Charles Edwin Benham JP (; 15 April 1860 in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

, Essex, England – 1 April 1929, also in Colchester) was a journalist who edited for many years the ''

Essex County Standard The ''Essex County Standard'' is a weekly newspaper, published in Colchester, Essex. In August 2019 Newsquest announced it would no longer subscribe to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the body that provides independently verified circulation ...

,'' a published author of works such as ''Essex Ballads,'' and an amateur scientist-cum-inventor, which led him to create Benham's top, which was named after him.

Known life and career

Born on 15 April 1860 into a family of newspaper proprietors, Benham was educated at

Colchester Royal Grammar School Colchester Royal Grammar School (CRGS) is a state-funded grammar school in Colchester, Essex. It was founded in 1128 and was later granted two royal charters - by Henry VIII in 1539 and by Elizabeth I in 1584.Trevor J. Hearn, ''Vitae Corona Fide ...

but did not attend university. He later returned to the school to become President of the Old Colcestrian Society for old boys of the school. Living in Colchester for all but a handful of years of his life spent with Mebrose printers in Derby - and, in turn, writing about it in many of his books - he helped edit the family-controlled paper the ''

'' jointly with his brother

William Gurney Benham Sir William Gurney Benham, FSA, FRHS (; 16 February 1859 – 13 May 1944) was a British newspaper editor, published author and three times Mayor of Colchester. Early life and family William Benham was born on 16 February 1859 to Edward Benha ...

from 1892 until his death in 1929, which was described as "sudden and unexpected," from

angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of obstru ...

whilst in his editorial office for the newspaper. He left a widow.

Scientific pursuits

In the spare time that his journalistic endeavours provided to him, Benham was a keen amateur scientist and contributor to the journal ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

.'' His obituary in ''Nature'' noted that Benham was "a representative of the type of scientific amateur of which British science has reason to be proud... by faithful observation and original mind he was able to make some notable contributions to knowledge." Most significantly, however, he is credited for his invention of Benham's top, the invention of which was relayed through an 1894 issue of ''Nature.'' The disc, when spun, produces the Fechner colour effect of vivid and coloured images of concentric circles, despite neither of these being present in the design. He was inspired to invent the said top after his correspondence with Dr. Gustav Theodor Fechner, who had demonstrated the illusory colour effect which the top propagated to English-speakers.

Other pursuits and endeavours

Additionally, Benham contributed an essay defending the reputation of William Gilbert, asserting that "though Gilbert's actual discoveries were few and crude, he must be judged rather by the spirit of his work." Other contributions were plentiful in the areas of optics and fluorescence. His exploits were also described in ''

Knowledge Knowledge can be defined as Descriptive knowledge, awareness of facts or as Procedural knowledge, practical skills, and may also refer to Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called pro ...

'' and the (English) '' Journal of Botany.'' The invention of a "miniature twin elliptic pendulum

harmonograph A harmonograph is a mechanical apparatus that employs pendulums to create a geometric image. The drawings created typically are Lissajous curves or related drawings of greater complexity. The devices, which began to appear in the mid-19th century ...

" was also credited to him. It was, according to Archibald Williams, "a good means of entertaining friends at home or elsewhere." In addition, Benham became a justice of the peace in 1917 and was a distinguished artist in his own right, particularly in

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

Published works

* ''Essex Ballads'' (1895, 1901) * ''William Gilbert of Colchester. A sketch of his magnetic philosophy.'' (1902) * ''Colchester Worthies'' * ''Mate's Illustrated Colchester'' (1908) * ''Descriptive and Practical Details as to Harmonographs'' (1909)

References

External links

*
Benham's section in ''Nature''
(1894), as provided by archive.org. {{DEFAULTSORT:Benham, Charles Edwin 1860 births 1929 deaths English inventors English physicists English newspaper editors English male journalists People educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School