Triumphs of Invention and Discovery in Art and ScienceFyfe, J. Hamilton (James Hamilton)
History
Triumphs of Invention and Discovery in Art and Science
Fyfe, J. Hamilton (James Hamilton)
Inventions -- History; Inventors; Technology -- England -- 19th century
effected in conjunction. Cooke wanted sound, scientific knowledge;
Wheatstone wanted mechanical ingenuity; and their union supplied mutual
deficiencies. A partnership was immediately formed between them. Before
their combined genius all difficulties vanished; and in the June of the
same year they were able to take out a patent for a telegraph with five
wires and five needles. Their respective shares in its invention are
clearly marked out by Sir J. Brunel and Professor Daniell, who, as
arbiters between the two upon that delicate question, gave the
following award in 1841:--
"Whilst Mr. Cooke is entitled to stand alone as the gentleman to whom
this country is indebted for having practically introduced and carried
out the electric telegraph as a useful undertaking, promising to be a
work of national importance; and Professor Wheatstone is acknowledged as
the scientific man whose profound and successful researches had already
prepared the public to receive it as a project capable of practical
application,--it is to the united labours of two gentlemen so well
qualified for mutual assistance, that we must attribute the rapid
progress which this important invention has made during the five years
since they have been associated."
Shortly after the taking out of a patent, wires were laid down between
Euston Square Terminus and Camden Town Station, on the North-Western
Railway; and the new telegraph was subjected to trial. Late in the
evening of the 25th July 1837, in a dingy little room in one of the
Euston Square offices, Professor Wheatstone sat alone, with a hand on
each handle of the signal instrument, and an anxious eye upon the dial,
with its needles as yet in motionless repose. In another little room at
the Camden Town Station, Mr. Cooke was seated in a similar position
before the instrument at the other end of the wires, along with Mr., now
Sir Charles Fox, Robert Stephenson, and some other gentlemen. It was a
trying, agitating moment for the two inventors,--how Wheatstone's pulse
must have throbbed, and his heart beat, as he jerked the handle, broke
the electric current, and sent the needles quivering on the dial; in
what suspense he must have spent the next few minutes, holding his
breath as though to hear his fellow's voice, and almost afraid to look
at the dial lest no answer should be made; with what a thrill of joy
must each have seen the needles wag knowingly and spell out their
precious message,--the "All's well; thank God," that flashed from heart
to heart, along the line of senseless wire. "Never," said Wheatstone,
"did I feel such a tumultuous sensation before, as when all alone in the
still room I heard the needles click; and as I spelled the words, I felt
all the magnitude of the invention now proved to be practicable beyond
cavil or dispute."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account