Frank J. Sprague
| Frank Julian Sprague | |
|---|---|
Frank Julian Sprague (1857–1934) American inventor, Father of Electric Traction
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| Born |
July 25, 1857 Milford, Connecticut |
| Died | October 25, 1934 (aged 77) |
| Residence | United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Electrical engineering |
| Alma mater | United States Naval Academy |
| Known for | Electric motor |
| Notable awards |
Elliott Cresson Medal (1903) IEEE Edison Medal (1910) Franklin Medal (1921) John Fritz Medal (Posthumous, 1935) |
Frank Julian Sprague (July 25, 1857 in Milford, Connecticut – October 25, 1934) was an American naval officer and inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. His contributions were especially important in promoting urban development by increasing the size cities could reasonably attain (through better transportation) and by allowing greater concentration of business in commercial sections (through use of electric elevators in skyscrapers). He became known as the "Father of Electric Traction".
Sprague was born in Milford, Connecticut in 1857 to David Cummings Sprague and Frances Julia King Sprague. He attended Drury High School in North Adams, Massachusetts and excelled in mathematics. In 1874, he won an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. There, he graduated seventh (out of thirty-six) in the Class of 1878.
He was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy. During his ensuing naval service, he first served on the USS Richmond, then the USS Minnesota. While his ship was in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1881, Sprague invented the inverted type of dynamo. After he was transferred to the USS Lancaster, flagship of the European Squadron, he installed the first electric call-bell system on a United States Navy ship. Sprague took leave to attend the International Exposition of Electricity of 1881 in Paris and the Crystal Palace Exhibition in Sydenham, England in 1882, where he was on the jury of awards for gas engines, dynamos and lamps.
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