Makers of the Telegraph

Samuel Morse, Ezra Cornell and Joseph Henry

Kenneth B. Lifshitz (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

344 Seiten

2017
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-1-4766-6559-7 (ISBN)

Artikel merken

Focuses on the contribution of Morse's colleagues and employees to the creation of the Test Telegraph, specifically those of Ezra Cornell and Joseph Henry. The book views Morse primarily as a businessman and consolidator of ideas rather than conflicts between Morse and his associates and his effort to present a finished, uniform system under his sole imprimatur.

The single-wire telegraph revolutionized long distance communication but it was not the brainchild of one inventor, Samuel Morse. His colleagues and employees--specifically Ezra Cornell and Joseph Henry--made crucial contributions.

Examining the careers of the three men and the key events, this book presents Morse as primarily a businessman and consolidator of ideas who, frequently in conflict with his associates, sought to present the telegraph as a uniform system under his sole imprimatur. The battle between Morse and Cornell over the invention of the magnetic relay was central to the drama.

What emerges is a complex portrait of three ambitious and brilliant innovators and the age in which they lived.

Kenneth B. Lifshitz has lectured widely on such topics as the great chain across the Hudson and The Franklin Marble. Also a bass player, he has performed with local and regional symphony orchestras. He lives in the Catskill region of New York.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Notes on Abbreviations

Preface

Introduction

Section I: Knickerbocker Tales

1. The American Experiment

2. SPAAM (The Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Arts and Manufactures)

3. T. Romeyn Beck

4. The Albany Academy

5. The Big Ditch

6. A Tale of Two Cities

7. Portrait Painter

8. The Man Who Sneezed So Singularly

Section II: Henry’s Influence on Morse

9. The New, Old School

10. The Vision at Palmyra

11. Ghost Story

12. Wrap Artist

13. The American Achievement

14. Que Viva Mexico

15. Endless Debate

16. Quantity vs. Intensity

17. The Barnaby Mooer Side-Hill Plow

18. Catching Colt

19. Out of the “Fog” of Invention

20. The Plow in Maine

21. Sins of the Father

Section III: The Madman and the Telegrapher

22. A Federal No-Show Job

23. Cable Problems

24. Big Confab at Little Relay

25. The Trouble with Fisher …

26. On the Third Floor of the Patent Office

27. The Burden of Big Science

28. Bartlett’s Contract

29. Cross-Cut!

30. A Fight Over Pole Insulators

31. Out of the Frying Pan

Section IV: Relay Race

32. The Magnetic Telegraph Company

33. A Red Herring

34. The Mule Kicks Back

35. The State Fair

36. Raising Cash

37. When the Going Gets Tough …

38. … The Tough Go to Europe

39. Trompe l’œil

40. “The Telegraph for Dummies”

41. O’Reilly

42. Saxton Faxton’s Love-Hate Relationship

43. Organization Man

44. Crossing the Rubicon

Section V: Prodigal

45. Audubon’s Laundry

46. Tit for Tat

47. An Indispensable Plague

48. The New York–Offing Line

49. Rebirth of a Notion

Coda: King Edward of Kalamazoo

Afterword

Appendix A: Morse’s Deposition

Appendix B: Questions Prepared for Professor Henry by Morse, 1839

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	03.12.2016
Zusatzinfo	17 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	467 g
Themenwelt	Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Technikgeschichte
	Technik ► Nachrichtentechnik
ISBN-10	1-4766-6559-1 / 1476665591
ISBN-13	978-1-4766-6559-7 / 9781476665597
Zustand	Neuware