would demonstrate the phenomena of electro-magnetism without requiring powerful sources of cur- rent. He achieved this by general improvements in design, and also by incorporation of his great invention, the electro- magnet, into his apparatus. Sturgeon described his electro— magnet in 1825. It was capable of supporting a weight of nine pounds, Within two years Henry was following his researches, on the other side of the Atlantic. He suggested that in those apparatuses in which electro-magnets could not be used, greater sensitivity could be obtained by using coils containing many wires, after the manner of Schweigger, in his invention of the galvanometer. Henry designed elegant improvements of apparatuses such as De la Rive’s ring, for demonstrating the alignment of an electrical coil across the earth’s magnetic field. The spur of the entertainment motive is prominent in the work of Sturgeon, who tried, and miserably failed, to gain a living by demonstrating and teaching electricity. His extraor- dinary career has not been adequately studied, though Joule wrote a sympathetic short account of it. The same motive is seen, among others, in Henry’s first paper; the improvement in the eficiency and power of apparatus in order especially to increase its entertainment value. Nowadays the spur of this motive is seen in the subsidy of laboratories for research on the technique of photography, talking machines and films, television, etc. The deflection of a magnetic needle by a wire carrying a current was reported by G. D. Romagnosi in 1802, but his observation was overlooked. H. C. Oersted rediscovered the phenomenon in 1819 and swiftly drew adequate attention toJosEpH Henry A few years over the age of thirty Ri Asiebyalnt a nL eee eee Peet ae eee ———" 7 a oi Sa er cat SS ee peared ESL ore Ni it i i | li | a eee et ite a ed — cora ee etrated ener eee Pe te ed = maweegnee’ ee aac a ae Rete EE Pe ce er eed / F i 7 i Fe te LL ated a RTT ad ee oa > eT TS ae hewe"etares yi piseqe. Se a Te YS rep nee at is eee ausbace nlHIS LIFE AND WORK 177 it. Schweigger increased the magnitude of the effect by using \ a coil of many turns instead of a single wire. His instrument could be used for measuring the strength of the current pass- ing through the coil, and was named a galvanometer. Henry improved the effectiveness of Sturgeon’s demonstration ap- paratus by the systematic introduction into the design of care- fully-made coils containing many turns. Then he began the systematic improvement of Sturgeon’s own invention of the electro-magnet. Sturgeon’s electro-magnet consisted of a bar of soft iron bent into a horse-shoe shape. The bar was varnished, and eighteen turns of bare copper wire were wound round it. Large gaps were left between the turns, so that no electrical short-circuit- ing could occur. The design was very inefhicient, but the mag- net would support nine pounds’ weight, when the ends of the coil were connected to a large-current battery. One evening, when Henry was sitting in his study with a friend, he arose and exclaimed after a few moments of rev- erie: “Tomorrow I shall make a famous experiment.” He had just thought of a new way of winding electro-magnets, in the light of Ampere’s theory of magnetism. “When this conception came into my brain I was so pleased with it that I could not help rising to my feet and giving it my hearty approbation.” He began to construct electro-magnets in which the exciting coil was insulated, instead of the iron core. He used thin copper wire covered with silk. This enabled him to wind a very much larger number of turns around the core. Also, as the coils were very close, they lay almost at right angles to the axis of the core. This made the maximum use of the magnetizing force. In Sturgeon’s electro-magnet, the loose coils had a pitch, or lay across the core at an angle of about thirty degrees. Henry exhibited a horse-shoe electro-magnet in 1829, which contained 400 turns of silk-covered wire. The coil was wound over itself in successive layers. Thus he was the first to construct a magnetic spool, or bobbin. He found that this electro-magnet would support a considerable weight when excited by a small current. a —— a arent —— i b i i i { H } Fy ar a et oe ori eae pert Seerene steps Eseries ea Tr eres te ae a SRP POE der So naar nme Om . — Pe rn aaa inte ee ae eere eh tr aT - Sh ae th ee Ce a il ee ee ae Ee SR a ai cea OE ee ot ee eet eT ee TP PAE eI rT Pe; corneas Gi Fines qes-semnreesg ts hl eee PRUGTE IT Femme apg odo $7 pees ete sat jase E: fy —>. > 178 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Later in 1829 he exhibited an electro-magnet wound with several short coils, instead of one long one. A half-inch iron bar was bent into a horse-shoe shape, and wound with thirty feet of tolerably fine copper wire. This bar would support 14 lbs. when excited by a small voltaic battery. Henry then wound a second coil of 30 feet, and attached its ends to the same battery. He found the bar would now support 28 Ibs. With a larger battery, it would support 39 lbs., or more than fifty times its own weight. He explained that his “experiment conclusively proved that a great development of magnetism could be effected by a very small galvanic element.” With P. Ten Eyck he investigated in 1830 how an electro- magnet behaved at the end of a wire 1,060 feet, or about one- fifth of a mile long. The wire was “stretched several times across the large room of the Academy.” They secured two voltaic batteries. One consisted of a single pair of large plates, and the other of twenty-five pairs of small plates. The total area of zinc in both batteries was the same. They found that the electro-magnet would support 8 ounces, when the current from the twenty-five cell battery was sent to it through the 1,060 feet of wire. It lifted only half an ounce when similarly excited by the single-cell battery. He found that when the long wire was cut out of the circuit, and the electro-magnet connected directly to the twenty-five-cell battery, the magnet lifted only 7 ounces. Henry comments on this remarkable result. He thinks it might have been due to variations in the conductivity of the battery, or to the slowing-down of the electricity in the long wire, which would enable it to go round the core more slowly when it arrived, and thus produce more magnetism in it. He would have verified the result by further experiments “had not our use of the room been limited, by its being required for public exercises.” But he concludes that the coils of the magnet may either be single and long, or multiple and short; and the batteries must give a small cur- rent of high intensity, or a large current of low intensity, as circumstances require. An electro-magnet with a long single coil lifted less than when wound with several separate coils, rages Po soHIS LIFE AND WORK 179 but it had the property of being excited by a high-intensity battery through a long connecting wire. The current from a multiple-cell battery seemed to resemble that from a frictional machine. He points out that his results confirm the possibility of the construction of an electro-magnetic telegraph. Henry 1s therefore the inventor of the first telegraph employing electro- magnets. Henry’s experiments were made before Ohm’s law had been recognized, and units for voltage, amperage, and resist- ance had been defined. P. Barlow had denied the possibility of the electro-magnetic telegraph, because experimenters had found that the current from low-voltage batteries did not produce sensible deflections in galvanometers at the ends of long connecting wires. As mentioned in Chapter I, electric communication through con- siderable distances had been achieved early in the eighteenth century with frictional electricity. W. B. Taylor remarks that Salva worked a static electric telegraph over a distance of 26 miles, between Madrid and Aranjuez, in 1798. This suc- ceeded because the electricity produced by frictional machines is of a high-voltage, low-amperage type. Henry and Ten Eyck proceeded to construct an electro- magnet, with an iron core which weighed 21 lbs. The piece of iron to be attracted to the core, the lifter or armature, as he names it, weighed 7 lbs. 540 feet of copper bell wire were wound round the core, in nine coils each containing 60 feet. The ends of the separate coils were left projecting, and all numbered. “In this manner we formed an experimental mag- net on a large scale, with which several combinations of wire could be made by merely uniting the different projecting ends.” The horse-shoe was suspended in a strong wooden frame 3 feet 9 inches high and 20 inches wide. The lifting power of various combinations of coils and batteries could be tested by hanging weights onto the armature. He found that two coils connected in series, when excited by a small battery, pro- duced a lifting-power of 60 lbs., but when connected in par- Ser iy see pera, ; } H i i ig SST eS TaeetasseS Nes! a ba Bisveese= tootsie gots et et ert online 5 eeta icp ae ee Ce | eae A aE EO EE SITTING GS ETF MTOR erent re sae Mill heen eee a Eee Tt eet Lees SSOLEVSOO Tt tel ere ret URED Soe onnentdTipangecesemenmemesstera al radabeact 5 Sl eee ee tee eee ee tea rat cathneks cae re biast one 1 180 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE allel, the lifting-power was 200 lbs. Four coils in parallel gave a lifting-power of 500 lbs., and nine gave 650 lbs. The cur- rent from a voltaic battery, whose plates were exactly one inch square, was sufficient to produce a lifting-power of 85 Ibs. when connected to the nine coils in parallel. With a larger battery he obtained a lifting-power of 750 lbs. The existence of considerable quantities of copper bell wire in Albany in 1830 was an important condition of Henry’s researches. It would be interesting to know why it was easily obtainable there, and how he obtained the money to buy it. Henry writes in his paper that Dr. L. C. Beck suggested they should use “cotton well waxed for silk thread, which in these Investigations became a very considerable item of expense.” Beck made a number of experiments with “iron bonnet-wire, which, being found in commerce already wound, might pos- sibly be substituted in place of copper,” but they failed, owing to what would now be described as the high resistance of the iron. The invention of less expensive methods of construction was an important feature of these researches. Henry’s improvement of the electro-magnet by systematic experiment and measurement shows the influence of industrial engineering methods on the development of physics. Some years later Joule started an investigation of the efficiency of the electro-magnetic engine, or form of electro-motor, which led to the modern conception of the conservation of energy. His first experiments, like Henry’s, were directed to the im- provement of the electro-magnet, and the work of both showed the influence of the spirit of the industrial engineer, who must design efficient machines in order to reduce the costs of production. When steam-power, or energy, became a market commodity, an accurate measure of it was demanded by commerce. This was the motive of the investigations which led to the saving of power, and the understanding of the theory of efficiency and conservation. An electro-magnet capable of lifting 2,065 lbs., or about one ton, was constructed at Yale College under Henry’s di- rection in 1831. A weight of 89 Ibs. could be held withoutHIS LIFE AND WORK 181 dropping, when the poles were reversed, by reversing the current. This principle was afterwards employed in the neu- tral relay of quadruplex telegraphy, described in Chapter III. Henry’s methods of constructing magnetizing coils were adopted by Faraday in the apparatus with which he discovered electro-magnetic induction, and powerful electro-magnets of his type were essential in the discovery of the polarization of light by a magnetic field. In July, 1831, Henry described a method of producing re- ciprocating motion “by a power, which,” he believes, “has never before been applied in mechanics—by magnetic attrac- tion and repulsion.” He constructed the first reciprocating electro-magnetic machine. He suspended a bar electro-magnet horizontally by a pivot passing through its center of gravity. The north poles of per- manent magnets were fixed under each end. When the cur- rent was sent through the coil of the electro-magnet, the north pole of the electro-magnet repelled the north pole of the permanent magnet, while the opposite occurred at the other pair of poles. The current was reversed by arranging that the oscillating magnet should bear connecting wires which dipped in and out of the acid of voltaic batteries, with each oscillation. The electro-magnet oscillated at the rate of 75 vibrations per minute for more than one hour. Henry remarks that “not much importance, however, is at- tached to the invention, since the article in-its present state can only be considered a philosophical toy; although in the progress of discovery and invention, it is not impossible that the same principle, or some modification of it on a more ex- tended scale, may hereafter be applied to some useful pur- pose.” Henry soon saw that the power developed by his machine was indirectly drawn from the combustion of coal, and the machine would not supplant steam as a source of power. He did not expect it would have any application, except in cir- cumstances where economy was of no importance. While at Albany Henry began to construct a dynamo. SCE E SET tore: Sree 7 a Be Sacast Sot Piss Pee oer ret Ms rare £ el i eS : —— = = em a ree meee eer ers q H | P| i i i H 4 = SS — Whe lbisiiws ated dein — a = 7 = a ta at eS = : Delete ete er eer ee reES STENT SW iemyos-~.., ee arn Nn ONE NTE RANT REE OL STILTS 86h TF TOTES i age nde ata mee a ee Te cere eee en nr oes foe ener CPC U ye wesm0: SE ie ee a ee Ce oom garee pT es Caha kote Tes pr rea —.---- i i j 182 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Henry slung more than a mile of wire around an upper room in the Academy in 1831. He sent a current from a multiple-cell battery through it to an electro-magnet which attracted the hammer of a bell. He demonstrated this ap- paratus to his classes, in order to prove that signals could be swiftly transmitted to a distance by electro-magnetism. He was urged to patent these inventions, but refused, as he “did not then consider it compatible with the dignity of science to confine the benefits which might be derived from it to the exclusive use of any individual.” In 1876, he wrote that perhaps this opinion had been too fastidious, Henry was not opposed to patent laws. He considered they provided the most equitable method of materially rewarding inventors, but he believed that patenting was beneath the dignity of a natural philosopher. W. B. Taylor remarks that if he had profited from his inventions he would have had more adequate means for extending his researches. After Oersted had rediscovered that a wire bearing an elec- tric current would deflect a magnetic needle, many investiga- tors tried to discover the reverse effect, the production of an electric current in a wire through the medium of magnetism. Faraday was the first to publish a demonstration of the effect, and the experiment is usually considered his greatest single achievement. He obtained his first positive evidence of electro- magnetic induction in August, 1831, with the assistance of a ring electro-magnet whose magnetic strength had been in- creased by adopting Henry’s system of winding with several separate coils. On September 24th he is confident that he has obtained a “distinct conversion of magnetism into electricity,” and by November 4th he had confirmed his results by a va- riety of experiments. During the last few years Henry had also been investigating how electricity might be obtained from magnetism. Soon after he read of Faraday’s success, he wrote a description of his own researches, and published it in July, 1832. In this paper he starts by recalling that the discoveries of Oersted, Arago and Faraday had shown the intimate con- Tors enerHIS LIFE AND WORK 183 nection between electricity and magnetism, and that magnetic effects, such as the deflection of a needle, were easily obtained from an electric current. This had immediately suggested that electric currents ought to be easily obtainable from magnetism, but, “although the experiment has often been attempted, it has nearly as often failed.” He then writes: “Tt early occurred to me, that if galvanic magnets on my plan were substituted for ordinary magnets, in researches of this kind, more success might be expected. Besides their great power, these magnets possess other properties, which render them important instruments 1n the hands of the experimenter: their polarity can be instantaneously reversed, and their mag- netism suddenly destroyed or called into full action, according as the occasion may require. With this view, | commenced, last August, the construction of a much larger galvanic mag- net than, to my knowledge, had before been attempted, and also made preparations for a series of experiments with it on a large scale, in reference to the production of electricity from magnetism. I was however at that time accidentally inter- rupted in the prosecution of these experiments, and have not been able since to resume them, until within the last few weeks, and then on a much smaller scale than was at first in- tended. In the meantime, it has been announced in the 117th number of the Library of Useful Knowledge, that the result so much sought after has at length been found by Mr. Fara- day of the Royal Institution. It states that he has established the general fact, that when a piece of metal is moved in any direction, in front of a magnetic pole, electric currents are developed in the metal, which pass in a direction at right angles to its own motion, and also that the application of this principle affords a complete and satisfactory explanation of the phenomena of magnetic rotation. No detail is given of the experiments, and it is somewhat surprising that results so in- teresting, and which certainly form a new era in the history of electricity and magnetism, should not have been more fully described before this time in some of the English publica- tions; the only mention I have found of them is the following ae eee i Hl 1 : y | | ] i 1 a) i f oh : { i | } SS Z MS Sal Pt wienengy ui an we doles. prs Cre SS a ai a ee eee en a ec I Et eae as "me ats Sa a aad La acti hoe te ee ee ee eet eee Deena tear ee ee oe ae eed ATI MISLED oem reno Fe te Ral ieee tee ee ttt Lia lett ed Le ee a cot Pen eee ees = Sal i rh N na ee 2 ' 184 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE short account from the Annals of Philosophy for Aprillag tes Henry quotes the statement of Faraday’s discovery that if two insulated wires are laid parallel to each other, a current starting in one will induce a current in the other, in the op- posite direction. Also, if a magnet is passed in and out of a coil, a current will be induced in the coil, while the magnet is in motion. Henry continues: “Before having any knowledge of the method given in the above account, I had succeeded in producing electrical effects in the following manner, which differs from that employed by Mr. Faraday, and which appears to me to develop some new and interesting facts.” He describes how he had wound thirty feet of copper wire, covered with elastic varnish, round the soft iron armature of the electro-magnet which could lift 700 Ibs. The ends of the wire were connected to a galvanometer. The coils of the electro-magnet were excited by suddenly immersing the plates of a voltaic battery, to which they were connected. Henry ob- served that the galvanometer needle was momentarily de- flected at the instant of immersion. To his surprise, he found that a momentary deflection occurred, in the opposite direc- tion, when the plates were suddenly lifted out of the battery, and the exciting current cut off. He found that a current of electricity is momentarily pro- duced in a coil surrounding a piece of soft iron, whenever magnetism is induced in the iron, “and a current in the oppo- site direction occurs when the magnetic action ceases, and also that an instantaneous current in one or the other direction accompanies every change in the magnetic intensity of the iron.” Henry then writes that “since reading the account before given of Mr. Faraday’s method,” he has made some more experiments. One of these consisted of obtaining sparks from the coil round the soft iron armature, by holding its ends near together when the electro-magnet was excited. He remarks that he has been forestalled in this experiment, as he has learned that J. D. Forbes of Edinburgh published an accountHIS LIFE AND WORK 185 of a similar experiment in March, “my experiments being made during the last two weeks of June.” Henry mentions that he has made “several other experi- ments in relation to the same subject, but which more 1m- portant duties will not permit me to verify in time for this paper. I may however mention one fact I have not seen no- ticed in any work, and which appears to me to belong to the same class of phenomena as those before described.” He then publishes the great discovery of self-induction. From any point of view, this was a wonderful paper. He gives in it the first publication of the discovery of self-induc- tion, and forestalled Faraday’s repetition of this discovery by two years. He gives an independent discovery of the dertva- tion of electric sparks from a current induced in a coil. He gives an account of a demonstration of electro-magnetic 1n- duction made before he had any knowledge of the method given in the account of Faraday’s researches in the Avnals of Philosophy. It would be extremely interesting to know exactly when he first made this last experiment. Did he make it before he read the account of Faraday’s work in the note in the Library of Useful Knowledge? It is not entirely clear whether his re- marks concerning the “method given in the above account” refers both to this note and to the account in the Ammals of Philosophy. The note was appended by Roget to his article on Electro- magnetism. As it is not often quoted it is given here in full: “Note. Since the above was sent to the press, a paper, by Mr. Faraday, has been communicated to the Royal Society, disclosing a most important principle in electro-magnetism, of which, I regret, I can only give the following brief statement. “By a numerous series of experiments, Mr. Faraday has established the general fact, that when a piece of metal is moved in any direction, either in front of a single magnetic pole, or between the opposite poles of a horse-shoe magnet, electrical currents are developed in the metal, which pass in a direction at right angles to that of its own motion. The ap- TE Ee ene eee a sae terre tigre is nee ta Hs t \ a i a i itet ae a eat ate ene Le blad hee ee ee | ee ee oe aL ee ee et eee ae FIDO eee PE Ce tt ee eet itil ha hee eet ae LLL LY ee ee Pet patie es pete ee tata saat hy it OM cy ie i 3 . 186 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE plication of this principle affords a complete and satisfactory explanation of the phenomenon observed by Arago, Herschel, Babbage, and others, where magnetic action appears to be developed by mere rotatory motion, and which have been erroneously ascribed to simple magnetic induction, and to the time supposed to be required for the progress of that induc- tion. The electro-magnet effect of the elective (sic) current induced in a conductor by a magnet pole, in consequence of their relative motion, is such as tends continually to diminish that relative motion; that is, to bring the moving bodies into a state of relative rest: so that, if the one be made to revolve by an extraneous force, the other will tend to revolve with it, in the same direction, and with the same velocity.” Roget’s article was signed Dec. 12th, 1831. Henry does not say when he first read the note. Perhaps it was about March 1832. Henry’s paper of July, 1832, and the history of its contents, have been carefully analysed by his daughter Mary A. Henry, in six articles published in 1892. She writes that the experi- ments described in the paper are to be divided into two groups, those done before he had any knowledge of Faraday’s method, and those done afterwards. She explains that those made “since reading the account ... of Mr. Faraday’s method” were done in the last two weeks of June, 1832. The experiments in the first group, which includes the great ex- periment with the coil wound round the armature of the electro-magnet, were done before Henry had read the April number of the Annals of Philosophy, which he may have re- ceived in May. Thus the experiments were done before May. (Miss Henry does not discuss the bearing of Roget’s note, but Henry may have read this in March. In that case, accord- ing to Miss Henry, he would have made the experiments before March.) Miss Henry now points out that it is extremely unlikely that Henry had any opportunity for experiments between August, 1831 and June, 1832. The Academy’s hall, where he made experiments, was occupied by other activities during thatHIS LIFE AND WORK 187 period, and Henry himself was engaged in a vast amount of teaching and lecturing. Henry’s own account in the July paper suggests that he had no opportunity for experiments between August, 1831 and June, 1832. Thus Miss Henry concludes that Henry made his defin- itive experiment on electro-magnetic induction in August, 1831, or earlier. She explains that Henry had only one month’s vacation in the year. He taught seven hours daily, largely to children, and he had no permanent room for ex- perimenting. The America of 1830 was unable to provide a permanent room for the researches of a genius such as Henry. This illustrates the state of culture in the country at the time. It was therefore probable that he made his chief experi- ments during the August vacations. In August, 1831, he was constructing a new electro-magnet. Now Henry describes his definitive experiment as made with the old electro-magnet described in 1829. It seems probable, therefore, that he made his definitive experiments in August, 1830, while he was still working with his old magnet. Miss Henry says that her father used to mention in private conversation that he had noticed sparks from the coils of his electric telegraph in 1829, and had suspected they were due to electro-magnetic induction. He said, also, that he had an- ticipated Faraday by about a year in the discovery, but un- fortunately had not published an account of his researches, owing to the lack of time for the preparation of a thorough description of them. A difficulty in accepting this last explanation is raised by Henry’s comments in his July paper on the slowness of the publication of Faraday’s researches. He says it 1s surprising that experiments which “form a new era in the history of electricity and magnetism, should not have been more fully described before this time in some of the English publica- tions.” If Henry himself was in possession of the result in 1830, and had been refraining from publication for two years, it seems odd that he should rebuke others for failing to pub- lish a detailed description within a few months. eet be ert ae 2 = a gerne ares ~ — SL — - aes geet eet Seen ee en eraed mn ——— ee oe —= = = - eee er tae a OES ee eee aa bob ot tebe t thes tote ty See Ee - oes Oty; Peso ret aati anipen OLS nemesis. - » : s : oe re een ee hens : a ee aT "= ooo 2 = = A Se I a et ey — x paw aT SE wn: Parr et |oa sip nr ED ra] — I aan ae et eee UE 8d FINEEE Mam = etn ero tne en geRram eves, ete at a Re a eee eee EE eT ee FO te EL teal ae et eee tee Lee eee ead pe SLL eT ot id as eats he eee ere aS re teh ry a Pent te et ee ees Perret tetas t ubcees 188 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE As a daughter, Miss Henry was in an excellent position to know Henry’s private opinions, but her discussions were pub- lished in 1892, sixty years after the events. This diminishes the value of evidence she may have heard verbally many years before. The question whether Henry or Faraday was the first in time to discover electro-magnetic induction seems not to admit an absolutely final answer. The probability is that Henry was the first. Certainly, he made a definitive experiment whose style was absolutely his own. The comparison between the careers of Faraday and Henry as investigators of electricity up to the year 1835 isin Henry’s favor. He lived in Albany in America, with little time, small resources, and few intellectual companions. Faraday lived in London, in a world-center of intellectual activity, with much free time for research, and considerable resources. He was five years older. Further, there were peculiar incidents in connection with several of Faraday’s early electrical researches, Davy opposed his election to the Royal Society, on the ground that his work on electro-magnetic rotations was not original, and that the idea had been taken from Wollaston. Faraday was not gen- erous in his recognition of Sturgeon, and he did not express his indebtedness to Henry for the technique of the design of electro-magnets very fully or exactly in his early papers. He failed to read Henry’s description of self-induction in 1832. There is evidence that he was slower than Henry in recognizing the significance of experimental results in electric- ity. Henry exhibits an almost morbid, or masochistic, modesty in the statement of his results and claims. He ascribes the minimum to himself, and the maximum to others. A comparison of the early work of Henry and Faraday on electro-magnetic induction shows that Faraday has received too much praise for his contribution. Electro-magnetic induc- tion was the least unique of his important discoveries. His PathHIS LIFE AND WORK 189 greatness rests far more on his development of the idea of lines of force, and of the electro-magnetic field. Henry never questioned Faraday’s priority. No scientist has been more careful than he in matters of priority. His care did not arise from a contempt of applause, but from a desire not to receive applause for things he had not done. He con- sidered the approbation of intellectual equals the greatest dis- tinction in the gift of humanity, and he wished to preserve the standard of that approbation by the most exact assessment of achievement. Thus he disapproved of the slightest exaggera- tion of an achievement, and was inclined to ignore any claims concerning which there was vagueness or doubt. From the perspective of the history of science, the question of personal priority is of no importance. The significant fea- ture of Henry’s great paper of July, 1832, is that the phenom- enon of electro-magnetic induction was discovered, or about to be discovered, independently at about the same time in Albany, U. S. A., and in London, England. These events show that the progress of science depends far less than 1s gen- erally believed on the efforts of individual geniuses. Faraday and Henry were the most advanced of a group of hundreds of investigators who assumed that if electric currents could pro- duce magnets, then magnets should produce electric currents. The phenomenon of electro-magnetic induction is of enor- mous importance, but this does not necessarily imply that the experimental difficulties of discovery were very great. As Henry and Faraday made the discovery almost simultane- ously, it could not have been of such a unique nature that it could occur only to one investigator of supreme genius. Henry’s achievements at Albany attracted the authorities of the College of New Jersey, or Princeton, and he was in- vited to occupy their chair of natural philosophy. He moved to Princeton at the end of 1832. He had married his cousin Harriet L. Alexander in 1830. She had come to live in Albany after the death of her father, who had been a successful business man in Schenectady. They ——s AES atin eee csaett= S Seopa ey ee a 5 a — ss ses eer ara rae pert —s , ee Cee a ee ne 1909 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE had ultimately six children, of which three daughters survived the death of their father in 1878. Mrs. Henry lived until 1882. During the first years at Princeton Henry had little time for research. He had to organize his department and courses of lectures, and in 1833 fill in addition the chair of chemistry, mineralogy and geology, whose occupant was spending a year’s leave of absence in visiting Europe. He subsequently also lectured on astronomy and architecture. While he was struggling with his pile of routine duties, Faraday was pursuing without interruption his investigations of electro-magnetism, and published his rediscovery of self- induction. Henry was urged by his friend A. D. Bache, the great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, who was at that time professor of natural philosophy in the University of Penn- sylvania, to write accounts of his further researches. He constructed an electro-magnet which would lift one and a half tons, and showed for the first time how “a large amount of power might, by means of a relay magnet, be called into operation at the distance of many miles.” He communicated by an electric telegraph from the College to his house, across the campus grounds. The wire was extended “from the upper story of the library building to the philosophical hall on the opposite side, the ends terminating in two wells.” He used earth returns immediately after Steinheil in Germany had discovered their practicability. He extended his researches on self-induction. A strip of copper 1 inches wide and 96 feet long was insulated with silk and rolled into a flat spiral like a watch spring. He would have made a larger spiral, but could not obtain the necessary material. Sparks resembling discharges from a Leiden jar could be drawn from this coil. Henry was given a year’s leave of absence in 1837 to visit Europe. He was accompanied by A. D. Bache. He acquired the friendship of Faraday, Wheatstone, Arago, De la Rive, and other eminent scientists. He spoke to the British Asso- ciation at Liverpool on the lateral electric discharge. He de-HIS LIFE AND WORK 191 scribed experiments which confirmed Biot’s opinion that it ““s due only to the escape of the small quantity of redundant elec- tricity which always exists on one or the other side of a jar, and not to the whole discharge.” Henry also spoke to the Mechanics and Engineering Sec- tion on the great development of railways and canals in the United States, and on the improvement of river steamers, some of which could steam at fifteen miles per hour. In the discussion Dr. Lardner, the economist, expressed doubts of the accuracy of Henry’s statement concerning the speed of the American boats, and made his celebrated declaration, on the basis of observations on Thames steamboats, that oceanic steam navigation was impossible. He visited King’s College, London, to join Faraday, Wheatstone and Daniell in an attempt to make a spark with current from a thermopile. The English experimenters tried it in turn and failed. Henry then attempted to increase the self-induction of the current by sending it through a long interpolar wire wrapped round a piece of soft iron. He suc- ceeded in producing a spark. Faraday was delighted, and jumped up and shouted: “Hurrah for the Yankee expert- ment.” Years later, Faraday and Wheatstone wrote a joint letter to the Royal Society, proposing that the Copley Medal should be awarded to Henry, but their proposal was deferred by the Council, and ultimately passed over. Mary A. Henry states that Wheatstone learned of the practical possibility of using a galvanometer for detecting a current at the end of a long telegraph wire from Henry during their London con- versations in 1837. After returning from Europe, Henry continued his re- searches on induction. He elucidated by experiment some of the properties of the transformer, demonstrating that currents of high voltage and low amperage could be obtained from those of low voltage and high amperage and the reverse. He proved this with a series of coils of various sizes. Pairs of coils were placed in contiguity, and the induction of currents in one from the other was examined. See SR nee | i it { Hy | , { : i i i me ; / : i | ) ve | } I iq | } | i i iy a | Fyn Weorssninte tea? ee a eT Oe ee eS eeehac et Aten re ARTE PE ne ene ne terre Sitar Oe ee tae ee ieee et ae, See 1, need Se et eee eet eet ae TT eet ae peer Lat Lashr at FPF ir ee ie PSs EPS ee Br rat aia ee eet ere eprts raat % rh 192 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE He investigated the induction of currents in an exploring coil held in various places in the neighborhood of the inducing coil. In this way, he discovered how the coils should be aligned in order to induce most effectively any desired type of cur- rent; and the most effective dimensions, and design, of the coils. He found that soft iron placed in a coil could be magnetized by induction from remarkably great distances. He found that induction could be made through the walls of a room. A per- son in an empty room, holding the ends of a coil, might be given a shock by a current induced from another coil in an adjoining room. Henry remarks that the uninitiated some- times imagined such shocks, without apparent cause, were due to magic. He applied the action of induction at a distance to the graduation of the treatment of a patient suffering from a par- tial paralysis of the nerves of the face. The inducing coil was suspended from a pulley, and could be raised or lowered over the coil in which current was induced, so that the strength of the induced current could be varied, to give shocks of the correct intensity. He examined the screening effect of materials placed be- tween two coils. He found that conductors destroyed the in- duction, but non-conductors did not. He proved that the screening effect of conductors was due to the induction in them of eddy currents which neutralized the current induced in the screened coil. This was done by cutting a slit in the metal screening disc. The slit disc had no screening effect. The direction the current would have taken in the complete disc was discovered by connecting the edges of the slit by wires to a detecting instrument. Humphry Davy had found in 1821 that the magnetization of needles by electric discharges was unaffected by the inter- position of screens, irrespective of whether they were made of conductors or non-conductors. Henry explained that this re- sult was due to the disposition of his apparatus. He arranged the conductor screens in such a way that they were equivalentHIS LIFE AND WORK 193 tc the slit disc, and could not contain eddy currents, and there- fore could not operate as electrical screens. The fact that the primary current could be completely neu- tralized by a secondary current suggested to him that sec- ondary currents could be separated from primary currents, and used to induce a current in a third conductor. In this way, he established and investigated third, fourth, and fifth orders of induction. He pointed out that the eddy currents induced in homo- geneous conductors must reduce the efficiency of electro- magnetic machines. The rings of metal which formed the sides of the spools bearing the exciting coils would “circulate a closed current which will interfere with the intensity of the induction in the surrounding wire. I am inclined to believe that the increased effect observed by Sturgeon and Calland, when a bundle of wire is substituted for a solid piece of iron, is at least in part due to the interruption of these currents.” Henry published this work in 1838. He made a long series of experiments on induction by electric currents produced from frictional electricity. He found that induction by these currents had peculiar characteristics. Savary had observed in 1826 that a frictional electric dis- charge current magnetized needles with alternate direction of polarity, depending on their distance from the wire con- ducting the discharge, and had suggested that it was due to oscillations in the direction of the discharge. This phenomenon was thoroughly investigated by Henry. In 1842 he explained that it was due to a property of the discharge of a Leiden jar which had not previously been recognized. The discharge was not correctly represented by the single transfer of electricity from one side of the jar to the other, but to “the existence of a principal discharge in one direction, and then several reflex actions backward and forward, each more feeble than the preceding, until equilibrium 1s obtained.” Henry definitely confirmed the theory that the Leiden jar discharge is oscil- latory five years before Helmholtz expressed the same view in 1847, and Kelvin in 1852. Fa Te ee a eens tere a aaa 3 ee ; ie a i i a H t s i { 6 P| | if f 4 ik | r i | i F i at a a TS NS a ¢ Sa ee ee eT TT = arent EreSl te ae ee Ses 0 SIE no eee eT Tee FO al een Oe Sd ear tee wimmgee Sh te eh PEES ET EG oy oy, Bee reset es Ear bth atcha a a St Re Reta ae an ee a ae ne tee ene al eee ray te eee ert reat 194 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE The currents induced by the oscillatory discharges were de- tected by the magnetization of needles put inside small coils. These detectors could be set up at any distance from the wire conducting the primary discharge. Henry discovered that the needles were magnetized when the detectors were placed at remarkably great distances from the discharge wire. He found that a single spark discharge in a parallelogram of copper wire sixty feet by thirty, suspended by silk threads in the up- per room of a building, was sufficient to magnetize needles in an identical parallelogram in the cellar, thirty feet below, and separated by two floors and ceilings, each fourteen inches thick. Henry comments: “The author is disposed to adopt the hypothesis of an electrical plenum, and from the foregoing experiment it would appear that the transfer of a single spark is sufficient to disturb perceptibly the electricity of space throughout at least a cube of 400,000 feet of capacity; and when it 1s considered that the magnetism of the needle is the result of the difference of two actions, it may be further in- ferred that the diffusion of motion in this case is almost com- parable with that of a spark from a flint and steel in the case of light.” Before commenting on this passage, two more ex- periments may be noted. Henry connected one end of a coil in his study with the metal roofing on his house, and the other end to a metal plate in a deep well near the house. He found that needles put in this coil were strongly magnetized by lightning flashes which occurred “within a circle of at least twenty miles.” He pro- posed to use this arrangement as “a simple self-registering electrometer for studying atmospheric electricity.” He showed that the current produced in the house circuit by the distant lightning was oscillatory. He found that if a discharge from a battery of several Leiden jars was sent through the wire stretched across the campus in front of Nassau Hall, at Prince- ton, “an inductive effect was produced in a parallel wire, the ends of which terminated in the plates of metal in the ground in the back campus.” The distance between the wires was several hundred feet, and the building of Nassau Hall stood in theHIS LIFE AND WORK 195 intervening space. Henry remarked, in 1846, that it was con- cluded that the “distance might be indefinitely increased, pro- vided the wires were lengthened in a corresponding ratio.” It is evident from these accounts that Henry was uncon- sciously detecting induction due to electro-magnetic waves. He had unwittingly invented the method of detecting radio waves which depends on charges in the magnetization of a magnet. His observations had prompted him to compare the spread- ing from a single spark discharge of what he described as in- duction, with the spreading of light from a spark made with flint and steel. Here he was comparing what in fact were electro-magnetic waves with waves of light. His understand- ing had prompted him to suspect a similarity between these electrical effects and light, which was subsequently proved by Maxwell and Hertz. It is now common knowledge that the difference between radio-waves and light-waves is due to a difference in wave-length only. Henry’s deduction of the similarity of the spreading of the electrical disturbance with the spreading of light was based on his simple calculation of the enormous volume of space through which the disturbance was observable. The electric spark could, as it were, be seen by the magnetic detector, as a lighted match could be seen by the eye. He did not use the word “energy,” as, in its modern sense, it had not, in 1842, been introduced into physics. But he saw that the energy of the spreading mechanism of the electrical disturbance, and that of waves of light, were of the same order, and he concluded that the electrical spreading must be due to an electrical plenum, or ether. In 1842 Henry was unconsciously making experiments with radio waves, and had begun to formulate qualitatively some first rough ideas of an electrical ether which transmitted dis- turbances to great distances. He had started to approach the electro-magnetic theory of light. He remarked again, in an address in 1851, that the inductive effects of the discharge current of a Leiden jar appeared to be “propagated wave-fashion,” and that the inductive effects, — ——— SPs ee a er ee a ea f i Ce eee 4 ace! Hy pasecsitieg meaabacserncrars PEs Se ers aa a iy 1 n P| a i a F iH 5 } i : | i i { i { st ; i iy if i aa i ait er ee eee PR ane a ata at ee a a tee Te Sot ete bee eed ee ents Pree reere La eet Oe ere ha eee ee Co pl pe ieee gt See oe hana et ee Sot. cobbegeted ety eae rae Al ¥" ti ay ST Rasa 196 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE which extend to such surprising distances, “must produce in surrounding space a series of plus and minus motions analo- gous to if not identical with undulations.” These speculations are to be compared with those of Fara- day in his lecture of 1846, on Ray Vibrations, which, accord- ing to Clerk Maxwell, contains the first proposal of the electro- magnetic theory of light. Faraday suggested that radiation was a species of transverse vibrations in lines of force. He be- lieved this conception was implied by the phenomenon of the magnetic polarization of light, w hich he had discovered early in 1846 (with a powerful pleciro: magnet of the type invented by Henry). Henry’s greatest achievements were in electrical research, but he made many other interesting researches. He worked assiduously at meteorology, and his proposals for systematic world-weather observ Paes which were studied by the British Association in 1838, were wider than any before suggested. In 1831 he had shown that some aurorae are simultaneously vis- ible in America and Europe, and are therefore due to general physical conditions of the globe, and not to local phenomena. He used Melloni’s thermopile i in 1843 to measure the heat- radiation from the sky, and found that the vapors near the horizon were powerful reflectors of heat, but that the cloud of a distant thunder-storm was colder than the adjacent blue space. He observed in 1839 that mercury could be siphoned through a height of three feet by a thick lead wire. Mr. Cor- nelius of Philadelphia, a manufacturer of bronzes, informed him that when silver-plated copper was heated to the melting point, the silver was burned away. Henry dissolved the surface from such a piece of burned copper, with acid, and revealed the silver underneath. This proved that solid silver would dissolve in solid copper. He extended the knowledge of the production of phos- phorescence by rays, especially from sparks, and showed that phosphorescent rays excited by polarized light were com-HIS LIFE AND WORK 197 pletely depolarized. G. G. Stokes rediscovered this effect ten years later. He described in 1843 an electrical chronograph for deter- mining the velocity of projectiles. In one form the projectile was to be fired through wire screens, each of which was con- nected through an induction coil to a metal pointer nearly touching paper wound round a revolving metal drum. When a screen was broken, an induction current produced a spark between the pointer and the drum, which left a small hole in the paper. This method had the great merit of no inertia in the working parts. Wheatstone invented a method of meas- uring the velocity of projectiles some time after 1834, but did not publish it until 1845. He investigated the cohesion of liquids in 1844. He meas- ured the tenacity of a soap-film by “weighing the quantity of water which adhered to a bubble just before it burst.” The thickness of the film was determined by an observation of Newton’s rings. He concluded that the molecular attraction of water for water is several hundred pounds per square inch, and equal to that of ice for ice. The strength of the soap-film is due not to an increase in molecular attraction, but to the reduction of the mobility of the molecules. Further experi- ments showed that the cohesion of pure water is greater than that of soapy water. He explained that the change from the solid to the liquid state was due, not to the destruction of co- hesion, but to the neutralization of the polarity of molecules, which gave them “perfect freedom of motion around every imaginable axis.” He gave an address in 1844 On the Origin and Classifica- tion of the Natural Motors. His thoughts had been turned to this subject by some remarks by Babbage on “the economy of machinery,” and by the researches of Liebig, Dumas, and Boussingault on vital chemistry. Henry writes that he be- lieved he had brought the views of all these investigators to- gether, in a manner that had not been done before. He con- cludes that the force of the burning fuel in an engine, and eee = PFs Oe ee Te oe si en een ae aeres Sn ee oR ne eee rn i et ] } : i ny | | a i } i ig t ; ; { | 5 ; 1 . j i | | hi Pe a S a eee ae ne aE AE SEP Tien? 2 Pepin eae esOe eel i ee re ed ATT WORLD em ser oe mmeSSES ITT ger eg Tt Rey Seat ee a a abe dierent) hn, kee a a en ee eee ee 198 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE that developed by the moving animal, are ultimately derived from the sun’s rays. He believed that ne vital principle is re- stricted to the propagation of form and arrangement of atoms in living organisms. His views approximated ¢ to the theory of the conservation of energy. He investigated in 1845 the relative heat-radiating power of portions of the sun’s surface. A large image of the sun’s disc was explored by a small thermopile. Henry found that the heat radiation from a large sun-spot was distinctly less than that from “the surrounding parts of the luminous disk.” This research virtually founded a new branch of solar physics. It was extended by P. A. Secchi, who was a young professor in America at the time, and was assisted and encouraged by Henry. After 1846, Henry’s opportunities for research were again restricted by his w orking conditions. The account so far given describes the researches done before the age of forty-nine years. They form a great achievement, and the degree of Henry’ S ability ; is illustrated when it is sneered that he was unable to start research until he was thirty years old, and had to work under very hard conditions until he was thirty -five. After he had done all this he became the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and directed its activities for thirty- two years.Iii The Smithsonian Institution I THIS INSTITUTION WAS FOUNDED WITH A sum of about £106,000, or $500,000, which passed into the hands of the Government of the United States in 1837, through the will of an Englishman named James Smithson, who died in 1829. James Smithson was an illegitimate son of Sir Hugh Smith- son, who became the first Duke of Northumberland. Sir Hugh Smithson was the son of a Yorkshire baronet, or minor hereditary nobleman, who owned a small family es- tate. Country gentlemen of this sort usually managed their estates, and Hugh Smithson had been educated in this tradi- tion. He was extremely handsome, energetic, capable and am- bitious. These qualities enabled him to marry, in 1740, Eliza- beth Percy, the heiress of the wealth and connections of the Percy family. This family had large estates in Northumber- land, which contained deposits of coal. The orowth of indus- try in the latter half of the eighteenth century had prompted the improvement of the steam engine, and following this achievement, the demand for coal swiftly increased. Numer- ous coal mines were sunk on Smithson’s estates, and the num- ber of miners and the general population increased rapidly. The rent from the Northumberland estates increased from £8,607 in 1749 to about £50,000 per annum in 1778. This development was primarily due to the growth of the coal trade. The working conditions of the miners at this period were shocking. Women were used to draw tubs of coal along 199 eI nL eT ee ee a oe ed eres ss pee re ' i A I Ls | A f i SN NgeRe ENE eee aun eet ee eet ee et ene eSbug CST Ree ome Sere Dio. 0 ee ater er L St Lp ee eee tte Cen Te be heel nee ee eee! eee ars 7 bs rn Fd ee ne to Ptr s: alter ee reer a a a here ne eT en ee eee ee 200 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE the pit galleries. The chains by which they hauled the tubs were fastened round their necks, and passed between their legs, where they made horrible sores through friction. Smithson spent a large part of his income on ostentation. His wife’s equipages often excelled those of the Queen, and his expenditure exceeded that of any other private person. The old nobility hated his pride and wealth, and regarded him as an upstart. George III was friendly with him, and in 1766 made him a duke, ; as a consolation for failure to receive the highest political offices. Smithson was one of the new class of magnates which achieved wealth by the exploitation of the opportunities cre- ated by the introduction of steam power and machinery into industry. He had the virtues besides the vices of his class. He was business-like. He drained and reclaimed his land, repaired the houses, and planted twelve hundred trees a year for twenty years. Ditens wrote that “he had great talents and more knowledge than is generally found amongst the nobility.” On the other hand, W Talpole wrote that “with the mechanic ap- plication to every branch of knowledge, he possessed none be- yond the surface.” This was the iets of a philosopher of the pre-industrial leisure class, and shows the usual prejudice of that class, as exemplified by Plato twenty centuries ago, against ecnanicdl knowledge. His attention to details was interpreted as “littleness of temper,” he was despised for his “sordid and illiberal con- duct” in gambling, and “although his expenditure was unex- ampled in his time, he was not generous, but passed tor being so owing to his judicious manner of bestowing favours.’ The same sense, which was that of a new sort of commercial magnate, led him to oppose the repression of the American colonies. His son Algernon, who became the second duke, fought against the Americans at Lexington. He also did not approve of the repression, and soon noted that the American insurgents were far more formidable than a mob, brave, and not without military skill. The first Duke of Northumberland was a leader of a newTHE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 201 social class, and had fierce struggles for equality with the old nobility. It is not surprising that a man of such good looks and wealth, accustomed to get what he wanted, should have had illegitimate children. A widow named Mrs. Macie bore him a son in 1765, who came to be known as James Smithson. This son was at frst named James Lewis Macie, and adopted the surname Smithson about 1802. Mrs. Macie was 2 member of the Hungerford family in Warwickshire, and a descendant of Henry VII through Lady Jane Grey. Thus James Smithson belonged to the new indus- trial nobility as a son of its most prominent member, and also to the old nobility, as of royal descent on his mother’s side. Through his relationships he might have acquired the most magnificent social position, if he had not been illegitimate. His father apparently prevented him from being plainly recognized as his son, and indirectly incorporated into the new nobility. If he had desired, he could probably have secured a title for him. But the Duke opposed direct recognition of his paternity. When Macie was entered as a student at Oxford in 1782, his father’s name was suppressed in the registry of names. This was a very exceptional departure from university procedure, and could have been secured through great 1n- fluence only. Macie was a remarkable student. When he left Oxford in 1786, he was reputed to know more than any other person in the university about the chemistry of minerals. His scien- tific and social standing were sufficient to secure his election to the Royal Society 1n the following year, when he was twenty- two years old. One of his five recommenders for election was the eminent Henry Cavendish, of whom he became an intt- mate friend. As Cavendish was very shy and extremely able, Smithson could not have gained his rare confidence without tact and intelligence. Smithson always had money. It seems to have come from his mother’s family. The fortune which he bequeathed to the United States for founding the Smithsonian Institution came —T ae Cea Setar eel trae H ; H i | int i : i H i H Ease SB fon are Ses Snare - War awieadion a oes a The: a Oe eet er oe ee Te eT res Bn ee ETE ST an aawns mene eS pre en es ee aSel ee ee ee a eet een ee eR bea a ace te enn aes Pd cated Led a mae TT Oe aot Petes Sadat ih eh kT oe oe ee Drie ee ee PF eee ies rte 2 a <0 te 2 Pytend “Ll REET Bo a a a dL cet hy Pe eee ne tae ee Pn uae 202 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE from the Hungerford family. Virtually nothing came from the vast wealth of his father and the Northumberland family. Smithson was a clever analytical chemist. In his time, min- eralogists confused native zinc carbonate and zinc silicate, and labeled them both calamine. He demonstrated their differ- ence, and the first is now known as smithsonite, after his dis- covery. He devised methods of detecting small quantities of arsenic and mercury, which remained standard for half a cen- tury. He recognized substances combined together in definite proportions. His conception of chemistry was philosophical, and he wrote in a terse mode of expression more modern than the usual style of his day. He remarked in an early paper that “chemistry is yet so new a science . . .” that chemical knowl- edge consists “entirely of isolated points, thinly scattered, the lurid specks on a vast field of darkness.” He was advanced in his respect for accuracy, and complete descriptions of experimental procedure. He had the modern equalitarian attitude towards scientific facts, and did not un- derrate, like most of his contemporaries, the value of accurate facts not obviously related to some fashionable theory. His remark that “every man is a valuable member of society, who, by his observations, researches, and experiments, procures knowledge for men,” is in this spirit. Like Humphry Davy, and other chemists of the time, he was interested in the application of science to technology. Smithson wrote that “in all cases means of economy tend to augment and diffuse comfort and happiness. They bring within the reach of the many what wasteful proceeding confines to the few.” He then describes an improved method of making coffee. He analysed the coloring matters in plants and medic- inal herbs, and he experimented with the construction of lamps. Davy’s social significance as a chemist has been interpreted as the propagandist of the application of chemistry to indus- trial manufacture. He helped to sell science to the rising cap- italist industry of the nineteenth century. Smithson was in sympathy with this tendency. He urged the application of science, especially where it was of economical value. BenjaminTHE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 203 Thompson (Count Rumford) had similar views. This Amer- ‘can chemist founded the Royal Institution in London to en- courage the application of science to the improvement of do- mestic and industrial economy. The English chemist Smithson founded an institution in America with rather similar objects. When Smithson found himself with considerable wealth (virtually none of which came from his enormously rich fa- ther), he did not stop his scientific researches. He pursued them with much persistence. This seems to have been due to true scientific curiosity and also to a hope of intellectual fame which would surpass the social fame of the parent who had disowned him. His choice of mineralogy as an avenue to fame may be significant. Perhaps he wished to show how much more he knew about minerals than the father who had made so much money out of them. The motive might have been quite unconscious. During the passage of years he became aware that his sci- entific talent was not great enough to accomplish spiritual re- venge in this manner. Also, his health became feeble. He retired to Paris, where he divided his time between research and gambling. He became a close friend of Arago, who re- eretted “that this learned experimentalist should devote the half of so valuable a life to a course so little in harmony with an intellect whose wonderful powers called forth the admira- tion of the world around him.” Arago tried to wean him from gambling by working out his prospective losses and gains by the laws of probability. Smithson was sufhciently impressed to restrict his stakes within his income, but he would not break the habit, because it was the only occupation which could dis- tract him for a time from consciousness of his ailments. Smithson had been born in France. Like many other liberal Englishmen he was sympathetic to the earlier changes of the French Revolution. He wrote from Paris in 1792: “Ca ira is growing the song of England, of Europe, as well as of France. Men of every rank are joining in the chorus. Stupidity and guilt have had a long reign, and it begins, indeed, to be time for justice and common-sense to have their turn . . . the of- apteery YT Tries eset Sister mrs ere Tra i i i | { i i i 4 i Peery apn oe Eee ne —-a a = Comes a ee ee eas = Se en ee een ee Soi pe ae «, Sace,* sues retort Pe “So — pr Mrs Cy Se a ere Ne iT Or ees acaktearwseenltaa a re) le Se ln ee eee eee eee erate eee Deen re re IT tle oa te edt ee eet il malaika heen eR AS ial af te eee Ls = = - Fea ee ee ee PE a a : 204 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE fice of king is not yet abolished, but they daily feel the inutil- ity, or rather great inconvenience, of continuing it, and its duration will probably not be long. May other nations, at the time of their reforms, be wise enough to cast off, at first, the contemptible incumbrance.” When Smithson wrote his will, thirty-four years later, he was, no doubt, much less Jacobinical, but he retained a core of radicalism. As his hope of great intellectual fame faded and his health declined, his resentment against his father, and his father’s family and social class, increased. He felt that he was of a higher social class than his father, in virtue of royal descent through his mother, and yet his father disowned him, and refused even to have him established in his own upstart no- bility. Smithson hated his father, and suffered from the psy- chological affliction described by Freud as the Oedipus com- plex. This complex was strengthened by the mark of old nobility and wealth he received from his mother and her family. In his fury against those who thrust him out of the class to which he felt himself to belong, he wrote: “The best blood of England flows in my veins; on my fa- ther’s side I am a Northumberland, on my mother’s I am re- lated to kings, but this avails me not. My name shall live in the memory of man when the titles of the Northumberlands and the Percys are extinct and forgotten.” The desire to kill his father in revenge for social ostracism had been sublimated into the desire that his own fame should still live after that of his father and the Northumberlands was dead. He conceived a method of achieving this through the be- quest of his wealth. The first paragraph of his will reads: “I James Smithson Son to Hugh, first Duke of Northum- berland, and Elizabeth, Heiress of the Hungerfords of Stud- ley, and Niece to Charles the proud Duke of Somerset . . .” A mineralogical chemist could not have composed this with- out being deeply impelled by class feeling.THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 205 He bequeathed a small legacy to an old servant, and the rest of his property to a nephew. If the nephew had no heir, the property was to go “to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” It is not known how Smithson conceived this particular idea. There is no evidence that he had any contact with the United States or with American citizens. Only two books about the United States were found among his large collection of books and papers. One of these contained an enthusiastic forecast of the future of the city of Washington. This may have sug- gested that city as a suitable place for the establishment whose fame was to outlast that of the Northumberlands. There is a passage in George Washington’s farewell ad- dress, which he may have read. “Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it 1s essential that public opinion should be enlightened.” It is impossible to say whether Washington influenced Smithson. The probability is that both of them were influ- enced by the general social movement of the time for the dif- fusion of knowledge. Numerous societies and institutions were founded for this object at the beginning of the nineteenth century. As a trained research worker Smithson carefully included “Gncrease” of knowledge, and placed it before “diffusion,” in the statement of his desire. He was more explicit on this point than Washington, the soldier and administrator. Smithson’s nephew died childless in 1835. The Govern- ment of the United States was informed of its right to his property, and President Andrew Jackson communicated the information to Congress. The formalities of acquiring the property were completed in two years, which at the time was extremely swift, owing to the good will of the British Govern- ment, and the energy of R. Rush, the American lawyer sent siete Daren, ae } : ie i | { i i i my | ; ] i '§ } & i % i\ : | i | ; i i i ] ) } : ny i Ay : S| P + rH t | mi AR A YY I as err Tee nae Eo = . eee = od fe Saiya i Sa ee Gai vee esSaree a re a ee ee, eee eet ere EO Rad a ae See kL, eter ee ae beeen eee Ce hei aS A Mee OTF ee Perrone aes nas ee ee Cpe Hin anRs Pele ase ee ES a 2 aE TEIN SO ames = | a A a la a TE ah ne ee HM END 206 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE to London to prosecute the claim. Rush arrived with the be- quest at New York in 1838. It was in the form of 105 bags, each of which contained 1,000 gold sovereigns, and another bag which contained 960 sovereigns, and “eight shillings and sevenpence wrapped in paper.” Congress debated desultorily for eight years as to how Smithson’s will should be done. J. Q. Adams made the prob- lem one of his special interests. He saw that if Smithson’s scheme were successfully achieved, it would have a profound influence on the culture of the United States. He was anxious “to secure, as from a rattlesnake’s fang, the fund and its in- come, forever, from being wasted and dilapidated in bounties to feed the hunger or fatten the leaden idleness of mounte- bank projectors and shallow and worthless pretenders to sci- ence!” Many different types of “establishment” were proposed. Some wished to found a university, others some sort of school, or museum, or astronomical observatory. The exclusion of a school from the proposals was secured only a few minutes before the end of the final debate. In the end, the fund was definitely secured for the foundation of an institute of higher learning. The debates on the proposals reflect the attitudes of many of the leading men and classes of the United States of the 1830’s towards science. John C. Calhoun opposed the accept- ance of the bequest, on the ground that it was beneath the dignity of the United States to accept money from a private foreigner. He was also influenced by his principle of opposing any action which might strengthen the influence of Washing- ton and the central authorities on the life of the United States. J. Q. Adams opposed the foundation of a school, on the ground that the education of citizens was the duty of the United States themselves, and should not be done at the ex- pense of a foreigner’s bequest. He pointed out that Smithson wrote that the institution was for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, and not among men of the United States only. It was to benefit all men.THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 207 John Davis firmly supported the acceptance of the bequest on the ground that “the establishment of institutions for the diffusion of knowledge” is “a vital principle of a republican government.” Joel R. Poinsett endowed the final scheme with the ideas of an important building, a national museum of art and sci- ence, its location in Washington, the main features of the adopted plan of organization, and the international exchange of books. Robert Dale Owen (a son of Robert Owen) harmonized the proposals and prepared the first act of incorporation. He was assisted by A. D. Bache, who sought advice from Henry, and other scientists and scholars. Henry was in England in 1837, when the Smithson bequest was definitely received by the United States. He had immedi- ately become interested in its possibilities, and had retained his interest during the decade of debate. The board of the new institution hoped that Henry would become the first Secre- tary, or Director. He was persuaded to accept this position by Bache. He was asked to prepare a plan of organization, which he presented to the board in 1847. He explains that Smithson’s will indicates that the first ob- ject of the Institution must be the increase of knowledge, and the second, to diffuse it. “The Government of the United States is merely a trustee to carry out the design of the testa- tor. The institution is private and not national. It is to serve the whole of mankind.” Henry notes that Smithson has written that “the man of science has no country; the world is his coun- try—all men his countrymen.” The Institution should there- fore be conducted in that spirit, and should not in its program give excessive weight to local interests. Increase of knowledge was the first object. Henry proposed “to stimulate men of talent to make original researches by offering suitable rewards for memoirs containing new truths; and, to appropriate annually a portion of the income for par- ticular researches, under the direction of suitable persons.” To diffuse knowledge, he proposed “to publish a series of periodi- Pye eS eresectere rd Sere ——— na as pce ETI mina OvMOC TOO f ni { j i i § Selenite ate eet rset poate: eet tee ae oe SS ere tee Lt Lee tS Fear eee AY Eee See? se lean asa OR a ara i herbed br Tt oOo PE eee ne pry nn Oe: net te iis fe ad en al. eee eee eee ee eas fc tetas et wt Ss de eet he oo Las et pea Bieter i et tert telat) 208 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE cal reports on the progress of the different branches of knowl]- edge; and, to publish occasionally separate treatises on sub- jects of general interest.” The Institution should make special collections of objects and “also a collection of instruments of research in all branches of experimental science.” Henry held that specialization by the Institution on a par- ticular branch of science was contrary to Smithson’s intention. Any preference should be given to the higher and more ab- stract parts of science. “Incomparably more is to be expected” as to the future advancement of agriculture “from the perfec- tion of the microscope than from improvements in the ordi- nary instruments of husbandry.” He notes that in the United States “though many excel in the application of science to the practical arts of life, few devote themselves to the continued labor and patient thought necessary to the discovery and de- velopment of new truths.” This is due, he considers, to the want, “not of proper means, but of proper encouragement.” He considers that the publication of original work “will act as a powerful stimulus to the latent talent of our country, by placing in bold relief the real laborers in the field of original research.” He was much impressed by the cost of publication of sci- entific papers, especially those on natural history, which con- tained many illustrations. The difficulty of publication had a large influence on the development of the Smithsonian system of distributing literature. He thought that the award of “fifty or a hundred dollars” would often provide an investigator with the necessary books, equipment, or manual assistance. He considered that the “principal means of diffusing know]- edge must be the Press.” By this he meant all forms of printed publication. In his usage, Press did not refer only to daily newspapers. He proposed the publication of periodical reports of the progress of science, written in simple language. Henry was personally opposed to the formation of a mu- seum. He considered that this ought not to be undertaken at the expense of the Smithsonian bequest. But for the present, as it was incorporated in the approved scheme, he proposed[eeSers 8 Pat, -d Sarees cd ere it Oxtol Te ‘+s SMITHSON JAM} As a youth rs ee ee oer he memory ot ands ”) Cee ee J 4 xs vU ~ i de ~~ ny Sf ) a4 oad —- in t — t + Y > — — — Sa a 2 = coed ~~ t ~ a U -— ad + Seer eee ill live man when the titles of ‘ c “ “My name sh ind the Percys are extinct and ‘ « PAL ANICI SAY a ER OE a Rime sret tae: ere rer esat a pst od , Ct ee ab toeetes Shei ae OR cer ak ee ee et oe RE TES ee == | ) ! ee ; / : eee er en a edt ce COPE Te an alee ee ete ehh eee Lay a ote eee ee Poy at bandTHE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 209 that they should, firstly, collect objects which facilitated the “study of the memoirs which may be published”; secondly, objects not generally known in the United States; and thirdly, “Gnstruments of physical research which will be required both in the illustration of new physical truths and in the scientific investigations undertaken by the Institution.” He suggests as subjects of physical research, terrestrial magnetism, which has creat theoretical interest, and also “direct reference to naviga- tion, and to the various geodetical operations of civil and mili- tary life.” The organization of a telegraphic meteorological service for the whole country, and in codperation with the Brit- ish Government, was desirable. This might lead to the solu- tion of the problem of American storms. Exploration, which would provide material for a Physical Atlas of the United States, should be subsidized. Physical constants, such as the weight of the earth, the ve- locity of light and electricity, should be re-determined. Soils and plants should be analysed. Statistical enquiries concerning physical, moral and political subjects should be made, and archaeology and ethnology supported. Henry began to direct the Institution in 1846. He con- tinued to be the director for thirty-two years. Before com- menting on the nature of his policy, it will be helpful to con- sider in what degree it was achieved. 2 When Henry died in 1878, the Institution had a capital investment of $686,000. The value of the building and furni- ture was estimated at $500,000, the library at $200,000, philo- sophical apparatus at $5,000, the stock of its own unsold pub- lications at $50,000, and other items, making $782,000. The total value was $1,468,000. Thus in thirty-two years, by careful management, Henry had doubled the value of Smithson’s bequest. He had paid for all building and development out of the interest on the origi- nal capital, which had not been diminished, but increased. Sen = Set) eS eI ILE Bhsst Tet Ete Prt ste a en eT en Tat = = } | i | i i: Soe eres a - : =a : 5 Fe A aaa FEE aT Pre aie naan LE = ~ = : 4 9 c= a eras =e = ——s a % Sa Tees oe TT LE a ees - St ees nen et eeeibaa ae ae toe ee eee ae eet ees ee ae eee tere teas ee een pe ee SA a ee Pree Cola hb car aee ee ed ee eros ae et erat Oa a ee ee eee Pere ere en 210 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Henry pursued this rigidly economical policy during an exceptionally unsettled period of American economic and po- litical history. During the first half of his secretaryship, when the Southern statesmen had the dominant power, investments and banking were under insufficient supervision and were in- secure, Ihe second half of his secretaryship began during the Civil War. He held the Institution together during that un- certain period, when it might have dissolved during the social turmoil. He conceived saving in expenditure as the basis of sound financial management. When he was appointed to the secretaryship his salary was $3,500, or about £700 per annum, with free living rooms in the building. He was urged on sey- eral occasions during his thirty-two years of service to accept an increase in salary, but he always refused. In 1846 the salary was perhaps not trivial, but in the America of 1878 it was inadequate. Henry was the chief scientific personage in the American capital. He had to entertain numerous visitors. He insisted on doing all this on the same salary in 1878 as he had received in 1846. His daughter has written that this was accomplished only by the most stringent economy in his home. Henry prepared the Report of the Institution himself. He wrote simple summaries of recent advances in science, re- printed lectures delivered in the Institution, and interesting articles from inaccessible foreign journals. In 1872 the edition of the Report contained 20,000 copies. It declined afterwards to ten or fifteen thousand. The Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge consisted of volumes of original papers. Henry wrote that “the real work- ingmen in the line of original research hail this part of the plan as a new era in the history of American science.” They were published in editions of 1,000, and distributed freely among libraries, about 350 of which were in foreign countries. The volumes of Miscellaneous Collections dealt with reviews of the present state of knowledge in different branches of sci- ence, and with accounts of extensive collections of materials for research, reports of explorations, history of science, etc.THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 211 These also were issued in editions of 1,000 copies and dis- tributed freely. Besides these issues, the Institution published many vol- umes on special subjects, and various scientific bulletins. Under Henry’s direction, the Institution developed a sys- tem of international exchange of scientific knowledge. A remarkable Frenchman named A. Vattemare, who was educated as a surgeon, and became a famous ventriloquist, re- tired from the stage in order to urge the exchange of dupli- cate books between the libraries of the world. He visited the United States in 1839 and aroused much interest in his scheme. The Smithsonian Institution adopted the idea, and also agreed to act as a clearing house for the dispatch of scientific publica- tions from any American institution to suitable addresses in other parts of the world. The Royal Society of London ob- tained an order from the British Government that these pack- ages should be admitted free of duty, and the Government of the United States similarly exempted packages addressed to the Smithsonian Institution. Various steamship companies granted concessions on the freight rates for the packages. lsh exchange service was used by the United States Government for distributing its own reports, of which 20,000 packages were distributed between 1851 and 1867. It grew into an interna- tional service for the exchange of books, journals and natural history specimens, assisted by the governments of many coun- tries of the world. Isolated investigators far from libraries and colleagues could obtain books and specimens through the Smithsonian Institution. The list of addresses of correspond- ents had grown to 23,408 in 1895, of which 10,765 were those of libraries, and the remainder of private individuals. The aim of “diffusing knowledge” was grandly achieved. In 1851 Henry reported on the necessity for the proper indexing of scientific knowledge. He explained that Young had compiled a valuable catalogue of scientific books, includ- ing works up to the year 1807. A new universal catalogue was now required. He started a bibliography of American scien- Sn Se eres TEA ig Sees oe See ane Se re Ee eed SN ee Oe 4 : r iH i } H 8 f i : i j i} H : i 4 | H 1 ’ B| rf H t wa | i et Soe oe ee ener Tia Soest, een tad eo are)Sethe be eel ee Lee a et tie Tee 7 wee. Ce Soy ingen arr wert ENT al eT ee PPOBP RTT Damen a4 Es A sere ee eet ot Cs ee ee et ee an ie a. eee en en ee ee Be tr nt | eee ree 212 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE tific works and papers in 1854, and suggested to the British Association that a similar index of British and European works should be made. A committee of the British Association, con- sisting of Cayley, Grant and Stokes, approved the suggestion. They persuaded the Royal Society to prepare a catalogue of scientific works and papers published since 1800. The first vol- ume of this great catalogue was published in 1867. The bibliography of science grows in importance with the progress of science. It is becoming as important, if not more important, than any particular branch of science, as it is the key to the results of scientific research. The quick and certain finding in the literature of what has already been discovered Is NOW as important, in some branches of science, as new dis- covery. An increasing amount of effort in modern research is wasted through failure to appreciate what has been done. Henry was one of the chief founders of the bibliography of modern science. He inspired the development of one of the most important instruments which aids research. The organization of a museum was one of the items re- quired by the original scheme. Henry was opposed to this proposal, as he foresaw that the cost of keeping the increasing collections would ultimately exceed the resources of the Insti- tution. But he obeyed the requirement. The collection became the nucleus for the United States National Museum, which was housed in a separate building in 1881. In 1927 the Na- tional Museum possessed ten million objects. The Bureau of American Ethnology grew out of John W. Powell’s exploration of the Grand Canyon of the Colo- rado, which was begun in 1867, and fostered by Henry, as the Secretary of the Institution. Henry was much interested in researches concerning the aborigines of America, and their pre-history. His colleague and successor, Spencer F. Baird, was a zodlo- gist, and used the resources of the Institution to foster the study of natural history. His own specimens were the nucleus of the National Museum’s natural history collections. His studies of fish and fisheries led him to the conception of theTHE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 213 conservation of the natural fisheries, and of “fish culture,” as a method of producing food, analogous to stock-raising. He inspired the foundation of Woods Hole, and many other bio- logical research laboratories, where the knowledge necessary for the development of “fish culture,” and the general ad- vance of zodlogy, could be acquired. The details of the in- ternational exchange of books and specimens were supervised by Baird. The magnitude of the administrative work of Henry and his colleagues is shown by the number of letters written by Henry. A fire occurred in his office and adjoining parts of the Institution in 1865, and copies of 30,000 pages of letters drafted by him were destroyed. He personally wrote a large part of the thirty-two Annual Reports issued during his sec- retaryship. As W. H. Taft remarked in 1927, the Smithsonian Institu- tion has been “the incubator of American science.” C. G. Abbot said that its policy had been to “seek facts irrespective of their apparent economic value,” and that “cooperation and not mo- nopoly is the motto which indicates the spirit of the Smith- sonian’s operations.” The original plans for the diffusion of knowledge were car- ried out by Henry with extraordinary fidelity and success. The international exchange of books and specimens was an original contribution towards the internationalization of sci- entific knowledge, and the unification of human culture. The Smithsonian Institution gave birth to several of the national scientific institutions of the United States. 3 The first object of the Institution was to increase knowl- edge. Henry made and assisted many researches during the thirty-two years of secretaryship. His project for obtaining simultaneous meteorological re- ports by telegraph from observers over a large area was estab- lished in 1849, with the assistance of five hundred observers. > eet a v eee e etat Tuat free fet er reer eee eee eS Tee ELT ee ee teat yas ee Sor ern | i: } it Ni i a i i 1 | | | ——Cae rier, he cee Ey tere ene ine ee ee ne —— Pens PTT oe a ee EE od cee Lee Breet Tapa detec ee eee ee meta <7 Pape =e ‘ i i ownpe ~4 242 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Josiah Willard Gibbs senior was born in 1790 and gradu- ated at Yale in 1809. He married Ann Van Cleve. He had five daughters, and one son. His third child was Julia, born in 1836, and the fourth, his son, was born in 1839, when he was forty-nine years old. The physicist was the last of a line of six college graduates on his father’s side, and on his mother’s side there were also graduates, including the first President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton). When Josiah Willard Gibbs senior was studying at Yale, theology still had a higher prestige than other subjects, so he followed the usual theological course, though the thought of devoting himself to mathe- matics, for which he had much aptitude, had passed through his mind. His contemporaries commented on his extreme modesty and retiring disposition. He was licensed to preach, but rarely entered the pulpit. The standard of theological study at Harvard and Yale had been high in the early part of the eighteenth century but by the beginning of the nineteenth century it had declined. The new studies of mathematics, classics, natural science and English literature were attracting much of the intellectual energy formerly devoted almost exclusively to theology. Gibbs felt, but did not accept, the attraction of the newer studies. As the study of theology was backward, there was scope for reviving it. The new impulse came from Germany, where Gesentus had recently stimulated the study of Hebrew. Stuart published a Hebrew grammar in the United States in 1821, which was based on Gesenius’ work. As American printers had little acquaintance with Hebrew, Stuart had to set some of the type with his own fingers. Gibbs helped him with the correction of the proofs, and became infected with the enthusiasm for German scholarship, which was strong enough to inspire his teacher to learn the technique of print- ing. Gibbs gained a thorough knowledge of the German lan- guage and literature through his studies of German theologi- cal scholarship. He was appointed professor of sacred literature at Yale.HIS DESCENT AND EDUCATION 243 His mental attitude of logical criticism was in contrast with the dominating current of doctrinal theology. He disliked forming and avowing opinions, as he felt that “men have no right to hold correct opinions with the will, in disregard of what may be alleged against them; and he disliked arbi- trary judgments in respect to matters on which he had gained light only through candid and laborious study.” The style of his writings was clear. His logic was careful and his judgment sound, but he was inclined to be exces- sively averse to speculation. He could not manage the emo- tional aspects of intellectual appeal. He had the ability of pursuing researches without intel- lectual companionship. He was particularly interested in the rationalistic theology of Eichorn, whose name was hardly known even to his familiar friends. On the study of words, his chief work, he could achieve eloquence, though in general he did not possess “that magnetic power which inspires dull- ness itself.” He wrote that “the analysis of sentences in the concentrated light of Grammar and Logic . . . brings one into the sanctuary of human thought. All else is but standing in the outer court. He who is without may indeed offer incense, but he who penetrates within worships and adores. It is here that the man of science, trained to close thought and clear vision, surveys the various objects of study, with a more expanded view and a more discriminating mind. It is here that the interpreter, accustomed to the force and freshness of natural language, is prepared to explain God’s revealed word with more power and accuracy. It is here that the orator learns to wield with a heavier arm the weapons of his warfare. It is here that everyone who loves to think, beholds the deep things of the human spirit, and learns to regard with holy reverence, the sacred symbols of human thought.” He became the leading American scholar of his day on comparative grammar, and it 1s noticeable that he speaks of the grammarian as a “man of science.” If he had been less modest, and more tactful, that is, less uncomfortably critical, eee eT ens at Seti Sete a peratesrre street ices - ot a er Tae cere ere een = eas Ya a IE EE ON ON Sear ~~ Oe eee Seed ore. eee eee NES e re ae = Dee ee ae " NF mi AA | Hf rh |_— a Pla ee ee ere een ee ae Ee DO hated ee Pe eee a tee UL ented Line ly ee Oe ete eet Dee ae oo eee et LEME pet. Veet keh te ee Sree ee Toe Po teta rb tatieeert 244 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE he might also have gained a distinguished reputation in Bib- lical interpretation and archaeology. The elder Gibbs’ aversion to positive opinion did not arise from lack of moral courage. He was an ardent advocate of justice for negroes. He considered that the political arrange- ments concerning negroes had been made in the exclusive interests of the whites “as a combination and conspiracy of the ruling race.” He expected “the judgments of heaven to fall upon the country” because the rights of the dumb mil- lions were “scarcely brought into the account.” His manners were gentle. He was often absent in thought and taciturn, but was rather fond of social intercourse with his particular friends. The elder Gibbs seems to have been a mathematician by nature who, owing to circumstances, had become a gram- marian. He was interested in words as symbols, as things for expressing other things. His initiative was too much in- hibited by the nature of his temperament to allow him to escape from the more conventional studies into those for which he was probably better endowed. He had difficulty in impressing his ideas and desires on others. His son was educated at the Hopkins Grammar School from 1849-1854, and prepared for Yale College which he entered at the age of fifteen, considerably younger than the usual age. Josiah Willard Gibbs Jr. was a very successful student. He was second in his class, and won several prizes in Latin and mathematics, and a scholarship for research. He presently wrote a thesis “On the form of the Teeth of Wheels in Spur Gearing,” and received a doctorate in 1863. During this period, in 1861, his father died. After he had received the doctorate, he was appointed a tutor at Yale. The effect on Gibbs of the undergraduate atmosphere at Yale when he was a student may be considered in relation to the account of student life given by “A Graduate of ’69” in the book Four Years at Yale. The author was a freshman in the year that Gibbs was a tutor in natural philosophy, and student life in his class was probably not much different fromHIS DESCENT AND EDUCATION 245 what it had been in Gibbs’ class. Gibbs entered Yale at the age of fifteen in 1854, and graduated in 1858. The chief feature of undergraduate life was the system of secret societies. American first, second, third and fourth year students are named freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. When Gibbs entered the college, an ordered system of societies was in existence. The freshman applied for mem- bership in a freshmen’s society. In his second year, he moved into a sophomore society, in the third, into a juniors’, and in the fourth, into a seniors’ society. The number of societies in each year or class multiplied. This led to competition be- tween the societies for membership. The society representa- tives, or “runners,” jumped onto the platforms of moving cars, fought the brakemen, and defied the police in order to meet the incoming candidates, and persuade them to pledge themselves immediately. The initiation of a pledged man into his society occurred about a week after the commencement of term. Members in masks led him to the hall where the society held its secret meetings. He would be pushed into a dark room, where he would find other freshmen about to be initiated. When his turn came, members made up as horrific figures would blind- fold him and lead him upstairs to an inquisitorial hall. After being asked nonsensical questions he was thrown into black empty space. He began to fall until he found himself caught and being tossed in a blanket. He may have been precipt- tated into a bucket of water, put into a pillory, laid on a mock guillotine, and then thrust into a cofhin. Presently it was re-opened and he was “recalled to life,’ and found himself ‘nitiated. The initiation was supposed to test his nerves, but not to hurt him. The chief freshmen’s societies in Gibbs’ class were Kappa Sigma Epsilon and Delta Kappa. A third society was formed by the class of ’59, one year junior to Gibbs’ class. This was named Gamma Nu. It was started as an open society in defiance of the character of the existing societies. It slowly gained ground, in spite of efforts to break it up, because ferret tpetasts ere) i } | i i ; ie i o | : H 4 i i 1 | i | t i rear sta on Stra? beeline T start Tis opt the eerie? vent ian SE a teane a eee, eT] Od a OE Rae. ee ee i bein et ce oT reed er Sa alas eee al te teat ae ee OS ORES eee eres Seema Pre peter ert pia ve Ta Pa - P j : 246 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE some of the best men joined it, out of contempt for the silly aspect of the activities of the secret societies. Gibbs was edu- cated just before the reform began, in a period when the so- cial prestige of the secret societies was extreme. The members of one society specialized in hard-working scholarship, another in careless literary excellence, and an- other in good fellowship and sociability. The societies were comprehensive in membership. The process of differentia- tion began after the freshmen had been in residence for some time. The most prominent freshmen were asked to pledge themselves for election to sophomore societies. As less than a half of the freshmen were eventually elected, competition for places became keen. Men helped the election of their friends by canvassing and political bargaining. These elec- tions drew a little between “society-men” and “neutrals” who were not members. The process of social selection continued through the elec- tions to the junior, or third year, societies. According to the “Graduate of ’69,” these societies at that time were the most influential in college politics. They determined the election of the Wooden Spoon Committee and the five editors of the Yale Literary Magazine. The Committee elected the Spoon Man. They were supposed to choose the wittiest, most popu- lar, and gentlemanly man of the class. The highest elective honor to which a student could aspire was the award of the Spoon. The chief senior society was the “Skull and Bones,” which was restricted to fifteen members. The majority of undergraduates lived in rooms in private houses in New Haven. The strength of the societies was partly due to this. They provided social intercourse, which in universities such as Oxford, is offered by the colleges. Under- graduates formed eating clubs for taking meals. There was considerable roughness in the period when Gibbs was a student. The sophomores sometimes broke into a freshman’s rooms. They began to smoke into his face, and he was made to sing or dance, and if he refused, he wasHIS DESCENT AND EDUCATION 247 stirred up with sticks named “bangers.” The best way of scattering a crowd of sophomores trying to break into a room was to fire a pistol shot through the door, after due warning. Unpopular freshmen were “brought down” by “hazing.” They were overpowered, and their hair was cut off, or their faces marked with indelible ink, or they were stripped and covered with paint, and subjected to practices “which cannot be named.” “Hazing” occurred less than once in each class, or year. The sophomore and freshman classes engaged in “rushes.” These consisted of mass fights in the streets. Serious fights between young men of the town and the students occurred occasionally. Persons were killed in fights in 1854, and in 1858, the respective years in which Gibbs entered the college and graduated. In the first of these two fights the students discharged several pistol shots into the crowd. The man who was leading the crowd fell down and died in a few minutes. It was found afterwards that he had been stabbed with a large dirk-knife, and had not been shot. The crowd secured the two guns of the local artillery com- pany, and loaded them, with the intention of discharging them at one of the colleges. The police succeeded in spiking the guns before they were discharged. The identity of the person who killed the man was never discovered. The rela- tions between students and townsmen were tense for some time before and after this riot. Students could not walk in the streets without danger of disturbance. Gibbs was fifteen or sixteen when this happened. What effect could such violent events have on a quiet youth? Did they increase his shyness of society? In any case, they must have made subjects like the higher mathematics seem remote. They may have contributed towards the creation of Gibbs’ personal and intellectual iso- lation. The row of 1858 began between students and firemen, or members of the firebrigade. After the fighting had grown wild, there was a cry of “Shoot! Shoot! ,” and several pistol shots were discharged at the firemen. Their leader was shot, ee ens Sea aren ere 7 i n { n a i | } m4 4 ‘| i a i { } i B ; \ i i 4 H at] rh 4 i ace,’ Se SS sai St TT Ne ee aTa ae emerson rk ee ee ee Seen er re ee ene eee Or enn ee Ss re Stak ETI eet. Tome ae y ease cart erstt nar Li eres Cree ea ee aerate ee Sere Leh ad ieee ia eee ate r] ~— H iM} TH) Hw y - 4 248 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE and died on the next day. He had a wife and two children, for whom five hundred dollars, or about one hundred pounds, was collected as compensation. Again, the person who killed the man was never identified. The students stood to- gether very closely. The progress of students’ studies was tested by recitations before tutors. In mathematics recitations, the students worked at blackboards in front of the class. Many of the students devised ingenious methods of “skinning” or cheating. The “Graduate of 69” says that in his class chemistry was skinned entire, and that hardly a smattering of the science was learned by anyone. The examinations in mathematics inspired the createst craftiness. In 1855, during Gibbs’ student period, it is said that a skinner noted there was a cellar under the floor of the examination hall. When he had learnt where he would sit in the hall, he bored a hole from the cellar through the floor by his place. He arranged for a friend to sit in the cel- lar under the hole during the examination, with a complete set of reference books. He copied the difficult questions onto small pieces of paper which were lowered by a strong black thread to his friend below. When the friend had solved them, he hauled up the solutions with the thread, and copied them in his own handwriting. In 1867 two professional burglars from New York were engaged by sophomores to steal the mathematics paper, but were unsuccessful. The “Graduate of ’69” says that less than half the com- positions handed in at language recitations were genuine, though, on the whole, honest work was the rule. Literary achievement, especially by men of low position in the class, was esteemed by the students more highly than any other form of intellectual work. There were few con- testants for the mathematics prizes, and their recipients were apt to be the objects of more or less good-natured chaff and banter. The most characteristic feature of Yale college life wasee ete ee eens | i a i The Formative Period JostAH WILLARD GIBBS oe Se es crest Seer Se ee - PEATE: V1 ee a er ees) CetOe ee eat eee Oe ah ae ee Se eer tee Se Se ie aE la bee oh tanta he ree H } i i a i it 4 ¢ iH 4 : : A SP eee De oat Pe habe hee Le titre Peete oc eae te Fe OE Ne Se eee ere iT ean ot theyHIS DESCENT AND EDUCATION 249 class-feeling and class-unity, 1.e., the tendency of all the students of one year to act as a social unit. The extension of optional studies in the 1860’s, which allowed students some opportunity to pursue those subjects which interested them most, was strongly opposed by many who believed it would undermine the social unity of the class. The aim was to make what were conceived to be good men with uniform social ideas, rather than good scholars or specialists of any sort. The prestige of sociability and good fellowship was higher than that of scholarship. This was reflected in the salaries of the professors, which were generally below the cost of the usual standard of living. Professors were willing to live at a financial loss for the sake of social prestige. The Yale system of the 1850’s and 1860’s was a powerful machine for giving young men certain social characteristics. It was particularly suitable for training men of an active, extravert disposition for executive positions in politics, law, the church, and commerce. If the United States had not been. erowing and changing rapidly, and the number of Yale eraduates had been larger, their history would have been different. They would have been governed by a type of politician even more thoroughly trained in clique manage- ment, and more undemocratic, than that produced by Oxford. The United States was too large, and the number of Yale men too small, for their government to pass entirely under the control of that group-loyal type. Students who passed through the system could not evade its profound influence. Gibbs absorbed the Yale spirit completely. He accepted a set of social ideas of high value to a politician, but unsuited to a scientific discoverer. It increased his tendency to intel- lectual isolation, and at the same time, made that tendency seem natural. He graduated just before the outbreak of the Civil War. His father died during the second year of the War, and he was able to continue research for his doctor’s degree amid the excitement of the war atmosphere. He had already learned how to work in the atmosphere of the aggressive EEN a saSreseiesactzs nS aa sebodey baericsstumele be ete re ret) ee Serr] at Trae ——— rr Te ay i | H a} { i i i Fe nee Nee iors er dere Ee . = : en Rome Tee mast,he ne a URE Sh OTE Le = ee Pree eee ee ee tre Ce petal Fa eS Naa tat tat Sel ih ee ere toto rs Ties Steere Td eee er ee ee rt ere hee eer ena ee De pg eh raah eee eee ae 250 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE student life. During the first two years of his tutorship, and the last two years of the War, he taught Latin to under- graduates. These circumstances confirm that he was isolated from the popular social interests of his day. Though a young man, he appeared not to have been deeply moved by the profound social problems which provoked the Civil War. If he had, he would probably have taken some part in the struggle, even if too delicate to fight. In 1865-66 he changed to tutoring in natural philosophy. He and his sisters left the United States at the end of 1866, on a three years’ visit to Europe. This implies that their finances had not been destroyed by the Civil War. No doubt they had inherited some means from their father, and these had not been lost during the financial crises of the war. Gibbs was twenty-seven years old when he sailed for Eu- rope. He was mature enough, given the ability and train- ing, to acquire the maximum value from his experiences. He spent the winter of 1866-67 in Paris, and then went to Berlin for a year, where he studied under Magnus, and at- tended lectures by Weierstrass, and others. He went to Heidelberg, whose staff included Kirchhoff and Helmholtz at the time, in 1868. He returned to New Haven in June, 1869. He does not appear to have visited England for study, and never established a close personal connection with British culture. Gibbs’ published works show that he was under pre- dominantly German cultural influences. He regarded Clau- sius and Grassmann as his masters, and wrote in an abstract style more German than any other. He adopted the German manner of professorial lecturing. He gave far more attention to the logical exposition of general principles than to the acquisition of skill in the solution of particular problems, characteristic of English university teaching. It is not improbable that Gibbs owed in a large degree to his father his receptiveness to German inspiration. The elder Gibbs was a profound scholar of German literature, and no doubt arranged that his son had had a thorough groundinga ee HIS DESCENT AND EDUCATION 251 in the German language. A thorough knowledge of a modern language has always been, and still is, rare among post- eraduate students. Its cultural influence is not only larger, but higher in kind, than that of a general working knowl- edge of the language. Gibbs was probably one of the rare students with a knowledge of German sufficiently deep to receive directly, from men such as Kirchhoff, the strongest impression of the nature and style of German scientific thought. His most famous work was on the equilibrium of hetero- geneous substances, a subject which Kirchhoff had touched in 1855. When he returned to New Haven in 1869, he was thirty years old. He was unmarried, and settled in the family of his sister Julia, who was three years his senior. The house had been built by his father, and Gibbs remained in it to the end of his life in 1903. The psychologist may see in these facts evidence of a mother-fixation. Gibbs lived in a house which was the symbol of the persistence of his father’s authority, and he lived in a back room under the benevolent control of his elder sister, who was a substitute for his mother. A psychoanalyst has pointed out to the writer that these details, if they are correct, seem to show that Gibbs had transferred a strong regard for his mother onto his elder sister. He went to Europe in a family group in which his elder sister probably had more authority, so his attitude towards her was continued and confirmed, and not broken, during his visit in Europe. When he returned to New Haven and settled in her house, he produced his great memoir O7 the Equilibrium of Het- erogeneous Substances as an act of devotion to her, a sort of spiritual child. It is possible that she was unable to under- stand the full greatness of the oift. If this were so, then it might be possible to explain peculiar features of Gibbs’ be- havior with regard to his work. He was abnormally modest about his achievements. Ostwald had considerable difficulty in arranging for the translation of his memoir into German. Sie 4 Sect Sie ST re at s23e- yt-t coor oo pret ered Tare ets I bar eed Sarat mamas i a ) | | | 6 i | i ag { : | : : ; i} ' | a i ac j | i a a) | NY i i F nn mi} \ {I | (sste ” eee ~~ a ere ae a aa pa Oe ane a a om NRE Lire om nent aen a a shane a are LE ee eat hia eee Rater OE ei es te Sach nine ot See hie a eat aber raat eee teat TT oe ees an tei eee et saonsd Pees ota ating tals ‘Bl tf Ht oi % oA _— 252 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE Gibbs seemed scarcely to care whether or not it was trans- lated. He allowed the American separates of it to go out of print, and did not have them reprinted, in spite of re- quests from distinguished scientists in various parts of the world. Wilson mentions that for the first fifteen years after the completion of the memoir, Gibbs appeared not to have lectured on chemical dynamics. One may imagine that an author might rest from the study of a subject for a year or two, after a period of the intensest effort, but one may ex- pect that after that, he would return to it with increased in- terest, and talk about it with his friends and pupils. It is possible that his lack of effective interest in the future and de- velopment of the chief child of his brain may have been due to the disappointment of an unconscious psychological motive. At the date of Gibbs’ return Woolsey, the distinguished President of Yale, was near retirement. It was felt that a number of developments, which would better adapt the col- lege to modern needs, might be initiated simultaneously with the election of a new president. Yale had been founded by clergy with conservative tendencies, who had separated from Harvard in order to resume what they considered to be the doctrinal purity of Calvinism. The charter of 1701 had stated that the college was for instruction in “the arts and sci- ences” suitable for the preparation of persons “for public employment, both in church and state,” but the clergy re- tained control over the college, and “believed theology the basis, security and test of the arts and sciences.”? The con- servative tendency at Yale has never been lost, and has prompted the observation that “Harvard on the whole is radical and progressive—Yale conservative.” The writer in the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica says further that the strength of Yale college feelings and traditions were due to poverty. Professors at Yale were not expected to live on their salaries, but their high social position was supposed to assist them to marry well-to-do wives.HIS DESCENT AND EDUCATION 253 In his discourse on The Relations of Yale to Letters and Science Daniel Coit Gilman observes that Yale and Harvard were shaped after Oxford and Cambridge rather than the Scottish, French and German universities, and that their “academic usages derived from medieval convents.” ‘The business of the early Harvard and Yale was to train two sets of leaders, for the church and state. Letters and science were not in their vocabulary, and religion and law were their chief subjects of study. This system was gradually modified. At Yale a “chair of mathematics, physics and astronomy was instituted thirty years before the professorship of ancient languages.” Frank- lin presented them with an electrical machine in 1749, and later with one of Fahrenheit’s thermometers. Fahrenheit was the first to observe the super-cooling of water. He described the phenomenon in 1724. Its theoretical explanation was first given by Gibbs. Early in the nineteenth century Benjamin Silliman was appointed a professor and went to Scotland to continue his studies. He started the American Journal of Science and Arts, and became for a period the most influ- ential man of science in the United States. The Yale school of mineralogy became especially famous under James D. Dana, and the observation of the return of Halley’s comet by Yale astronomers several weeks before it was seen in Eu- rope stimulated the study of astronomy in the United States. H. A. Newton, whose obituary notice was written by Gibbs, made important researches on the origin of meteoric showers, and Loomis on storms. The first chair of agricultural chemis- try in the United States was founded at Yale in 1846. Yale had had two students who became outstanding in in- vention: Eli Whitney and S. F. B. Morse. But this record was not sufficient, and by 1870 still more service for modern life was necessary. The faculties prepared a statement of the Needs of the University which was pub- lished in 1871. The writers state that the difficulties of the College have been increased by the “increase in number of pupils, and need for more instructors, from growing de- a seth = See treet Sn NI earn ent ee a ten eee se —— as Be eet peo nd ers ort ee ~ z i | ' ers: Se es Nee ae ee na Ne i a : A pee pee Ee na ee ca nn ET Te eee ead ee ee eeseee oe tert as sheet) 7) eee ane be fora See to eer Oe eRe ae Ns Dein OB ah ae oie Eka eS eal te ee eee TOOT ase ae net ae ed Se etaaat Pe tekes Bhat TF tree eee tee a ree. De ee a eee Pp et okt tines 254 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE mands for more perfect education,” and “to the great and general advance in prices” (after the Civil War), “which has taken from the older endowments a large fraction of their original value.” They prepared a long list of desirable new chairs and extensions to buildings, and mentioned that the endowment of each new professor would cost fifty thousand dollars “even with the present compensation of three thousand dollars—less by one or two thousand than the well-established churches of New Haven think necessary for their ministers.” They wished to increase the scope of Yale into that of a university. They discussed the needs of the Library first, as that was the oldest institution of the college. (Gibbs’ brother-in-law was the Librarian.) Their conception of education is expounded in their state- ment that “Central and most conspicuous among the Institu- tions organized by the President and Fellows of Yale College, is the ancient school for liberal education, the Academical Department, which is Yale College in the restricted sense in which that name is commonly used. Its one aim is liberal culture as distinguished from preparation for specific employ- ments and pursuits,—a thorough education by mental dis- cipline—the education which fitly precedes the study of any liberal profession, and which is the commune vinculum of all such professions.” Gibbs agreed with this conception, and his acceptance of it helps to explain his detached attitude towards research. He regarded research as an activity which helped to provide “a thorough education by mental discipline,” and he supposed that the subject of research was of secondary importance, and was the means to an end which was more important, mental discipline. Though the writers express their opinion of the superiority of this sort of education, they discuss at length the importance and the needs of the Sheffield Scientific School, which is for “the study of the laws and forces of material nature; and for its distinctive method, instruction by object lessons.” The ob- ject of the school is to promote the study of natural scienceHIS DESCENT AND EDUCATION 255 and its practical applications, and training is given in civil and mechanical engineering, chemistry, metallurgy, agricul- ture, geology and natural history, and courses which “also lead to the professional pursuit of architecture, mechanics and mining.” They compiled a list of new chairs and tutorships required ‘to extend the college teaching to the full scope of a unt- versity. In particular, they stated that: “A division is further required in the department of Nat- ural Philosophy and Astronomy. At present the recitations in Natural Philosophy are wholly conducted by tutors. But a field so vast as that of Physics, and one in which the onward march of science is so astonishingly rapid, demands the labors of a professor who shall be permanently and exclusively de- voted to it.” The new chair of Mathematical Physics was founded in 1871, and Gibbs was appointed as its first occupant. It 1s notable that Clerk Maxwell was appointed the first Caven- dish Professor of Experimental Physics at Cambridge, Eng- land, in 1871. Why were new chairs of physics being founded in widely separated parts of the world at the same date? The explanation is sociological. The first professorship at Yale was founded in 1755 for Sacred Theology, and the second in 1770 for Mathematics, Natural Philosophy and Astron- omy. At Cambridge, England, the chairs in theology were the oldest, and chairs in mathematics and astronomy were founded in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Why were chairs of astronomy founded at Yale and Cam- bridge in the eighteenth century, while chairs of physics were not founded until a hundred years later, in 1871? The explanation is that mathematical astronomy was the most im- portant science in the eighteenth century, as ocean navigation ‘s based on it. The Atlantic civilization of the eighteenth century was primarily mercantile, and founded on the ship- ping trade. Astronomy was the science of greatest value to it, and therefore received the greatest prestige. All men of education believed it was important. This sense of the im- +t fe i rH} i 4 tk Nha} cS +7 i rs P| mace, TT ee errtretes Zea oT Sar apa its pir Bet re Se Sareea sco en ee ee eee na ———— ee eet Se ee ee — z — = ae emer Sete ert Ee Tr Lh ee ee Neen eeOa ate h Lia a ee hate eee anne geet eet ren eee tee st eee hl tet Reka FO eee eee Set eet Dee ns re nana Peete Lo eee cena tt ace SOLA EEO te the asian ae ee See et eee he LC tele. ool SN a er he Pre peice tere 256 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE portance of astronomy came from the pressure of the interest of the ruling classes. The awareness of the interest in it caused its importance to be accepted without question. Many able men studied astronomy without formulating to them- selves reasons why they should. Isaac Newton was one of them. Newton and his discoveries in mathematical astronomy were a product of the urge of the ruling mercantile classes to discover how they could increase their knowledge of the technique of transport, and discover new sources of wealth, and increase their freights and profits. Elihu Yale himself was a leading figure in the mercantile age, which produced Newton as the master theorist of the mathematical astronomy on which their navigation and profits depended. He amassed great wealth as Governor of the East India Company’s settlement at Madras in India. By the middle of the nineteenth century, mathematical astronomy was no longer the chief physical science. It was supplanted by theoretical and experimental physics, concerned with heat and electricity. The mercantilists had been replaced by a new ruling class of industrial manufacturers, who made goods with machinery driven by steam engines, and con- ducted business communications by the electric telegraph. They wished their sons to learn something about heat and electricity, about the sciences of the steam engine and the electric telegraph. Clerk Maxwell’s chair was created in 1871 for the study of the new physics. Before that date, there had been no of- ficial courses of instruction at Cambridge on heat and elec- tricity. The Cambridge course was now adapted to the cul- tural needs of the new governing class. The sociological meaning of the foundation of Gibbs’ chair at Yale in 1871 is the same. It was a move towards the adaptation of educa- tion at Yale to the needs of the new governing class of in- dustrial capitalists in the United States. The motives for the changes in courses of education are not always clear at the time they are made. The directors of educational policy who make original changes have a senseThe house built by his father where Gibbs lived with his sister’s family PWADE, VE Eres ot ERT hag ee eee eee PSSST Para o patos ST Retry pose akbees cy ea ' iP i ' | ‘I i a / D i i a f a es eee ape eee ee eT Leet ere een Pw cemengga aa 7s fo thiea he ee ee ane ee eed) a Cen ee ee en ee ee M | i f ' i eee ee eee Lt eee ah a ee he eer eaeeet Tarot el hte hae a iT ee eee EE DEAE te ae eh el lt Led Pte rt atierdsteal ee HIS DESCENT AND EDUCATION 257 of what developments are needed from the general atmo- sphere of their time, long before the reasons for the changes are clear. Gibbs’ specialty was thermodynamics, which is the finest cultural expression of the age of steam. This branch of science evolved directly out of the invention, use and improvement of the steam engine. The chief founder of the science was Sadi Carnot, whose famous cycle is the ghost of the disem- bodied steam engine. The leaders of the Industrial Revolution wanted more efficient steam engines, and higher profits. This demand created the general impression that these matters were important, so scientists began to search for the funda- mental principles which govern the working of steam en- ines. Carnot, Mayer, Joule, Clausius, Rankine and Kelvin accomplished this task, and professors were needed to teach this practically valuable new knowledge in the universities. Gibbs learned all that these masters had discovered. As a student of thermodynamics he was a direct cultural product of the Industrial Revolution. But he did not complete the chapters they had written. He wrote a new chapter of his own. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the efficiency of the steam engine had been considerably increased through the elucidation of its principles. Similar refinements had not yet been made in the processes of industrial manufacture. The efficiency of steam engines, and sources of power, had been increased by applying the laws of heat to them. No parallel increase in the efficiency of industrial processes, in which mixtures of all sorts of sub- stances are boiled and heated together, was obtained by ap- plying the laws of heat to them. No one had investigated, beyond slight beginnings, the theory of the effects of heat on mixtures of substances. A vast amount of empirical knowl- edge of what happens when mixtures of particular substances are heated had been collected, by experiment and observa- tion, in chemical factories, general industry, and research laboratories, but no theory of the phenomena had been worked out. The possibility of conducting the chemical ee en errs w a a = = x en a SS = Tere) eae ee iar eit eit ere a tree ee tL ee ne ee eee EPs OY T) sepa — eee Wy i a} ‘| i i Sa See ~ . a a ree ea : = Ea SRT AT SP nan DL a ee ee a ees : — oe | 1eer toe th tee Reale El eee | : H f j ; wrt Ot noe ee renee be CEE Re ee ae a ee ee BOON yi acaee te seers! es ord eet tes Cee Pt ing ha a Nnece meee ad a daca a me tet ot, tary 258 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE processes of industry efficiently depends on the discovery of such a theory. An efficient chemical industry, in which huge quantities of raw materials are converted into an enormous variety of finished materials, cannot be devised without a knowledge of chemical thermodynamics. The manufacturer must know exactly how much energy is consumed at each stage of his processes, if his costs are to be reduced to the minimum. He must have a science of chemical energetics which will give him this information. Willard Gibbs virtually created this science of chemical energetics.IV The Efficient Management of Mixtures AS ISAAC NEWTON SUPPLIED THE SCIENTIFIC needs of the merchant traders of his day, Willard Gibbs sup- plied the scientific needs of the rationalizing and efficiency- hunting industrialists who have controlled Western civiliza- tion since the middle of the nineteenth century. This does not imply that Newton and Gibbs consciously supplied the most important cultural needs of the governing classes of their days, though, as will appear in Section V of this chap- ter, Gibbs conceived mathematics as a tool for saving labor, and thus serving human interests. He probably owed this insight to the influence of the American general outlook on life. The motives which direct men’s private lives are largely unconscious. Perhaps not one-twentieth part of a man’s mo- tives for pursuing any particular course are clear to himself. The aim of the science of psychology is to reveal another twentieth or more to him, so that he shall understand him- self better, and act more wisely. The problems and aims of the study of the history of sci- ence are similar. Perhaps only one-twentieth part of the reasons why a scientist of a particular type appeared at a par- ticular time and solved particular problems are clear to him- self and his contemporaries. The aim of the historian of sci- ence is to reveal another twentieth or more of the concealed reasons why certain scientists appear at certain times and do certain things. Such knowledge gives a better understanding of the rdle of science in civilization, and helps to suggest the 259 a os ee er = ers renee = Reeye = pee eee ot rhe Hi Lrti ie Bs re EE) “Bt ow mnereenap ede a aa See re a eee ht ey a ae ee ene Noe FT Ne Se ee St eee eee re aeNee EE nee en ee bila ee Rate ee, eee eee ee tas en ree ne toe ee os ant tee Pree esos ET er Set eta ea rt Foe ee ee mee te — eee Fine ot ta ce 260 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE best method of managing science for the benefit of humanity. When James Watt began to manufacture steam-engines, he was troubled by the lack of any convenient method of measuring their horse-power. He could not give prospective customers a reliable estimate of the horse-power, and hence of the value, of the engine whose purchase they were con- sidering. In order to obtain more precise information of the amount of work done by the steam inside the engine cylinder, he devised about 1790 an instrument that he named an “in- dicator,” which was essentially a pressure gauge, and indi- cated the pressure of the steam inside the cylinder. In 1796 someone, almost certainly his assistant, Southern, thought of attaching a pencil to the gauge, which would trace a line on a sheet of paper moved by the engine. This figure, or “in- dicator diagram,” gave an automatic graph of the changes in the pressure and volume of the steam in the cylinder, and its area was a measure of the amount of work done by the steam. The indicator diagram and its properties had not been fully investigated by scientists before they were first obtained from a steam- engine. In a large degree, indicator diagrams were invented and drawn by the steam -engine, and presented to scientists for their consideration afterw ards! The scientists did not invent the theory of heat and indicator diagrams first, and then specify how steam-engines might be con- structed according to their principles. They derived the science of thermodynamics from the in- dicator diagrams and other data put before them by profit- seeking engineers. The pressure-volume diagram was one of the foundations of the science of thermodynamics. Pressures and volumes of steam were naturally studied first because they are among the most accessible properties of a quantity of steam. The other directly accessible property 1s temperature. Scientists presently began to use diagrams in three dimensions, which were capable of representing simultaneously the pressure, volume and temperature of a quantity of steam. As a curve simultaneously represents pressure and volume in an ordinaryEFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF MIXTURES 261 indicator diagram, a surface simultaneously represents pres- sure, volume, and temperature in a three-dimensional dhia- gram. Such pressure-volume-temperature surfaces were pro- posed and used by James Thomson in 1871. Willard Gibbs began his original contributions to science by investigating the general theory of all such thermodynami- cal diagrams. Gibbs’ researches grew directly out of science of the most practical character. He explains in the opening words of his first published paper: “Although geometrical representa- tions of propositions in the thermodynamics of fluids are in gen- eral use, and have done good service in disseminating clear no- tions in this science, yet they have by no means received the extension in respect to variety and generality of which they are capable. So far as regards a general graphical method, which can exhibit at once all the thermodynamic properties of a fluid concerned in reversible processes, and serve alike for the demonstration of general theorems and the numerical solution of particular problems, it is the general if not the universal practice to use diagrams in which the rectilinear codrdinates represent volume and pressure.” He proceeds “to call attention to certain diagrams of different construc tion, which afford graphical methods co-extensive in their ap- plications with that in ordinary use, and preferable to it in many cases in respect of distinctness, or of convenience.” He explains that other properties of a fluid besides pres- sure, volume and temperature may be used in order to specify its thermodynamic condition. One may also use the energy and the entropy of the fluid. As the existence of these properties was not known when the heat-properties of fluids were first studied, pressure, volume and temperature were naturally chosen for specifying the thermodynamic condition of fluids. But they are just as real physical entities as pres- sure, volume and temperature. The notion of energy 1s now commonly understood. Heat itself is one of its forms. En- tropy, which started as a mathematical formula, 1s now per- ceived to have a physical meaning. It is known from expert- ence that heat tends to flow from hot to cold bodies, and that RE mere <= = —s EES ea aed ie eet er rr at — — papers hed t ptt itetet Te Nt rt Tr ors. Sires Se wf eee er ace ene eee i a { } i i | i iH : i i i ‘e | ¥ H { i 1 | | i } q ee ae PSTns ee bt ech a ae) lS nated ee Cn a ad ik eee Oe te ees a eee 262 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE the material universe tends towards a uniform temperature. As the age of the material universe increases, the various packets of heat in it become undone, and their contents are scattered and shuffled until they are spread out evenly. En- tropy is the measure of the degree of this scattering process. Among the unpublished notes left by Gibbs is a heading for a proposed chapter on “Entropy as mixed-up-ness.” Edding- ton defines entropy as “the practical measure of the random element which can increase in the universe but can never decrease.” Clerk Maxwell defines the entropy of a body “as a measurable quantity, such that when there is no com- munication of heat this quantity remains constant, but when heat enters or leaves the body the quantity increases or di- minishes.” While entropy is not an obvious property of bodies, it may be handled exceedingly conveniently by mathematics. Gibbs suggested that this quality should be exploited in thermodynamical diagrams by choosing entropy as one of the properties by which the condition of a body may be de- fined. One may construct entropy-temperature diagrams, entropy-volume diagrams, entropy-and-logarithms-of-temper- ature diagrams, etc. He systematically explored the features of a variety of these diagrams. He found that a number of problems which could not be conveniently solved with the as- sistance of the old pressure-volume diagram, could be solved easily with the assistance of one or other of the new diagrams. It appears that Gibbs was not the first to discuss the en- tropy-temperature diagram. T. Belpaire sketched the idea in a paper published in the previous year, 1872. But Gibbs handled it far more profoundly. It was also independently discovered by Macfarlane Gray, about 1876. He was the chief engineer of the British Royal Navy, and he was in- terested in its value to engineers. He gave it the name by which it 1s now universally known, the “theta-phi diagram.” Through it the second law of thermodynamics and the no- tion of entropy were placed at the service of average engi- neers, who could not understand the abstract mathematicalEFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF MIXTURES 263 presentation of these principles in the standard works on thermodynamics. As Gibbs said, this diagram is “nothing more nor less than a geometrical representation of the second law of thermodynamics.” The lines in the old pressure- volume diagram representing temperature and adiabaticity are curves difficult to draw. New curves must be drawn for each particular problem, and the axes are the only permanent lines in the diagram. In the theta-phi diagram, the difficult curves need be drawn once only, as they are the permanent lines. The special lines which have to be drawn in order to find the solution of any particular problem are all straight, so the solution may be read off by inspection. In addition, problems concerning wet steam and super- heated steam, of importance in connection with the perform- ance of steam-engines, may be solved on one continuous dia- ram, because it applies to mixtures of fluids, besides uniform fluids. The diagram would give information about the loss of efficiency due to incomplete expansion of the steam, whereas the indicator diagram gave only the work done on the piston, and the efficiency of valves and steam passages. The energy of the steam could be determined by simple measurement, instead of having to calculate an area from a number of measurements of curves. Gray writes that the theta-phi diagram was suggested to himself by Sadi Carnot’s water-wheel argument, which im- plies the principle of the diagram. In 1879 he began to use the diagram as an aid in teaching. In 1880 he used it in a ublic lecture, and was informed afterwards that Willard Gibbs had discussed it previously. He looked up Gibbs’ paper and writes that he found it a “very high-class production.” One of the diagrams now most used by engineers is Mol- lier’s modification of the theta-phi diagram. Gibbs showed that his entropy-volume diagram was par- ticularly convenient for representing the thermodynamic con- dition of a body which consisted of a mixture of parts in dif- ferent states, such as a mixture of ice, water and water-vapor. In his second paper, he investigated the properties of a rc 4 H 5 | HI Hi i : P ; 1] H i i : g a fi PO la Pes caine Ee) = : < Pere Ta es eee ee ee Se TnI te : este too a a Rsicxteecsanenae wee teSet te, Retr do aed pT ent ee een Sata Deena Fe oe ee Leen ek tala ak eee laa at ele Sele het ie aS Deters es Sted Oe I Pre eee baht riots Eee ett at bea eta ne EE ee aed nn ri HV) iH Ne aw wy! a a 264 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE thermodynamic diagrams in three dimensions. He extended the entropy-volume plane diagram by adding a coérdinate for energy, and derived geometrical surfaces whose points represented simultaneously the volume, entropy and energy of a body. Thermodynamic diagrams and surfaces, in which entropy enters as a coordinate, have had a large part in the develop- ment of the science of low temperatures. This includes such achievements as the liquefaction of helium, and all that that has implied; and the vast technical developments of re- frigeration, which depend on the efficient expansion and con- traction of varieties of substances and mixtures, such as am- monia, sulphur dioxide and other refrigerants. Even the quick service of ice cream and chilled champagne, the importation into Europe of beef and apples from Australia, and the func- tioning of the refrigerator in the domestic kitchen, owe some- thing to Gibbs. Through the use of entropy as a codrdinate in the surfaces, he was able to give a complete representation of the relations between volume, entropy, energy, pressure and temperature for all states of the body. As Maxwell wrote: “The body itself need not be homogeneous either in chemical nature or in physical state. All that is necessary is that the whole should be at the same pressure and the same tempera- ture.” The tendency of the parts of a body, which were co- existent in different (solid, liquid or gaseous) states, to change from one state into another, could be deduced from the sur- faces, or perhaps more accurately, it was possible to deduce from the surfaces the conditions in which different parts of a body, such as a quantity of water, may coexist in different solid, liquid and gaseous states, 1. e., the conditions in which the body may exist as a mixture of ice, water, and water vapour. With their assistance it 1s possible to give the theoretical ex- planation of a number of well-known and peculiar phenomena. When a liquid not in contact with its vapor is heated above its boiling point, or cooled below its freezing point, or when a solution of a salt or gas becomes supersaturated, the introduc- tion of a small quantity of water vapor to the superheated waterCLrERK MaxweE.Lw’s MopDEL OF Gripps’ L HERMODYNAMIC SURFACE The Energy axis is vertical, and stands at the back of the model, in the middle of the picture. The Volume and En- tropy axes pass from the back to the left and right front. The model rests on the plane made by these two axes. This model is 12 cm. high and 13.4 cm. wide. There are two of these models in the Cavendish Labora- tory. They were made by Clerk Maxwell with his own hands. He also made a third, which he sent to Gibbs. The illustration here is reproduced from a photograph kindly presented by Lord Rutherford to the writer for this book. YC ANIC, WAU —————— h 3 hi i } MH | ¥ | a ‘| ft i i j [ i Ser CET, se Peelsaad a Lact tac ne tee) eh ate od 2, nae ey id gE BDAC OORT et TE a ad seeehetah acetate ae Cet te i i 7 : H sre Se a Vegyhunea 32° heer. ores, ee Oe ert eden hnet he Ste eT okt eee Cee hg ab nl ne a eeEFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF MIXTURES 265 will produce explosive boiling, while the introduction of a small piece of ice to the supercooled water will produce explo- sive freezing. A particle of salt-crystal will produce explosive crystallization in the supersaturated solution of salt, and a bubble of gas will produce explosive effervescence in the super- saturated solution of gas. This behavior of bodies in mixed states could be easily deduced from the thermodynamic surfaces, which showed that the parts of a body in one state might turn into another state suddenly. This occurred, under certain circumstances, when the parts were in two states, and in equilibrium. The introduction of a particle of the substance in the third state upset the equilibrium and produced an explosive change to a new equilibrium. The surfaces indicated the criteria which determined whether the equilibrium of the system was stable or unstable, and whether there would be a tendency for parts in one state to pass into another state. Gibbs’ researches on thermodynamic surfaces enabled him to discover a more general method of analysis. He gave all the results which appear in his first two papers in a much more gen- eral form in the third paper, on the equilibrium of hetero- eneous substances. In this, he gives a discussion on the condi- tions of equilibrium which govern the formation of zew bodies. The theory includes the explanation of the phenomena of superheating, supercooling, etc., in which new bodies, such as solid crystals, suddenly appear in solutions of solids. He ex- plained that a fluid is stable if the formation of every possible new body in it, while the entropy and volume remain constant, requires an increase of energy. It is unstable if a new body could be formed having a lower energy. But it is possible that al- though there may be bodies which when formed in quantity would reduce the energy, so that the liquid is really unstable with respect to them, yet the formation of very small quantities would increase the energy, because an appreciable surface energy would also have to be taken into account. In that case the liquid is stable with respect to infinitesimal changes, but unstable with respect to finite changes. It will thus remain un- 4, if Se rast Ett Troe, a ee Zo i pee a Te ilar ee cRAE ors: Spores? thi stree ft me, Peet SOS brn meet ae a RC i ' ; i i i ry i i ; 1 ’ : a t H k Fy | eee teheehee erst Tr. aed kee halt Pa ae Ca a eae la eae tL Te eere tt eet ee 266 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE changed, unless one introduces some of the new body, when the necessity of the substance first appearing in an infinitesimal amount is obviated, and the way is open for a finite change to occur, which may be explosive. Gibbs considered that the second law of thermodynamics should be placed at the beginning of the theory of heat, ac- cording to its importance, and explained that the introduction of entropy as a codrdinate in thermodynamic diagrams helped to do this. He wrote that “the method in which the co- ordinates represent volume and pressure has a certain ad- vantage in the simple and elementary character of the notions upon which it is based, and its analogy with Watt’s indicator has doubtless contributed to render it popular. On the other hand, a method involving the notion of entropy, the very existence of which depends upon the second law of thermo- dynamics, will doubtless seem to many far-fetched, and may repel beginners as obscure and difficult of comprehension. This inconvenience is perhaps more than counter-balanced by the advantages of a method which makes the second law of thermodynamics so prominent, and gives it so clear and elementary an expression.” The two papers on graphical and geometrical methods of representing the thermodynamic properties of substances were published in 1873, when Gibbs was thirty-four years old. The authorities of Yale had appointed him a professor in 1871, when he was thirty-two, and had as yet published nothing. This shows that they had confidence in his intel- lectual ability, and correct judgment. The papers were original and elegant, and their merit was at once recognized by Clerk Maxwell. It would be interest- ing to know how Maxwell learned of their existence, as they were published in the obscure proceedings of the Connecticut Academy. Gibbs was not inclined to procure attention for his work, and would probably not have liked to send copies of it to Maxwell without request. But he may have done, or a colleague may have done so for him. Maxwell’s instant perception of the quality of Gibbs wasEFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF MIXTURES 267 not the least of his achievements. In 1874 he was very busy with the Cavendish Laboratory, which had just been de- signed, built and opened under his direction. In 1873 he had ublished his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism. He suc- ceeded, amidst all these activities, in detecting the merit of the work of an unknown young man in a distant country whose inhabitants at the time were making few contributions to theoretical physics. The most extraordinary feature of Maxwell’s prescience ‘5 that he drew the attention of English chemists to the im- portance of Gibbs’ work. In a lecture to the Chemical Society of London, on the Dynamical Evidence of the Molecular Constitution of Bodies, delivered on February 18th, 1875, he said: “The purely thermodynamical relations of the different states of matter do not belong to our subject, as they are in- dependent of particular theories about molecules. I must not, however, omit to mention a most important American con- tribution to this part of thermodynamics by Prof. Willard Gibbs, of Yale College, U.S., who has given us a remark- ably simple and thoroughly satisfactory method of represent- ing the relations of the different states of matter by means of a model. By means of this model, problems which had long resisted the efforts of myself and others may be solved at once.” Maxwell also drew attention to Gibbs’ researches in his articles on Diffusion, and Diagrams, in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. In the last paragraph of the latter article he describes the Indicator Diagram, and then concludes by men- tioning that Gibbs has very completely illustrated the use of diagrams in thermodynamics, “but though his methods throw much light on the general theory of diagrams as a method of study, they belong rather to thermodynamics than to the present subject.” In spite of this recommendation the English chemists did not succeed in following Gibbs’ work. They failed to ap- preciate his conceptions of chemical thermodynamics, which —— aoa Sei ai i H 4 re | 4 i N { i at ey | q qs ‘ 2S oe sn Et rT tit ee eee cao es ee Saree oe eeity er en ee Se nr ; ers on aaa ee ee ee ee Ee ed SS ar Eee es ee oe |:et ee eg ee eens tie SE al Tene ener eee eer eee et ee Leet net ee ad eee Trae eee - Oe ieeetrom feb ierts 268 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE have provided the theory for the rational development of physical chemistry and chemical engineering. They missed the opportunity of exploiting the implications of his dis- coveries, and leading the creation of practical physical chem- istry. The initiative passed to German, French and Dutch chemists who began to appreciate Gibbs’ papers about ten years later, but were still in time to forestall the English. The body of chemical and physical research in the United States was not sufficiently developed to be able to take the first advantage of Gibbs’ contributions. Gibbs’ work was a product of the European rather than the American branch of the scientific activity of Atlantic civilization. Maxwell died prematurely in 1879. He spent much time in his last years studying Gibbs’ thermodynamic surfaces. He gave an exposition of their properties in his textbook on the Theory of Heat, and some practical details of how they might be constructed. He made a model of a surface with his own hands, and very shortly before he died, sent a plaster cast of it to Gibbs at New Haven. Gibbs received great pleas- ure from this distinguished gift, and highly valued the posses- sion of it. The compliment to a young man on his first two papers, from the man whom many regard as the greatest physicist of the nineteenth century, was marvelous. Maxwell’s sympathy for Gibbs’ work suggests that they had some similar methods of thought. Gibbs showed in his first papers that he could use geometrical illustrations to help the imagination without being tied to the obvious geometri- cal characteristics of bodies. The pioneers had put geometrical representations of pressure and volume directly onto paper. They tried to interpret phenomena by direct mechanical an- alogy. This method was pursued by Kelvin and others throughout their careers. They tried to explain all physical phenomena by analogy with simple machines, such as en- gines and springs and jellies, even when the analogy was not apt. This helps to explain why Kelvin had such a sense of failure at the end of his life. He had tried to explain the world in terms of simple machines, and the world was not,EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF MIXTURES 269 in fact, like a simple machine, so the analogy had led him into inextricable difficulties. Gibbs and Maxwell were more subtle. They used geo- metrical and mechanical models when these had an analogy to some part of their problems, but they did not try to force the whole of their theories into forms of analogy to simple machines. Maxwell discovered his electro-magnetic theory of light with assistance from a model, which is described in his first papers on the theory, but he dispensed with the model when he had got what he wanted out of it. There is no reference to the model in his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism. The attitude of Maxwell and Gibbs, of using mechanical and geometrical illustrations, without following them slav- ishly, is consonant with that of contemporary physicists. The behavior of atoms is investigated with the assistance of geo- metrical and mechanical analogies to parts of their behavior, “1 so far as it resembles that of particles or waves, but the attempt to invent a complete model of an atom, which would operate according to the principles of simple machines, has been abandoned. The belief that the behavior of atoms should necessarily be strictly analogous with the simple machines of common human experience 1s now seen to be an egocentric delusion. Gibbs and Maxwell were both sensitive to elegance in re- search. Gibbs’ elegance was stately and architectonic, whereas Maxwell’s was brilliant and individual. Gibbs excelled Max- well in rigor, but was inferior to him in striking practical exposition. Maxwell’s early death was unfortunate for the prospects of Gibbs’ work. He could present discoveries far more persuasively to those who did not know how to apprect ate them in their original form. As will be described presently, Maxwell was equally swift in recognizing the merit of Gibbs’ next memoir. If he had lived, and had continued to act, as it were, as Gibbs’ intellectual publicity agent, the greatness of Gibbs’ discoveries might have been understood ten years sooner, and physical chemistry and chemical industry today Se SSS SESS an eS Tr a Ey en eo ot Frege Pts A sete ee oe Pe laty / 4 } ai } bY | ) ie 7 i fi i ) i H i Sener re ee aE os 1 se ' eee Seed ts Come ns tee er EE eee ee eas PI Se aap = 3 ep een ee ened o ea es 5creo er ert tart orn Oe el oe ee | eee Sh ee alee eae ae ee deere ee aN ae ea anid ee ee ed ees tt eel Laine Re Teat S Pers ey oa ang rh Se en eee 270 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE might have been twenty years in advance of its present de- velopment. Through his study of thermodynamic diagrams and sur- faces, Gibbs discovered how to elucidate the physical and chemical behavior of mixtures of substances by thermody- namics. His models helped him to discover new aspects of systems, such as their thermodynamic potentials, and free energies, and to represent them by new mathematical func- tions. As thermodynamics is concerned only with the energy and entropy, the conclusions concerning any system, which may be drawn with its help, are of a general nature. They are independent of any particular assumptions concerning the constitution of the materials of the system, and of any physi- cal or chemical changes which occur in the system. Thermo- dynamics is concerned, as it were, with the public life of Sys- tems, and ignores their private life. This is the source of its strength and limitations as a method of investigation. Gen- eral rules of behavior may be defined by it, to which sys- tems, whose private life may be of a complex and highly in- teresting character, must conform. The private peculiarities of such systems are often the most prominent and the first which engage the investigator’s attention, but they are often also of baffling complexity, and impregnable to direct at- tack. It is often of great assistance to the investigator, whose chief interest may be in the private lives of systems, to be able to circumscribe those lives within public boundaries of some sort, even of the widest character. But it also often happens that a knowledge of the public boundaries is far too general to provide much insight into the private details of the system, which may be of chief practical interest, and in such cases, little can be accomplished through thermody- namics alone. The science of thermodynamics was evolved out of the study of engines driven by steam. The first step towards gen- eralization consisted of elucidating the principles of engines which were driven by any “working substance,” or ideally perfect gas. Carnot, Mayer, Joule, Helmholtz, Clausius,EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF MIXTURES 271 Kelvin and Rankine were naturally first interested in eluci- dating the laws for uniform, or homogeneous, substances. As the substances were uniform, the problem of the equilib- ria between their different portions did not arise. For ex- ample, the steam expanding inside the cylinder of a steam- engine is supposed to be in the same condition all through. It is not in one state at one end of the cylinder, and in an- other state at the other end. The founders of thermodynamics were inspired by the problem of the behavior of steam inside an engine cylinder. They were interested in the work they could get out of the steam, what work it would do in public. They were not interested in the private life of the steam, the internal relations between its different portions. They assumed the states were the same all through. The problem before a chemist 1s quite different. He is in- terested primarily in the reactions inside a flask, not in the work which can be got out of steam inside a cylinder. His primary interest is in the relations, the equilibria, between the various substances in the flask. The chemist 1s interested in equilibria, while the physicist, inspired by the engineer, is interested in the production of work. Owing to the source of their inspiration, physicists first ap- plied the laws of thermodynamics to the problem of the be- havior of uniform or homogeneous substances. They were not at first particularly interested in applying them to mixed, or heterogeneous systems, in which equilibrium between the parts is of primary importance. Consequently, they did not specially study, though they did not ignore, the application of the laws to the problems of equilibria. Horstmann was the first to investigate chemical equilibria with the assistance of the principle that when a system is in equilibrium, its entropy must be at a maximum. Gibbs began the publication of his vastly wider application of the same principle two months after the appearance of Horstmann’s paper. He noted that little had been done “to develop the principle as a founda- tion for the general theory of thermodynamic equilibrium.” He set out to develop those aspects of thermodynamics — SS Sit SS — —— Te So omnes _eemeeeianment eer Sti Bln LS, Rohs tite t te ot { 1 ry of 4 ‘ i i 4] | i } # : { } ; TT ee ea Ses oe ae eee = woe at = lage - z PE AL te eet AP IE et ane . . = = ap nme, Se en tn van eE el A eaeee ee ores era mes hate el oe One en ee ee | Sn ee ee ee ee We the eae a Ti re tela a htt ne etree kt ETT Fe Pet Sian iel nas tr ee tao! On pe el nl eens hee repeat tate 272 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE which are of interest to chemists, besides physicists and engi- neers. He put Clausius’ famous statement of the two laws, “Die Energie der Welt ist constant. Die Entropie der Welt strebt einem Maximum zu” (The energy of the world is constant. The entropy of the world tends to a maximum), at the head of his memoir, and devised a mathematical ap- paratus by which they could be employed to elucidate the stability and equilibria of mixtures, or heterogeneous systems. He did this through the notion of the thermodynamical and chemical potentials of the components of a system, or mix- ture. Massieu had introduced the notion of thermodynamic potentials in 1869, but Gibbs rediscovered them, and ex- ploited them with vastly greater power. The chemical potentials of the components of a system are simple functions of the masses and energies of the vari- ous components. I'hrough them, it is possible to introduce the masses of the components as the variables in the funda- mental equation describing the behavior of the system. Hetero- geneous equilibrium cannot be handled without using mass as a variable. The introduction and powerful use of mass as a vari- able constitutes Gibbs’ greatest achievement. He had succeeded in stating the problems of thermody- namic equilibria in convenient mathematical forms. He now started to deduce with extraordinary logical power numerous important conclusions from those forms. His arguments were mainly logical, and expressed in simple mathematics. The conclusions had a wide application to the substances which occur in nature, for these consist of assortments of solids, liquids and gases approaching, or already in, equilib- rium. The laws of thermodynamic equilibrium must be obeyed by the constituents of the primeval rocks which had solidified out of molten solutions in past geological times, the soil and the atmosphere, the substances in living bodies, liquids and the materials they hold in solution, solid solu- tions, which are of fundamental importance in metallurgy, and all systems which have non-uniform features. L. J. Henderson, J. Loeb, Van Slyke and O. WarburgEFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF MIXTURES 273 have applied Gibbs’ principles to the analysis of the equilibria of salts in the blood, and other living systems. Irving Fisher applied Gibbs’ theories and vector methods to the study of equilibria in economics. The principle of equilibrium in exchanges in chemical reactions is logically the same as in the exchanges of goods between persons, upon which the structure and stability of human society depends. In this instance, Gibbs’ discoveries are seen to exert a direct effect on the conceptions of the mechanism of human society. In the first part of his analysis, Gibbs considered the con- ditions of equilibrium in a system whose parts were different (heterogeneous), and in contact, but influenced by gravity, electricity, distortion of those masses which were solid, or by capillary forces. He explained that the choice of which sub- stances are to be regarded as components of the system may be determined entirely by convenience. “For example, in con- sidering the equilibrium in a vessel containing water and free hydrogen and oxygen, we should be obliged to recognize three components in the gaseous part. But in considering the equilibrium of dilute sulphuric acid with the vapor which it yields, we should have only two components to consider in the liquid mass, sulphuric acid ... and... water.” The conditions relating to the possible formation of masses unlike any previously existing in the system are then ex- plored. It will be seen that these conditions would apply to phenomena such as the appearance and growth of crystals ‘na solution hitherto clear, the formation of ice in a system of water and water-vapor, etc. The importance of Gibbs’ memoir O7 the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances was immediately recognized by Clerk Maxwell. He even began to lecture on it before its publication was completed. He expounded Gibbs’ theory of chemical potentials on a remarkable public occasion in 1876. The first international loan exhibition of scientific apparatus which had ever been organized was opened in that year at South Kensington, London, by Queen Victoria and the Em- press of Germany. Historic apparatus was loaned from many ee scene temerinnta t ieee Te i nee ares aE iH th 312 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE He led a rough but not poor or miserable life up to the age of twenty-three. He had little formal education, so he spoke the language of the masses. He never modtiee his accent. As he was auto-didactic, and could learn from his experience only, or from someone sharing his interests strongly, he would probably never have acquired a cultivated accent under any conditions. But he became deaf when a boy, which lessened any possibility that he would ever stop using the idiom of his youth. It is said that he could hear noises in which he was specially interested, such as background noises in phonograph records. M. A. Rosanoff joined his staff in 1903, when Edison was fifty-six. He asked him what laboratory rules he should ob- serve. Edison “spat 1 in the middle of the floor and yelled out, ‘Hell! there ain’t no rules around here! We are tryin’ to accomplish somep’n!’” Edison introduced himself to Rosa- noff as “Don Quixote,” and his assistant J. F. Ott, who had been with him thirty years, as “Santcho Pantcho.” His col- leagues were described as “muckers,” and himself the “chief mucker.” He was an astute judge of character. His hold over others was partly due to his ability to expose their weak points. He utilized this insight to preserve the morale of his staff. Every- one was made to pretend that he was about to solve his prob- lem, even if he was quite at sea. Everyone knew that Edison knew that he was in difficulties and was outwardly more cheer- ful than the situation justified. The inability to acknowledge this to Edison’s face produced a state of ouilt and fear that made them work harder than ever. Edison was a master of this auto-suggestive principle of tribal leadership. He was not sensitive in the immediate handling of truth. He was slow to contradict erroneous exaggerations of his achievements. He said that “we always tell the truth. It may be deferred truth, but it is the truth!” His early connection with journalists made him easy-going with the press. This helped the spreading of misleading ac-EDISON’S PERSONALITY 313 counts of his work, which angered many persons, especially academic scientists. He was of Dutch descent, extremely pertinacious, and had enormous capacity for attention to details. His temperament was sanguine with some tendency to choler. He began work each day with the openmindedness of a child, and swiftly for- got failures. He could roar with laughter like an aborigine, and sometimes, when seriously vexed, his anger was terrify- ing. The skin in the center of his forehead used to be spas- modically rotated in these paroxysms. When thoughtful, he used to pull his right eyebrow. He had no taste in art, music or literature, except in telling stories. The parts of his mind concerned with those subjects were arid. He strummed on an organ with one finger. He could not believe the report of one of his phonograph sales- men from Germany, that the Germans demanded records of classical music. He chose banal matter for the stories of the first commercial motion pictures. The first words spoken by his immortal invention, the phonograph, were: “Mary had a little lamb.” Though without taste, he was lively and jolly. He liked and demanded cheerfulness and optimism. He organized sing- songs among his staff, during long periods of work. He was fond of stories, and showed skill in telling them. Many were based on personal experiences. The perfection of some of them seems to show that his inventive power was not restricted to mechanics. Edison accepted the ethics of capitalist commerce. The trade secret of the composition of the wax for his phonograph records was stolen by a trade rival’s spy. When Rosanoff, who had proved this by analysis, abused the methods of their rival, Edi- son was amused. “What are you so excited about? Everybody steals in com- merce and industry, I’ve stolen a lot myself. But I knew how to steal. They don’t know ow to steal—that’s all that’s the matter with them.” Se en nn ee ee Sennen “ = : = — es - 7 - es oe ere eer Tr Ty = atl ee br pee — ~* c ‘| i yl i 7 H ee ee Os ences ee , a a Ba htm en nnd PoEa a a a eth tt ee el oe eee eee ed ee —— — eee eet i Peek Te eee 314 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE He adapted himself without difficulty to the bosses of Tam- many Hall, when he required municipal permissions for con- structing his electric light system in New York. In his later years he was complacent about the financial methods of Jay Gould. This was probably a partial pose, as he had violently abused Gould when swindled by him in his early years. The pose was made in order to support the class- myth of the well-to-do American, that wealth is sacred, how- ever obtained. Edison supported the myth in order to please the rich capitalist friends of his later years. He probably con- vinced himself that he believed in it. He did not support it in his personal behavior. He made no money at all out of his greatest inventions, the development of the electric light and power systems. He wished to be a great man, and leave an impression on history. He spent all the money that came to him on the achievement of new inventions to add to his monu- mental list. His long hours of work were famous. He worked twenty hours a day for periods of months. When excited by some idea he could work continuously for days. On one occasion he worked continuously for five days and five nights. He was able to sleep instantly at will, and to wake up in- stantly half an hour later, refreshed. He never dreamt. He drove his colleagues into working very long hours, which few of them could stand. On one occasion, when his son felt sleepy, he recommended him to take a nap under the laboratory bench, from which position he was retrieved by his mother. Edison’s resistance to sleep was abnormal, and he could work well with little sleep for long periods. But when he was not pressed, he would sleep nine hours. In early life, he did not bother about choice of food. In middle age he dieted to keep his weight constant. He ate little meat, and was sparing with food. He smoked large numbers of strong cigars, chewed tobacco, drank much strong coffee, and took no exercise. He lived until he was eighty-four, which was rather shorter than many of his ancestors, so he probablyEDISON’S PERSONALITY 315 suffered slightly from the effects of his mode of life. His in- tense intellectual work was not entirely harmless. Like many men who have worked with their hands he was fond of pastry. Manual work requires much energy, which is most easily ob- tained by eating large quantities of carbohydrates. The habit of pastry-eating often persists in men who have left manual work and enter sedentary professions. In members of the up- per classes it is sometimes a mark of the self-made man. Edison’s extraordinary application may have been due to his physiological constitution, but it is possible that he also had psychological motives. His colleagues noted that he seemed to fear to be indolent, as if he had a New England conscience. He records that he had a deep feeling of guilt when a child because he failed to report the drowning of a playmate. Per- haps his efforts were partly an attempt at absolution. He some- times showed masochistic tendencies, as when he copied out by hand a typewritten report of thirty pages needing only a few incidental corrections, which could perfectly well have been inserted in the typescript, and retyped by his secretary. He had a prodigious memory and an immense knowledge of mis- cellaneous scientific facts. His method of inventing was em- pirical, and consisted of trying combinations of these facts, whether or not they had any obvious connection. He said that all experiments were successful, because the knowledge of how a thing was not done was valuable as an aid to the discovery of how it might be done. His knowledge of scientific theory was slight. According to Rosanoff, he did not understand Avoga- dro’s hypothesis. It follows from this that he could not have had a logical understanding of the elements of the atomic the- ory of chemistry. He probably had an inferiority complex through his igno- rance of academic science. He was particularly fond of telling stories against academically trained scientists, and jibing at those he employed. He was apt, when he did this, to exag- gerate the simplicity of his manners. He defined genius as: “One per cent inspiration, and ninety-nine per cent perspira- tion.” ra ees Se ee “2h eee) eee ernie tarsal ip ei a OE meets SOS OP rn ae? San arn > en = ~ = a 3 ad = ree eee ee - — : = Ce ‘ ae — - amare pe EO Ne a Se eee 4 — catia a i er fe rowiry Lea eee) he, etal b keer a eel Pena enn be oe. Ingen: ATT PST LIB Semen eres ac Tetons ake! sSNPs he alt bei heen Tlf toe teen mee teas? “Pp rete ee Fee a Seng hi as meee 316 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE His knowledge of science was superficial but very wide, and he was extremely inventive with what he knew. Persistent try- ing of combinations was probably the best way of exploiting his shallow oceans of scientific facts. During the first part of his life he dressed carelessly. He appeared as dirty as any of his laborers. He was unkempt, and often not better dressed than a tramp. His assistants sometimes secretly daubed themselves with grime, in order to give an impression of intense activity, and recommend themselves to his prejudice. Henry Ford admired Edison’s power of driving other men. He echoed his philosophy of hard work and hustle. But his emulation of Edison has not been entirely happy. The strain of working in Ford’s factories has broken some men, and prepared them for crime and gangsterism. Edison was not a solemn tyrant. His humor prevented overstrained colleagues from seeking revenge by attacks on society. He was not a doc- trinaire, and not insensitive to the feelings of others. He cre- ated a new sort of sublimated gangsterism. He was the boss of a gang engaged in blackmailing nature. He oppressed the facts of science until he squeezed inventions out of them. He formed his gang out of men with compensating qualities. He imagined and thought out the experimental attacks. He was not par- ticularly skilful with tools. He was primarily an imaginative thinker. He worked with sketches, and preferred giving in- structions by sketch rather than verbally. Some of his assistants were brilliant mechanics and instrument-makers, some were brilliant fitters with exceptional steadiness of hand and patience, who could make provisionary models work. Some were mathe- maticians and theorists of the highest academic qualifications. These were employed to check the theoretical possibilities of his ideas. His assistants were often required to try things with- out being told why. This was a typical gangster-like procedure. Edison could secure the intensest blind loyalty. His gang had confidence in his gifts and leadership. He muscled into in- vention, in Rosanoff’s phrase, like a “happy hooligan.”IV Ais Life and Work I THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1787 was dominated by the representatives of the two small but relatively rich classes of planters and traders. After a severe struggle the traders, under the leadership of Hamilton and Madison, persuaded the planters to accept a constitution based on principles favorable to the trading interests. The planters’ ablest leader, Jefferson, was absent as American minister in Paris when the Convention began. It had reached a crisis in its proceedings by the date of his return. The opponents of the proposed constitution were still in a majority and Hamilton became desperate at his prospective failure to impose the princi- ples of the traders onto the planters. Jefferson has described how, after his return, and before he had grasped the situation, Hamilton pleaded with him to persuade some of his planter colleagues to change from opposition to support of the adop- tion of the new constitution. Hamilton suggested that if the planters would accept the constitution, the traders would agree to the establishment of the Federal Government in Virginia, where, owing to geography, it would be under the planters? influence. Jefferson agreed to this compromise, but soon perceived that he had been outwitted. He and his successors tried to retrieve their ascendancy. They swiftly gained political power, and steadily increased their strength during the next half-century. Through their control of the Government they were able to minimize the operation of those features of the Constitution 317 Sr aes 9 Poe maior SE ee ne - ~- eae = z : = = SS - : - — : _ me emnean os a eicheneadiennaneianeiteiees a I te a ard yi a eH SET TT set: ese eas aasas: int Hi ob | t Li Ht bhi | ihe HT] if I \ ee pertseay = a ee rn Toe ee mowers ee ieee ara reeai eee ee let eT ed eee. eee Rabin at et ON eee elena rere eae Cee PPO eect a eT Ts hl aes natn oo = eat a hesietaa FT Ore teers. eed ee PP ees tet) chee ft Nan FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE rights in Edison’s early ticker inventions. When Edison re- ceived the request to go to his office, he had fixed in his mind a price of $5,000, and in any case, not less than $3,000. Lefferts asked him how much he wanted, but he suddenly lost his nerve, and dared not ask for $5,000, so he asked Lefferts to make an offer. Lefferts said: “How would $40,000 strike you.” Edison nearly fainted, but managed to accept. At that time, he still measured the value of an invention by the time and trouble he had given to it, “and not by what the invention was worth to others.” Lefferts then handed a check for $40,000 to Edison, who had never received money in the form of a check before. When he presented the check it was handed back to him because it was not endorsed. Owing to his deafness he could not under- stand the clerk’s explanation. He suspected that he had been swindled, and hurried back to Lefferts, who laughed at him, endorsed the check, and sent a young man with him back to the bank, to testify to his identity. The bank clerk then paid out the money in large packets of small bills, as a joke. Edison took the pile of bills home and stayed up with them all night, in fear of having them stolen. On the next morning he asked the amused Lefferts what he should do with them, and was advised to start a bank account. Edison was now able, in 1870, at the age of twenty-three, to begin manufacturing electrical apparatus on a considerable scale. He employed fifty men in making large numbers of stock-tickers for Lefferts. He started double shifts as business increased, and worked on both of them as his own foreman. He did not sleep more than a few half-hours during each twenty-four hours. He drank strong coffee and smoked strong cigars without restraint. He drove his men on piece-work. They could earn high wages, and were treated with a rough cheerfulness as long as they fitted in with his methods, but they were discharged without consideration if they did not. The staff of Edison’s first shop included S. Bergmann and J. S. Schuckert, the founders of two immense German electri- 362HIS LIFE AND WORK 363 cal engineering firms bearing their names, and J. Kruesi, who became the chief engineer of the General Electric Works at Schenectady. In later years, Edison engaged A. E. Kennelly, the eminent discoverer of the Kennelly-Heaviside layer, and E. G. Acheson, the inventor of carborundum. He had an aptitude for recognizing talented men. Within a few years Edison acquired forty-six patents for improvements of stock-tickers. The American patent law _per- mits the protection of many details not patentable under Euro- pean law, but even after allowing for this difference, and that none of his stock-ticker patents was of the first degree of importance, and that he had already begun to exploit the as- sistance of talented colleagues, Edison’s fertility was remark- able. His power of managing others was not less remarkable. Dyer and Martin have observed that he used men up in the achievement of his aims as ruthlessly as Napoleon or Grant. At the age of twenty-three, in a works financed out of his own inventions, he had attracted and led such men as Berg- mann and Schuckert. His choice of stock-tickers as a subject of inventive work showed he could recognize major social phenomena when they rose around him. He worked at tickers because they had obvious commercial and therefore social im- portance. He was without personal interest in speculation, and never speculated in his life, but he was willing to provide im- proved machines to make speculation easier. It was easy even for minor inventors to see that tickers were important in the New York of 1869. By this time Edison must have become aware of the great- ness of his inventive talent. He showed rare realistic talent in not spurning a field occupied by many other lesser talents, and in not succumbing to the vanity of risking his great talent on entirely new ideas beyond the range of the others. As he did not speculate in stocks, so he did not speculate in invention. He missed several first-class inventive scoops through his re- fusal to gamble in invention, but by his example he helped to remove the practice of invention from the sphere of gam- Haag sees a ee re ret a es ee . a er : Ht i \ i | : iy } | ! : : ! ; ' | iH ' i Lg Tee {= a dace ent te J Ft eee hea aes te ee oe - ~senem: eee sinner = Ue rh Ay py 5 364 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE bling and magic. He helped to socialize invention, demon- strate its part in the development of human society, and estab- lish it as a new profession. He worked with extreme energy on many aspects of teleg- raphy in his first independent years. The development of au- tomatic telegraphy required apparatus which would work at much higher speeds than hand-operated apparatus. It was found that the hand apparatus, which worked satisfactorily at the usual speeds, would not work properly at high speeds, owing to the effects of electrical inertia, or self-induction. The signals were drawn out, and lost definition. Fdison invented a method of preventing this. He exhibited it at the Centennial Exposition in 1876, and it was adjudicated a reward by Kelvin, who was then Sir William Thomson. Kelvin reported that “the electromagnetic shunt with soft iron core, invented by Mr. Edison, utilizing Professor Henry’s discovery of electro-magnetic induction in a single circuit to produce a momentary reversal of the live current at the instant when the battery is thrown off and so cut off the chemical marks sharply at the proper instant, is the electrical secret of the great speed he has achieved. . . . It deserves award as a very important step in land telegraphy.” Edison was sent to demonstrate the automatic system in England in 1873. He claimed his demonstrations were suc- cessful, but he was unable to persuade the British authorities to adopt his system. While in London he was asked if he would care to test his apparatus using a coiled cable 2,200 miles long as the telegraph wire. Edison did not fully understand the theory of electrical self- induction, and did not foresee that the self-induction of the coiled cable would have an enormous value. He was astounded when a Morse dot normally one thirty-secondth of an inch long was extended into a line about thirty feet long. His ig- norance of scientific theory raised criticism and opposition, es- pecially among highly trained scientists and engineers without inventive talent. His insight into science was derived from intense practical experience of apparatuses involving scientificHIS LIFE AND WORK 365 principles. When Kelvin invented an apparatus he embodied a scientific principle. Some of his electrometers look like a materialization of text-book diagrams on the theory of electro- statics. Edison’s mental process worked in the reverse man- ner. His scientific ideas were abstractions drawn from appa- ratuses with which he had profound familiarity. His opinions on any subject of which he had experimental knowledge were always worth consideration, though his explanations were usu- ally inaccurate and often wrong. Edison introduced practical quadruplex telegraphy in 1874. This was his first major inventive achievement. It enables four messages, two in each direction, to be sent simultaneously over the same wire. The duplex, in which two messages are sent in opposite directions simultaneously on the same wire, had already been invented by Stearns. Edison devised a diplex system, in which two messages could be sent simultaneously in the same direction on one wire. He obtained the quadruplex by combining the duplex and diplex. The functioning of the apparatus depends on two signaling currents. One current is made to transmit by altering its direc- tion, and the other by varying its strength. The alterations in direction and in strength may be received independently by suitable relays at the other end of the wire. In this way, two messages may be sent simultaneously. Four messages may be sent by duplexing each of the signaling currents. This is done by arranging that the outgoing signal current shall operate the receiver at the distant station but not the receiver at the home station. Suppose a dummy wire, whose electrical resistance and capacity are exactly equal to those of the main wire, is con- nected to the end of the main wire in the home station. If the signaling current is sent into the connected wires, one half will go through the main wire, and the other half through the dummy. Suppose, now, that the main wire and the dummy wire have each been wound an equal number of times, but in opposite directions, round the iron core of the home relay magnet. Then the signaling current from the home station =< SE ToT eae j ‘& ft HH) “a - if iH 1 f ‘ \ ne j E | ih eaten nent meiner nn eee aa eee ee =x — FES ere ens peer net See Secz,! — Se ——————E———————————— es pana come iti eT sir Pts eT tretiees er =Lr eet eee aed ta is Dene) ee PAT PET ee meee eel PEt. see Sein de ee i tat ear as Lh ee Ee Oe eae Lt ee Fe eee dapat ESTE See LL ae ee pe Eo ia lta.) ete ae Th Tene Perseme ETS, a eee Spe ERE Rees Petar ty pet Fot toon ys Rhee 366 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE will not operate the home receiver, because the two currents will cancel each other’s magnetizing effect on the home re- ceiver. But the current will not be split at the distant station, so it will operate the distant receiver. Edison said the invention of the quadruplex system “re- quired a peculiar effort of the mind, such as the imagining of eight different things moving simultaneously on a mental plane, without anything to demonstrate their efficiency.” It seems that he visualized the eight instruments simultane- ously, and tried to foresee how they would react together. He did not try to analyse the properties of the instruments and circuits theoretically. His concentration on these mental efforts affected the nor- mal operation of his memory. On one occasion he had to at- tend the City Hall to pay taxes before a certain hour in order to avoid a surcharge. An official suddenly asked him his name. He could not remember it, and lost his place in the queue, which made him too late to avoid the surcharge. He did not show more than the minimum necessary interest in money. As long as he had sufhcient for his needs he was satished. He never applied his mind earnestly to money- making. He combined lack of special interest in money with an orig- inal insistence on commercial practicality in invention. This shows that he was a social theorist. He believed a good inven- tion must conform with the criterion of commercial success, yet he did not care whether or not he made money out of inven- tions. It is frequently supposed that Edison’s insistence on the criterion of commercial success showed that he was mercenary, and wished to make invention a tool of acquisition. His be- havior shows that he disinterestedly put invention at the serv- ice of what he conceived to be the proper social machinery, capitalist commerce. His view was far in advance of the old conception that the justification of invention is the enhance- ment of the dignity of human nature through exhibitions of cleverness, and that the practical application of invention is a vulgar activity of secondary importance.HIS LIFE AND WORK 367 He recognized that invention must have social justification. He assumed that the nineteenth-century American capitalists’ criterion of justification was correct, and therefore judged in- vention by that criterion. As he made relatively little money for himself out of his inventions he evidently did not apply the same criterion for judging his own private, personal success. His behavior shows that his public and private views of invention were not the same. He was casual with his private wealth. He did not employ bookkeepers until the chaos of his finances prevented him from getting on with his work. He lost most of the royalties he should have received from his early patents through employing an unsatisfactory patent lawyer. A man of his ability would not have lost so much if he had been primarily interested in acquiring money. The famous German theoretical and experimental chemist, Professor Nernst, invented an electric lamp, with a filament made of rare earths which conduct electricity and emit a bright light at high temperatures. The filament had to be heated by a surrounding platinum coil before it lighted up, so about fifteen seconds passed before it reached full brilliancy. The details of the lamp were complicated, and with the delay in reaching maximum illumination, prevented it from having more than a transitory commercial success. It gave way be- fore the superior qualities of the carbon filament lamp, which was developed mainly by Edison. When Edison met Nernst, he talked on his favorite topic on the need for inventions to be business-like and to invent what commerce required. He said that academic scientists gen- erally failed to appreciate the commercial problems of inven- tion, and did not offer inventions to industry in a practicable form. Nernst listened to the strictures on the unpractical and unbusiness-like qualities of professors. He quietly asked Edb- son how much he had made out of the carbon filament lamp. Edison replied that he had made nothing out of it. Nernst then asked Edison if he knew what price he had secured for 4 San} rere > Sprain EY tT = ee Se a tee ceed a rr ee ee | i i , { en eea Tl et ae ETT ate at SO ee gee ie peepee SER iw re Rt Te Fh oh ~ riot trees} i z ~- ~ = 368 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE the rights in the rare earths lamp. Edison said he did not know. Nernst replied that the A.E.G. had paid $250,000 for them. This story is usually related as a proof that academic sci- entists are not so impractical as hard-headed practical scientists, such as Edison, imagine. It may also be interpreted as showing that Nernst’s com- mercial sense was keener than Edison’s, and that he was will- ing to receive a large sum of money for an invention whose commercial success was uncertain, and subsequently proved moderate. Edison did not say that inventors should try to get more than an invention was worth. He said that they should make inventions which would be a commercial success. This did not even imply that the inventors should receive any money at all for them. The attitude to invention of the graduate of the telegraphs of the Woolly West and of Wall Street was ethically superior to the attitude of the eminent graduate of German scholarship. Fdison’s behavior shows that desire for private profit was not the spur to his inventiveness. His demand that inventions should be commercially successful did not imply that he should make a large private fortune out of them. It is possible for an invention to be commercially successful without one man making more profit out of it than any other man. In fact, it may be commercially successful if every mem- ber of the community makes an equal profit out of it. It is often said that inventions would never be made if no one had any prospect of making large private profits out of them. Fdison’s conduct is in contradiction with this view, and his emphasis on the importance of the commercial success of in- ventions does not necessarily imply that there will be no invention unless inventors, or some other individuals, make large profits out of inventions. Quadruplex telegraphy was very successful in the United States. It greatly increased the volume of business that could be transmitted over existing wires, and reduced the capital ex-HIS LIFE AND WORK 369 penditure on new lines. The effects of the very variable wind- fall and drought on the resistance of the earth, and the in- sulation of the line, increased the difficulties of working the system in England. Edison’s quadruplex and other telegraphic inventions were used as pawns in financial operations by Jay Gould. The com- panies that owned his inventions were offered about $1,000,- ooo for them. Gould used the existence of this offer to depress the value, and secure the control, of the Western Union stock. He then repudiated the offer. The legal struggles over the re- pudiation lasted thirty years. The reactionaries who controlled the telegraph companies opposed the extension of automatic telegraphy, and the development, which became extensive before 1880, was allowed to die. Edison had personal dealings with Gould in the early stages of this affair. He took part in secret consultations with him, in which the negotiators entered Gould’s house through the servant’s entrance at night, to evade the observations of spies from rival companies. Gould paid him $30,000 for his personal interest in the quadruplex, but evaded paying him anything for about three years’ other work. Dyer and Martin quote Edison as expressing contrary opin- ions on the treatment he received from Gould. On one occa- sion he said: “I never had any grudge against him, because he was so able in his line, and as long as my part was successful, the money with me was a secondary consideration.” But in 1876 Edison had written bitter complaints that his relations with Gould had been “a long, unbroken disappointment,” and that he “had to live.” Edison said that Gould had no sense of humor. He had a peculiar expression, which seemed to indicate insanity. He was extremely mean. He was very angry when the rent of his stock-ticker was raised a few dollars. He had the machine re- moved, and preferred to do without it, in spite of the great inconvenience, rather than pay. He worked very hard and collected and thoroughly studied the statistics bearing on his financial affairs. The extent of his relations with persons in aN [Se aapoas aa ONSET ro Peer areas ll te er a 4 | { \ Ht} ‘iq a if { i H 4 F i ! i | i i me eee te ee a ET p onan oe eee ter estes eee) eet ne hs POEs ane, eerste peme eee d eee el ee ee eiesaietie ee e ts hee ore tae ee ee ee Se dee htt Feneteeet ae eevee acre TT Sc oid te eens is Ts, aa erat aoca et | e a Ie oe ee tee 370 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE official life was surprising. He was entirely non-constructive, and was interested in money only. “His conscience seemed to be atrophied, but that may be due to the fact that he was contending with men who never had any.” Gould did not care whether his companies were a success or a failure. When he se- cured control of the Western Union, Edison “knew no further progress in telegraphy was possible, and I went into other lines” of invention. Gould’s colleague in the crippling of teleg- raphy in America was General Eckert, who had been Assistant Secretary of War to Stanton during the Civil War. The close connection between the victors of the war and the characteristic technological and financial post-war developments is signifi- cant. It provides one of the reasons why Americans were su- pine under the activities of such men as Vanderbilt and Gould. They did not fundamentally disapprove of them. Like Edison, they were prepared to admire their ability even when robbed by them of payment for years of work. Edison was not inter- ested in money, but he could admire Gould who was interested in nothing else. This admiration of principles which one does not practise is a feature of the psychology of religion. The frenzies of the gold corner were manifestations of herd reli- gious emotions. Men did not go crazy because they were ruined, as ruin was only a temporary condition for an Ameri- can in 1869. He could not remain destitute long in such a rapidly developing country. The frenzies were due to exces- sive perturbations in the current religious worship of wealth. Everyone believed that owning wealth was of vital importance, and that loss of wealth meant damnation. The hysteria was induced by the fear of damnation by the god of wealth. Within a few years of establishing his first shop Edison worked simultaneously on nearly fifty inventions. He assisted Scholes in the development of his invention of the typewriter, he invented the mimeograph, or stencil from which numerous copies of written matter may be pulled. The stencil was cut by a stylus, used as a pen, whose point was driven in and out rapidly by an electric or pneumatic motor, so that it left a line of five holes along the strokes of the writing.HIS LIFE AND WORK 371 He also invented paraffin paper now used for wrapping sweets and candy, and many other purposes. The growth of the telegraph stimulated many attempts to invent multiplex systems, by which one wire could be used to transmit simultaneously a large number of messages. Several inventors were trying to devise multiplex systems in which the various simultaneous signal currents were picked out by tun- ing forks. The transmission of sounds was incidental in these tele- graphs to the transmission of ordinary dot-and-dash messages. The inventive workers on this sort of apparatus included A. Graham Bell, Edison, and Asa Gray. It was natural that one or two of them would begin to alter the perspective in which they were working, and consider the apparatuses as transmitters of sounds by electricity, instead of transmitters of multiple signals by electricity with the assistance of sounds. The conception of an electrical apparatus for transmitting human speech followed as an extension of this direction of thought. Inventors had attacked the problem of the electrical trans- mission of human speech directly at an earlier date. The first electrical machine which could speak was devised by the Ger- man Professor Reis about 1860. He named it the “telephone.” It depended on the starting and stopping of an electric current by a diaphragm made to vibrate by the sound waves of the human voice. Reis and the inventors who followed him could not make the machine repeat more than a few syllables be- fore the make-and-break contact was thrown out of adjustment, so it was not a practical invention. A Reis instrument was ex- plained to Bell by Joseph Henry, and Edison also had an ac- count of it. No doubt Gray also knew it. Bell was the first to see how a practical telephone could be made. He was the son of A. M. Bell, a lecturer on elocution at University College, London, and an original worker on the analysis of speech. Graham Bell had grown up amidst studies of phonetics, vocal physiology, and original thought on the mechanism of speech. This background of knowledge probably increased his con- SSS SSS ee SL ee eet eee eee Lj | | i ena aL LTT LL. eee meee a TT nee ee Re PE en bets Stereos Sel Tra ret ties = Saye prep ie oe ee Bt aeSD ts, eae pare t A tate ee ig aes kee eT tee eee pe el et ee Ra Ne a a Te 372 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE fidence in attempting to invent a practical telephone. Workers less familiar with the mechanism of the human voice may have given too much weight to the belief that sounds as complicated as human speech could not be transmitted with- out an equally complicated machine. Bell discovered that speech could be continuously transmitted by an exquisitely simple mechanism. He found that if an iron diaphragm was made to vibrate near a permanent magnet with a coil of wire wound round it, a current was induced in the coil. Suppose somebody speaks at the diaphragm. It will vibrate in unison with the sound waves started by the voice. The voice will be transformed into a varying current. If this current is sent through a wire to the coil on the permanent magnet of a sim- ilar instrument, it will attract its diaphragm back and forth, and reproduce the vibrations in the diaphragm of the first in- strument. In reproducing the same sequence of vibrations it will reproduce the same sequence of sounds. Bell’s patent was registered on March 7th, 1876. A few hours later, on the same day, Gray made a claim for a similar patent. Edison had constructed in 1875 a resonator for an- alysing telegraph currents, which could reproduce human speech, but which had not been put to that use. Bell’s original telephone was a magnificent invention, but it had serious limitations. The transmitting current was produced by the unaided energy of the human voice, which had made the iron disc vibrate in a magnetic field and so produce the current. [he energy of the sound waves from the human voice is very small, so the energy of the transmitting current was very small. The current was too faint to be effective beyond a short distance. Edison now made two inventions which removed this lim- itation, and created the practical telephone which could com- municate over long distances. He showed how to put virtually unlimited energy into the transmission. He placed a button of carbon or lamp-black against the disc. When the disc was made to vibrate by the waves from the voice, the pressure of the disc on the carbon varied. He found that the electricalHIS LIFE AND WORK 373 resistance of the carbon varied with the variations in pressure. Thus the carbon button could be arranged to act as variable resistance in a circuit containing a current of any required strength. He placed the button in the primary circuit of an induction coil connected with a voltaic battery, and the distant receiver, of the Bell type, was put into the circuit of the sec- ondary coil. This arrangement enabled the voice to be trans- mitted by high voltage currents which could overcome the re- sistance of long wires, and hence long distances. At this time Edison was again working in connection with the Western Union. Their telephone department was man- aged by Twombly, Vanderbilt’s son-in-law. The controllers of the Western Union started the customary financial warfare with the controllers of the company exploiting Bell’s patent. The Western Union pirated Bell’s receiver, and Bell’s com- pany pirated Edison’s transmitter. Edison now sought some payment for his carbon transmitter. He had privately decided that $25,000 would be a fair price, and then asked for an offer. He was promptly offered $100,- 000. He said he would accept it on the condition that it was paid to him at the rate of $6,000 yearly for seventeen years, the life of the patent. He was glad to make this arrangement because he could not trust himself not to spend any available money on experiments, “as his ambition was about four times too large for his business capacity.” It will be noticed that he might have invested the money, and have received $6,000 in- terest for seventeen years, and still have possessed the capital at the end of the period. He said that the arrangement pro- tected him from worry for seventeen years. At about this time Jay Gould renewed his stock exchange campaigns against the Western Union. He had bought Page’s patent, which was believed to cover all forms of electromag- netic relay. The Western Union asked Edison if he could in- vent a method of moving a lever at the end of a wire, which did not involve a magnet. He immediately solved this prob- lem by an application of a device he had patented in 1875. He had discovered that moistened chalk became slippery Berroa ice} perma e tT rat ere rt ere ee ' an { ni} a Pee = ae ae oe emnees ot es ee Beer rE fe eS Site tiT Shai g reef ee ad SS = = = — Seee eset yy o< ann hs Penns Sd a eee el ee eee Eel el ee a ea en a ge a i ee ees Fateh tines Eas oot i 374. FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE when a current was passed through it. Thus a lever held at rest by friction against the moistened chalk would be released when current was sent through the chalk. This invention was sufficient to check Gould’s use of the Page patent against the Western Union. Edison was again offered $100,000 for the rights, and again stipulated the payment of $6,000 for seventeen years. Thus he received $12,000 yearly for seventeen years for these two inventions. The same invention was employed again in a patent contest in England. The Bell and Edison interests had started inde- pendent companies in England to exploit their patents. The Edison company found that they would not be able to pirate the Bell receiver under the British patent law, so they cabled Fdison for instructions. He replied that he could soon relieve them from dependence on the Bell receiver. He invented a new receiver depending on the slippery chalk phenomenon. He mounted a cylinder of chalk on an axle which could be rotated steadily. One end of a small metal rod rested on the surface of the chalk, and the other end was attached to a mica diaphragm. The surface of the chalk cylinder was moistened with a solution of various salts. When the cylinder was ro- tated, it tended to drag the end of the rod, owing to the fric- tion between the chalk surface and the rod. The drag on the rod, in turn, distorted the diaphragm at the other end. The receiving current from the telephone wire was now sent through the contact between the moistened chalk surface and the metal rod. It varied the degree of friction in proportion to its strength, owing to electrolysis on the chalk surface, and made the rod slip in step with the current variations. The slithering of one end of the rod made the mica diaphragm vibrate in unison. In this way, the mica diaphragm reproduced the sounds spoken into the distant transmitter. This new Edi- son receiver was a loud-speaker. The energy which worked it came from the rotation of the wheel, and could be far greater than the energy of the transmitting current. This receiver as- sured the freedom of Edison’s English company from inter-HIS LIFE AND WORK 375 ference by the Bell company. The two companies then amal- gamated to resist the pretensions of the British Post Office. Edison received £30,000, or $150,000 from the amalgamated company for his patent rights. Edison’s production of two first-class inventions, the non- magnetic relay and the loud-speaking telephone receiver, in order to destroy the monopolies of other patents, 1s unpar- alleled. On nearly all other occasions in history, powerful in- ventions have not been produced to order at short notice. They have usually been produced after years of difficult struggle. Edison produced both of these inventions as weapons in stock- exchange fights. The achievement exhibited invention in a new aspect. Hitherto it had been regarded as an uncontrollable activity, like the composition of poetry. Edison now showed that first-class invention could be done to order. This was an important contribution to sociology, as it helped to destroy the belief that invention depended on unpredictable inspiration. It strengthened the hope that humanity would learn how to re- duce invention from a fortuitous into a controlled process of development of the machinery of civilization. Edison’s London staff, which had to demonstrate his tele- phones, included twenty carefully selected young American mechanics, G. Bernard Shaw, Samuel Insull, and other men who became well-known. Shaw’s experiences with Edison’s London company had a formative influence on his ideas. He was about twenty-four years old, and was beginning to formulate his criticism of so- ciety in sociological novels. The first, written in 1879, was never published, and the second, The Irrational Knot, was written in 1880, after working for the Edison company. Shaw had to assist in the demonstrations of the loud-speaking tele- phone to prospective clients. He has given some interesting reminiscences of the American electricians in the preface which he wrote for the novel in 1905. They knew so little about the theory of electricity that he was able to hold his own with them, as he had read something, and even knew a relative of Bell. They were extremely energetic and profane, de- i ’ of | A H ; i } | | : i. ; ft “} 1 + i —— iene pee ebro St Slt eae aati i gpsmataoaiinapr ane Cc See be wena eno eate Pe dcrecamt defined eae ays, a ee eres ts — abe eeenhdiatee Oe ee) ee ee - a il ee Bae a ee ne hee hae eee et het peewee cd Fs a Co aos ne tee eet j i ih All. ry Ey ft 1 376 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE spised English class-distinctions, were proud of American ideals of liberty and cheerfully bore relentless bullying from American foremen. They attacked difficulties with courage and energy, but a large part of the energy was wasted through ignorance. They were rescued from false starts by English colleagues who often had better scientific qualifications, but less initiative. Shaw’s second novel, and first published work, exhibits an intense interest in class psychology. He wished to contrast the characteristics of members of the English leisure class with those of members of the skilled artisan or operator class, by depicting the intrusion of a talented artisan into the leisure class. The intruding hero is named Edward Conolly, an American mechanic and electrician, of Irish and Italian descent. He becomes assistant mechanic to Lord Carbury, an English nobleman with scientific hobbies. He invents an electric motor of great commercial promise. Carbury and his rich relatives, including one named Lind, finance a company for the exploi- tation of the invention. Conolly now has reputation and pros- pects of wealth. He is acquainted with Lind’s daughter, a girl with natural charm, but without training, in virtue of her membership of the leisure class. Their marriage proves un- happy, as Conolly cannot adapt himself to the leisure class in- competence of his wife. She then elopes with a rich Etonian with an impressive figure and manners, and an Oxford lit- erary education, in the belief that he has more feeling and sensitiveness than Conolly. She swiftly finds he is conceited and without creative ability. Presently she meets Conolly again. It has become clear that she will not be able to abandon the habits of the leisure class, so their reunion is impracticable. Conolly perceives that he has married beneath him in terms of ability. The personality of the imaginary character Edward Conolly was very different from the personality of Edison, but prob- ably it would never have been created if Edison had never ex- isted. Conolly was represented as a very educable man. Edison was not educable, and remained uncultivated. Shaw could notHIS LIFE AND WORK B77 have idealized his American colleagues in London, because they were extremely undisciplined, while Conolly had excep- tional self-control. Shaw adopted from Edison and his Amer- ‘can mechanics the elements of creative ability and independ- ence of British upper-class manners. He needed a character independent of the ideas and habits of the different English social classes in order to criticize those ideas and habits. In 1880 the type of an American electrical inventor seemed to him to be particularly suitable for that purpose. His choice was an indication of the sociological interest of that type. 4 Edison’s first wife was named Mary Stillwell, whom he married in 1871. He had met her, while she was still a school- girl, on the doorstep of his laboratory. She and her sister hap- pened to stand there for shelter during a shower of rain. Edison immediately liked her, and presently asked her to marry him. Her parents said she was too young to be married immediately. During the delay deemed necessary by her par- ents, Edison provided occupation for her in his laboratory. She assisted in his experiments on the invention of paraffin paper. Their first child, a daughter, was born in 1873. At that time Edison was still working in his Newark workshop. He became dissatisfied with this in 1876. His wife was expecting a second child at this time, which proved to be his first son. Edison invited his father to search for a suitable site for a new laboratory and home, and offered him the post of house- manager or caretaker. Edison senior recommended a quiet place named Menlo Park, about twenty-five miles from New York. The place was not too accessible for casual visitors, and allowed him to have his home and work close together. A second son was born after he had been at Menlo Park two years. He no doubt hoped that the country air would protect the health of his family, but unfortunately Mrs. Edison was delicate, and presently was infected with typhoid fever, of ape een ae Sree = “ Se ee eS : ——— i ammo == ed ae 2 A aoe | - Perec eee tot mans = Ss EE Te Pees aera nS EE parageh pettaess eherae > ese etter nae teer pret Se 35 ee - . rn eet —_ : a baal er Eh ate ee ie a a Ne Oe Sins errr Th: reera i ae nah eee aaa a oo So De A bine ae aE ee ee Le rete eT Tee TE a os tat eed Ba aa oe Cetra TTaLI ES pretest iets eer ere CN eee a a en 378 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE which she died in 1884. Edison left Menlo Park soon after- wards. His inventive fertility between 1876 and 1884, or the ages of twenty-nine and thirty-seven years, cannot be paralleled in history. It will be noticed that he had two children during the same period. His sexual power does not appear to have been seriously impaired by his extraordinary mental and physical exertions. During much of the period he worked on an aver- age nearly twenty hours a day. 5 Edison designed the laboratory at Menlo Park accordin to his own wishes. Architecturally, it resembled a small Meth- odists’ chapel. It was a plain rectangular building with two floors. He had not previously had the opportunity of work- ing in a laboratory of his own design; he had had to work in such rooms as he could rent, or was provided with, by com- panies who financed some particular research. Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory was a new type of insti- tution. It was the first institution designed for professional in- venting. Hitherto, inventors had been amateurs who had means to work out their ideas, or had means provided for them by some company which employed them on its own premises. The inventor had an idea. He took this idea to a capitalist. The capitalist helped him to put this one idea into a practical form. He might supply him with money and workshops for this purpose. Edison’s aim at Menlo Park was fundamentally different. His laboratory was not designed for the perfection of one invention, but of all inventions. He intended it to be a place where persons who needed inventions of any sort could have their needs satisfied. He aimed at inventing anything. Edison wished to change from invention by inspiration to in- vention by request. He wished to escape from the usual con- centration on one line accidentally chosen, to work on all required lines. He wished to generalize and professionalize in- vention.HIS LIFE AND WORK 379 His first major work at Menlo Park was concerned with the carbon telephone transmitter. He was attempting to invent a transmitter better than Bell’s at the request of companies to which he was attached. He remembered that when he was working on multiple telegraphs, some years before, he had devised various forms of resistance to represent the dummy line, whose part in duplex and quadruplex telegraphy has al- ready been explained. He had found that resistance could be conveniently made out of loose carbon pressed together. The size of the resistance could be varied by varying the pressure. He invented the carbon telephone transmitter by arranging for the pressure on carbon to be varied by the impulse of sound-waves from the human voice. In an earlier research he had assisted Scholes in the de- velopment of the typewriter. He undertook this work in the interest of the telegraph companies, as it was thought that typewriters might be of use to telegraph operators. The re- placement of general handwriting by machinery was not the primary aim of Edison’s work on typewriters, but the as- sistance of telegraphy. Edison’s powers and limitations were illustrated by his ex- periments on what he named “etheric force?) in) 1875.) Ele believed he had discovered that when a telegraphic battery circuit was broken, it might under certain conditions produce sparks in unconnected circuits. It appeared that some “etheric force” was capable of producing electrical effects at a distance. The nature of the circuits used seemed to show that the effects were not due to ordinary electromagnetic induction. Edison wrote detailed accounts of numerous experiments on this supposed new force. It has naturally been assumed that Edison had discovered some effects due to radio waves. But a careful study of the descriptions of his experimental arrangements seems to show that the energy used in his circuits would have been insufh- cient to produce electromagnetic waves capable of making sparks observable with his equipment. The sparks were probably due to some spurious effect. Edison saw that if his SO <= f H ] H i oes Siscap aes eae a aersizyay eae toes, - erat st sein for eee 5 a os a bwSie Laat ie hg LeS Foal act een LLL ET TE Pees toe fleet a OE a eke eee ~ celeritete. eee Se eee Lett eee) ee) ee = ner page nose ee ee rene 380 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE results were genuine, they implied the possibility of electrical communication without wires. He explained that “the cumbersome appliances of trans- mitting ordinary electricity, such as telegraph poles, insulat- ing knobs, cable sheathings and so on, may be left out of the problem of quick and cheap telegraphic transmission; and a great saving of time and labor accomplished.” He did not persevere with his experiments, so any chance that he might have invented communication by radio-waves vanished. Edison applied for a patent in 1885 for wireless communi- cation by electrostatic induction. He erected two high masts separated by a distance. A metal surface was fixed at the to of each mast. The metal surface on the top of the sending mast was connected with one of his loud-speaking telephones near its base. Transmission was accomplished by discharging the induction coil through the aerial into the metal surface at the top of the mast. The electrostatic charge on the metal at the top of the sending mast induced a charge on the metal at the top of the distant receiving mast, which sent a current down the aerial, and produced a click in the telephone. When radio-telegraphy was invented, it could not be developed with- out Edison’s system of aerials, though it employed electro- magnetic waves instead of electrostatic induction for the transmission of energy across space. Rivals of the Marconi Company wished to secure his aerial patent in order to obtain a share of control over the development of the Marconi sys- tem. Edison refused their offers and sold his rights to the Marconi Company in 1903. Edison invented the phonograph or gramophone at Menlo Park in 1877. It was his most original invention. When his application for a patent was submitted to the Patents Office, no previous reference could be found in its records to any suggestion for a machine for permanently recording the hu- man voice in a form which enabled it to be reproduced. Bell’s telephone invention had drawn attention to the problems of the reproduction of speech. Edison had joined in the extensiveHIS LIFE AND WORK 381 efforts to improve the telephone, and had introduced his carbon transmitter. He had become familiar with the elastic properties of discs, which enabled them to vibrate in tune with the vibrations of the voice. Though the familiarity with this property was essential to his discovery, he did not ap- proach voice recording from this aspect. Some time before, he had invented an automatic recording telegraph. This con- sisted of a disc of paper, which could be rotated round a verti- cal axis, as in an ordinary gramophone. The paper disc was set in rotation, and the dots and dashes of the incoming mes- sage were embossed on it along a volute spiral. Thus several of the features of the record of the telegraphic message were similar to those of the present gramophone record. When the disc telegraphic record was removed from the receiving ma- chine and put into a similar transmitting machine, and ro- tated, the embossed marks lifted a contact lever up and down, and thus sent the message on to the next station. The ap- paratus could transmit Morse messages at the rate of several hundred words per minute. It was noticed that if the disc record was rotated very quickly, the rattling of the lever was raised to a musical note. Edison now reasoned that if the disc could produce a musical note it might be made to produce sounds like human speech. He knew from telephone expert- ence that diaphragms would vibrate in tune with the vibra- tions of a human voice, and that these vibrations were of a considerable size and could be made to do mechanical work. He had devised a toy to illustrate this. He concluded that if he could record the movements of the diaphragm on some sort of disc or strip, and then use the marks on the record to set another diaphragm in motion, the second diaphragm would reproduce the sounds which had fallen on the first diaphragm. He designed a grooved cylinder which could be rotated around a horizontal axis. The cylinder was to be covered with tin foil. A diaphragm with a needle was fixed over the foil-covered cylinder so that when words were spoken near it, the vibrations started in the diaphragm were embossed ' Lj i 1 , i i { / a en Oe ee ee = a eee Ment a et eerie teea a aie et eee ee AAPOR, Se a | tTAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE by the needle on the soft tinfoil. A sketch of the machine was prepared, and marked $18. Edison’s mechanics worked on a minimum wage and piece-work system. If the job cost more than the estimate the mechanic received the minimum wage, if it cost less, he received in addition to his wage the difference saved. The phonograph sketch was given to John Kruesi. When the machine was nearly finished Kruesi asked what it was for. Edison told him it was to record talking. Kruesi thought the idea absurd. When the machine was finished, Edison shouted at the diaphragm: “Mary had a little lamb,” etc. He then adjusted the reproducing diaphragm and rotated the cylinder. “The machine reproduced it perfectly. I was never so taken aback in my life. Everybody was astonished. I was always afraid of things that worked the first time. Long experience proved that there were great drawbacks found generally before they could be got commercial; but here was something there was no doubt of.” Edison’s power of imagining the scope of invention is il- lustrated by his summary of the possibilities of the phonograph in 1878. He wrote: “Among the many uses to which the phonograph will be apples are the following: . Letter writing and all kinds of dictation without the aid of a stenographer. “9. Phonographic books, which will speak to blind people without effort on their part. “3. The teaching of elocution. “4. Reproduction of music. “5. The ‘Family Record’—a registry of sayings, reminis- cences, etc., by members of a family in their own voices, and of the last words of dying persons. “6. Music-boxes and toys. “7, Clocks that should announce in articulate speech the diivie for going home, going to meals, etc. “8. The preservation of languages by exact reproduction of the manner of pronouncing. “g. Educational purposes; such as preserving the explana- 382HIS LIFE AND WORK 383 tions made by a teacher, so that the pupil can refer to them at any moment, and spelling or other lessons placed upon the phonograph for convenience in committing to memory. “to. Connection with the telephone, so as to make that in- strument an auxiliary in the transmission of permanent and invaluable records, instead of being the recipient of momen- tary and fleeting communication.” The early development of the phonograph was indifferently successful. As the machine was too crude to satisfy artistic feeling, it could not immediately succeed as a musical instru- ment. It was exploited as an astonishing toy. Its possibilities as a mechanical stenographer were the first to receive serious commercial attention, but the attempts failed, as ordinary clerical staffs found the operation of the machine too difficult. Edison neglected the phonograph for the next ten years. In 1888, after he had launched his incandescent electric light system, he returned to the phonograph, and rapidly improved it by intensive work. On one occasion he worked continuously on the machine for five consecutive days and nights. Edison’s performances with sound-reproducing machines such as the telephone and the phonograph are exceptionally remarkable because of his deafness. He had to depend in a large degree on the hearing of his assistants in the researches on the improvement in the quality of the mechanical articula- tion. His sister-in-law has written that he often suffered from severe earache at Menlo Park. His deafness may be con- trasted with the previous acoustical interests and trained hearing of Bell, and of the musician D. E. Hughes, who in- vented the microphone and the printing telegraph. Edison’s work on the invention of acoustical apparatus did not receive any impulse from long-cultivated special interests such as elo- cution or music. His deafness may have given him an un- conscious interest in acoustical appliances, and he may have had some hope that he could invent a mechanical aid for his affliction. But it seems more probable that deafness would have created a distaste for acoustics. If that was so, Edison’s mastery of his revulsion, followed by great acoustical inven- 4 6 TL Ne A Na a ee ee ee a ee beret andrea etree a Ce et Lene en eet Tee eer Silo Le ren eee te ee PY ee = aoe ee PELE er en Oe Le ae os er ret Peeters Eviteery ae Se aL tetoed ih heel De. Hs ke tepes: Sen ed ee Ped eres hte Feel ed ee at ag it ene aoe et hee he eee eee 384 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE tion, becomes psychologically still more remarkable. The eminent British electrical engineer, J. A. Fleming, whose as- sociation with Edison will be mentioned presently, invented the first radio-valve by the application of an electrical dis- covery made by Edison. As a component of electrical ap- paratus for sound amplification, the valve is perhaps the most important contribution to recent acoustical invention. Flem- ing, like Edison, suffered from deafness. After the excitement of the invention of the phonograph, Edison looked for another suitable subject for inventive re- search. His friend, Professor Barker, suggested he should con- sider the problem of the sub-division of the electric light. By 1878 the electric arc-lamp had become commercially estab- lished, and was being rapidly developed. It was efficient, but could be made with commercial success only in large candle- powers. Its light was glaringly brilliant, and liable to flicker. These properties did not impair its use for lighting streets and railway yards, but prevented its use for the illumination of offices and living rooms. It was unable to compete with the gas-light jets, which could be turned down to any desired candle-power. A practical small, steady, mild electric light would have evident advantages. It would not blind or worry the eyes, like arc-lights, nor pour the hot and often disagreeably odor- ous products of burnt gas into room atmospheres providing air for the respiration of human occupants. Many inventors were familiar with these considerations, and had attempted, at least as early as 1841, to make small electric lamps whose light was produced by a platinum wire raised to white heat by an electric current. These attempts failed owing to the relatively low melting point of platinum. The platinum wire gave little light except near its melting point, so any slight excess of current over the strength needed to give light im- mediately fused the wire. It was not possible in practice to evade such slight current fluctuations. Some inventors tried to find less easily melted materials which also conducted elec- tricity. Carbon was an obvious material for experiment, thoughHIS LIFE AND WORK 385 its fragility and combustibility in air at high temperatures were very serious defects. A carbon incandescent electric lamp was made in 1860 by J. W. Swan, a pharmaceutical chemist of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. It was not of practical value, as the carbon rapidly burned up. Swan was unable to exhaust enough air from the bulb to prevent combustion of the carbon, owing to the lack of a sufhciently good vacuum pump. The cost of electric current was another serious limitation at that time, as all current was obtained from expensive vol- taic batteries. Until cheaper sources of current were created, the electric lamp could not compete with gas. For these rea- sons, Swan dropped his work on carbon electric lamps. But the situation changed during the next seventeen years. The progress of science and technology was being delayed in many directions through the lack of high-vacuum pumps. The gen- eral need brought forth the required instrument, when Spren- gel invented his mercury pump in 1865. This invention was essential for the creation of modern physics, as it enabled physicists to make improved vacuum tubes which led to the discovery of the cathode rays and the electron. The development of the railroads in the 1860’s stimulated the demand for illuminated railway yards for night working. Serious fires in theaters emphasized the unsuitability of gas for theater-illumination. These and other influences had in- creased the demand for arc-lamps, which in turn increased the demand for improved dynamos giving cheaper current. The self-exciting dynamo was invented about 1867, and Gramme re-discovered in 1870 the ring armature, giving steady cur- rents, which had been invented some years previously by Pacinotti. Swan returned to experiments on carbon electric lamps in 1877, with the assistance of C. H. Stearn, who was familiar with the latest advances in vacuum technique. He constructed and exhibited in 1878 a vacuum lamp with a carbon rod as the light-emitter. In 1880 he patented the process of heating the carbon filament during the exhaustion of the bulb, in order to drive occluded gases out of the carbon. This was a atic radia ee SS tiga: abet STIR ena Rasen ano it H | : i i a 3 mt ti i 1VPP ise ws Sn a ba ean ee hohe pete RS ieee Deoteay en eh seen ee ee ee er eS itban ert Par. emwere, aE el eae ELE et a ee 386 FAMOUS AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE the patent which prevented the development of the incandes- cent lamp in England without Swan’s collaboration. Edison’s researches on electric lamps, started in the fall of 1878, led to the completion of a practical lamp in 1879. He found that he could not evade Swan’s patent in England, so he wisely made terms with him. The carbon electric lamp was known in England as the “Ediswan” lamp. Edison’s com- promise with Swan proves that the incandescent carbon lamp is not exclusively his invention. The invention of the carbon incandescent lamp is often ascribed exclusively to Edison. This is inaccurate, and creates a false view of the history of science and technology, and even of Edison’s greatness. Swan produced a workable, though not commercially prac- ticable, lamp. If Edison had never lived, Swan’s lamp would probably have been gradually improved, and introduced com- mercially within the next thirty years. Edison made his lamp commercially successful, and so of practical use to humanity, within three years. This sociological achievement was more distinguished than his large share in the invention of the lamp. By inaccurately ascribing the invention wholly to him, his fame has been made to rest more in a priority he did not wholly possess, than in his unique practical inspiration. His invention of a complete direct current system was more im- portant than the invention of the lamp. Edison’s successes and failures in the development of the electric light present a balanced story far more impressive than the myth which ascribes the development entirely to him. His mistakes are even more inspiring than his achievements, because they re- veal his common humanity, and destroy the illusion of om- nipotence, created by misguided admirers, which is so dis- couraging to aspiring followers. Edison worked on the improvement of the platinum lamp before he invented the phonograph. He tried to devise auto- matic controls which prevented the wire from being fused. He also tried to make incandescent sources consisting of particles of refractory substances, such as boron and chromium, set between conducting points. These were raised to a whiteHIS LIFE AND WORK 387 heat by sending current through them. He dropped these experiments during the work on the phonograph, and did not return to the electric lamp until after his conversation with Barker. He now attacked the problem thoroughly. In his usual manner, he made a comprehensive collection of data of the scientific, technical and economic aspects of il- lumination. He bought the back numbers of gas journals, and collected statistics of gas installations. He estimated the quan- tity of capital sunk in the world gas industry in 1879 at $1, 500,000,000, drew graphs of the prices of iron and copper, of eeeral gas consumption, and so on. The price of coal at that time was about seventy-five cents, or three shillings a ton. This was one of the factors which enabled electric current to be made from steam power at a competitive price. These figures revealed the technical and economic position of the gas industry, with which a successful electric lamp industry would have to compete. They assisted him to calculate the minimum efhciency necessary in an electric lamp system for successful competition with gas. He saw that the electric lamp should use as little volume of current as possible. If it used much current, the conductors for supplying the lamp system would have to be thick, and this would involve an excessive capital expenditure on the expensive metal, copper. Thus high voltage and low am- perage lamps were desirable. But the voltage should not be too high, because high voltages are dangerous. This was particularly important at the beginning of domestic electrifi- cation. An excessive number of accidents then would have prejudiced the public against electricity. Edison and his as- sistants made detailed calculations and experiments on many of these points, and also on the precise structure of the fila- ment and lamp. They systematically investigated the relations between electrical resistance, shape, and heat-radiation of filaments, and studied the specific heats of materials. The effect of increasing the ration of the resistance to the radiating surface of a wire, by coiling it closely so that the coils obstructed each other’s radiation, was examined by cal- =i Be Ta eer en pare I eh eee a Pperaaey = aS eT ts It “f § | i i i i} f \ ; | | i ' ; j : 1 q i} i i i a } nt Ten earn tte eee Tiled atina aa] lien aati Lene) nee’ ed eel ee ee ee 1 ne Peeiaeeannye . eee eee ae ees a ret Se te ee Se eee ent ee a ee Cees ioe = lat eee as en 7 ae Pamniy separ te EMS aiee co a Rankine, 257, 271 Raoult’s law, 281, 282 >) » _ = Rayleigh, Lord, 105 Read, Deborah, 51 Dd» - a, Reis, Professor, 371 Relativity, 236 Renaissance and Reformation, 144 Republican Party, 337, 338 Rittenhouse, 24, 129 Robson, W. A., 138 Rochefoucauld, 133, 153 Roget, 185 Romagnosi, G. D., 176 Romilly, 127 Roozeboom, 277 Rosanoff, M. A., 312 Royal Society of London, 304 scientific works, 212 Rush, R., 206 Russell, Bertrand, 141 Russell, Phillips, 54 Rutherford, 71, 78 Ryde, J. W., 67 Saint-Venant, 283 Savary, 193 Sawyer, 388 Scholes, 370, 379 Schuckert, J. S., 362 Schuster, 72 cientific administration, 162 cientific apparatus, 273, 274 Scott, Captain, 278 S ewing machine, 309 S S Shaw, G. Bernard, 375, 376 Sheffield Scientific School, 254 Silliman, Benjamin, 234, 253 Simonds, W. A., 322 Simson, Professor, 84 Slavery, 308, 336 Sloane, 59 Small, William, 30, 31 Smith, H. J. S., 294 Smithson, James, 165, 199, 202, 203 will, 204, 205 Smithsonian Institution, 159, 161, 199, 203, 206, 208, 210, 213 Smyth, A. H., 46, 51 Solander, 105INDEX 413 Solar physics, 198 Spanish inventors, 306 Spectator, the, 48 Spence, Dr., 57 Sprengel, 385 Stamp Act, the, 89 Steam engine, 31, 32, 257, 260 Stearn, C. H., 385 Stearns, J. B., 351 Steel industry, 398 Stevenson, Mary, 27, 96 Stevenson, Mrs., 85 Still, Mary, 377 Stock-ticker, 351 Stokes, G. G., 197, 212, 215, 280 Storage batteries, 399 Sturgeon, William, 176 Swan, J. W., 385, 386 Swift, 42, 43 ali hattW. H., 213 Tammann, 279 Tammany Hall, 314 Talleyrand, 114 Taylor, John, 135, 136 Taylor, W. B., 221 Telegraph, the, 332, 333, 336, 393 Telegraphic Meteorological Service, 209 Telephone, the, 347, 371 Ten Eyck, P., 178 Testing building materials, 217 Thales, 58 Theology, 242, 243 Theophrastus, 58 Theory of Heat, 268 Thermodynamics, 257, 260, 264, 265, 266, 270, 271 Theta-phi diagram, 262, 263 Thompson, Benjamin, 203 Thompson, James, 261, 281 Thomson, J. J., 231 Thomson, Sir William, 364 Ticker apparatus, 361, 362 Train laboratory, 330, 333 Tryon, 37, 48 Twombly, 373 Typewriter, 370 U United States National Museum, 212 Utilitarianism, 146 V Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 354, 355 Van’t Hoff-Ostwald, 239, 276 Van Name, R. G., 290 Van Rensselaer, Stephen, 159, 172 Van Slyke, 272 Vattemare, A., 211 Veblen, Thorstein, 22, 23, 350 Vector analysis, 285, 286, 287 Veillard, 133 Victoria, Queen, 273 Villard, Henry, 393 Voltaire, 45, 148 W Waals, Van der, 277 Wall, 59, 60, 62 Wall Street, 361 Walpole, 200 Walter, John, 129 War of Independence, 319 Warburg, O., 272 Washington, George, 120, 205 Watson, John B., 34 Watson, William, 70, 73 Watt, James, 31, 260 Wedderburn, Attorney-General, 107, 115 Weekly Herald, 330 a ee a a . Ft ee ne Se Ree ee a RE ans een eens = res eas ne seein airy neem ened an nen nen = ee et he ee pet Te hacer rye H i , | } ‘ b 4 f b> | i} | i t 1] i 4 / 1 4 t i Ii ee eeeia re i ead Lccteteabeh tt bah eT Sed ee ee ee tee Od ee ee a eee TT ; ' | fg ont Reps ; i ; 4 " ie f f iF i. SE Raa hd eee et ee nd eee Sb Sed ESPN ad gee eee tt tienes tt ele taten rete tere Sn 414 INDEX Weierstrass, 288 Winkler, 66, 67 Wells, H. G., a4 Wireless communication, 380 Wesley, John, 169 Withers, R. E., 163 Western Union Telegraph Co., 341, Woolsey, 252 352 Wetzel, 52 Wheatstone, 191, Wheeler, 64 Whitefield, 54, 55 Whitney, Eli, 253 Wilkes, 92 Williams, Charles, 347 Yale, Elihu, 256 Wilson, E. B., 232, 290, 292 Yale University, 234, 235, 254 Wilson, Woodrow, 138, 1 Young, Owen, 393Sern Etta ian res Ty Sees terete eatin te To) er ve atte tT ne eas “f i i} | i 1 | ee Te a ee de a at ttt coeed ee eel ee eee a ene tL SE hl ee halen POT ne eee ee te, eee ote a ene cones 4 fi eet eet ee hee Leta FP sa te awe SoSPAPS Saye hanes tee te i alata etek At bles iiche IP tee eisoe Bn aa Po oa peers ete amet: SISET Ts ty Piet ste rs Sarr = bene roetcee ee ee ee ee } jiaa ead babar ae Oi a ae oe eet tet re ee ee ee ee ta Creer ae ei ee Prete tea Se ae a ee a Se ha acetate Ih a Sema aD oe ieee Led OTT eo eee PEE as ot Sees a eee eats sAtTR Fern» ALD’ 8MAI) this | ia 11 — urn ¢ I Y 1e date ee oe es oa| ot Peer tis Tet tt eS eee in at Pars ey — Std ROR ere ar reece = eo? oss rae Cee o eee ee eee eee ee en en ee ne ee ee eer a SrPLEASE RETURN TO ALDERMAN LIBRARY DUE eal ae DUEYX 000 874 1b? HECKMAN [3 BINDERY INC. A @&» NOV 90 WET _N. MANCHESTER, SY INDIANA 46962