Frank Julian Sprague : Electrical Inventor and Engineer (Railroads Past and Present)

Middleton, William D.

Indiana University Press（2009/09発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 336 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780253353832
• DDC分類 621.3092

Full Description

Frank Julian Sprague invented a system for distributing electricity to streetcars from overhead wires. Within a year, electric streetcars had begun to replace horsecars, sparking a revolution in urban transportation. Sprague (1857-1934) was an American naval officer turned inventor who worked briefly for Thomas Edison before striking out on his own. Sprague contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. His innovations would help transform the urban space of the 20th century, enabling cities to grow larger and skyscrapers taller. The Middletons' generously illustrated biography is an engrossing study of the life and times of a maverick innovator.

Contents

Foreword by John L. Sprague
Acknowledgments
1. A Boyhood in New England
2. The Midshipman Inventor
3. Sprague and the New World of Electricity
4. Triumph at Richmond
5. Sprague and the Electric Elevator
6. Frank Sprague and the Multiple Unit Train
7. Electrifying the Main Line Railroads
8. The Naval Consulting Board and the Great War
9. Sprague and Railroad Safety
10. A Diverse Inventor
11. An Inventor and Engineer to the End
12. Epilogue
Appendix A. Frank Julian Sprague Patents
Appendix B. Frank Julian Sprague Honors and Awards
Appendix C. Common Electrical Terms
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index