Frank Julian Sprague essays

Frank Julian Sprague essays Frank Julian Sprague was born in Milford, Connecticut in 1857. He graduated from Annapolis in 1878. He was noted for making the electric railroad. He developed his interest while he was a cadet in the U.S. Naval Academy. Frank work as Thomas Edisons assistant in 1883 and independently developed a superior electric motor that was readily adaptable to industrial machinery. In 1887 he installed the nations first electric trolley system in Richmond, Va., for which he has been called the father of electric railway traction. He sold this company to Edison in 1892 and established a concern that manufactured electric elevators, selling it in turn to Otis Elevator Company. He perfected a control system for multiunit trains in 1895, using this as a basis for an automatic train control system he developed. In his later years he produced electric motors for small tools and appliances and coinvented the third rail for electrified rail lines. He served as chairman of committees on shipbuilding and electricity for the Naval Consulting Board during World War I. Frank was a very helpful person to Thomas Edison when he was hes assistant. He worked for Thomas Edison for about a year than he quite and went and worked on his own, which is when he made his railroad. Frank had a money problem so he sold his railroad to Edison General Electric in 1889. Later he also had to sell his elevators to Otis Elevator. He also improved the electric energy and the wheel suspension to go along with his electric railway. He also invented the multiple unit system of automatic control, an automatic brake, and numerous other devices. He was also the first person to make the electric motor. Frank contributed a lot to make this electric railroad and the many functions it has on it. He was a real contributor in the electronics field because without him we probably wouldnt have all the stuff we have today. With ...