Charles Grafton Page
| Charles Grafton Page | |
|---|---|
Charles Grafton Page
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| Born |
25 January 1812 Salem, Massachusetts, USA |
| Died | 5 May 1868 (aged 56) Washington D.C., USA |
| Residence | USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Electromagnetism |
| Institutions |
US Patent Office Columbian College (George Washington University) |
| Alma mater |
Harvard College Harvard Medical School |
| Known for | origins of induction coil origins of circuit breakers electromagnetic locomotive |
| Influences |
William Sturgeon Joseph Henry |
| Influenced |
William Sturgeon Alexander Graham Bell Daniel Davis, Jr. Jonathan Homer Lane Samuel Morse Edward Samuel Ritchie John Ambrose Fleming |
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Charles Grafton Page (in Salem, Massachusetts January 25, 1812 – May 5, 1868 in Washington, D.C.) was an American electrical experimenter and inventor, physician, patent examiner, patent advocate, and professor of chemistry.
Like his more famous contemporaries Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry, Page began his career as an astute natural philosopher who developed innovative work with natural phenomena through direct observation and experimenting. Toward the later part of their careers, the science of the day had moved on to a more mathematical emphasis in which these scientists did not participate.
Through his exploratory experiments and distinctive inventions, Page developed a deep understanding of electromagnetism. He applied this understanding in the service of the US Patent Office, in support of other inventors, and in pursuing his own ill-fated dream of electromagnetic locomotion. His work had a lasting impact on telegraphy and in the practice and politics of patenting scientific innovation, challenging the rising scientific elitism that maintained 'the scientific do not patent'.
Charles Grafton Page was born to Captain Jere Lee Page and Lucy Lang Page on January 25, 1812 in Salem, Massachusetts. Having eight siblings, four of each gender, he was the only one of five sons to pursue a career into mature adulthood. One of his brothers died in infancy. Brother George died from typhoid at age sixteen, brother Jery perished on a sea expedition to the Caribbean at age twenty-five, and Henry, afflicted by poliomyelitis, was not able to support himself. In writing to Charles Grafton during his final voyage, Jery expressed the family’s hope for his success: "You are the only classical Page in our book."
Page's curiosity about electricity was evident from childhood. At age nine, he climbed on top of his parents' house with a fire-shovel in an attempt to catch electricity during a thunderstorm. At age ten, he built an electrostatic machine that he used to shock his friends. At sixteen, Page developed the "portable electrophorus," which served as the foundation for his first published article in the American Journal of Science(Page, 1834).
Other early interests, including botany, entomology (Page, 1836b), and floriculture, contributed to his scientific training and later avocations.
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