William Edward Ayrton
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William Edward Ayrton (14 September 1847 - 8 November 1908) was a British physicist and electrical engineer.
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[edit] Early life
He was born in London, educated at University College School and University College, London, and he later studied under Lord Kelvin at Glasgow.
[edit] Career
[edit] India
In 1868, Ayrton went out to Bengal in the service of the Indian Government Telegraph department.
[edit] Japan
In 1873, he accepted an invitation from the Japanese government to teach physics and electrical engineering at the Imperial College of Engineering, Tokyo. He is credited with introducing the electric arc light to Japan in 1878.
[edit] London
On his return to London six years later he became professor of applied physics at the Finsbury College of the City and Guilds of London Technical Institute, and, in 1884, he was chosen professor of electrical engineering at the Central Technical College, South Kensington. He published, both alone and jointly with others, a large number of papers on physical, and in particular electrical, subjects, and his name was especially associated, together with that of Professor John Perry, with the invention of a long series of electrical measuring instruments, including the spiral-spring ammeter, and the wattmeter. They also worked on railway electrification, produced a dynamometer and the first electric tricycle. Ayrton is also known for his work on the electric searchlight. He was awarded a medal by the Royal Society in 1901. He died in London in 1908 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery.
[edit] Hertha Ayrton
His wife, Hertha Marks Ayrton, whom he married in 1885, assisted him in his researches, and became known for her own scientific work on the electric arc and other subjects. In 1899, Ayrton supported Hertha on her way to being elected the first woman member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Royal Society awarded her one of its Royal medals in 1906. Previously, he had been married to a cousin, Matilda Chaplin (1846 -1883); their marriage had taken place while Ayrton was on home leave from India and Matilda was involved in a campaign to open medical education to women. William and Matilda's daughter, Edith, married the writer Israel Zangwill.
[edit] References
- Graham Gooday's entry in the New Dictionary of National Biography published in September 2004.
- "Professor W. E. Ayrton,1847-1908: the Never-resting keen-eyed chief", by Ian Ruxton, Chapter 15, Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits, Volume IV, edited by Hugh Cortazzi, published by Japan Library, 2002, pp. 165-173. ISBN 1-903350-14-X
