George John Singer (1786–1817) was an English early pioneer of electrical research, noted for his publications and for lectures delivered privately and at the

Russell Institution The Russell Institution (fuller titles: Russell Institution for the Promotion of Literary and Scientific Knowledge, and the Russell Literary and Scientific Institution) was an organisation devoted to scientific, literary and musical education, base ...

Biography

Singer was the son of Thomas Singer, and the younger brother of

Samuel Weller Singer Samuel Weller Singer (1783–1858) was an English author and scholar on the work of William Shakespeare. He is also now remembered as a pioneer historian of card games. Life Born in London, he was son of Thomas Singer, a feather and artificial- ...

. In early life he was engaged in his mother's business of artificial-flower making. Every spare moment, however, he devoted to scientific study, more particularly to the investigation of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

and

electromagnetism In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...

, then little known. He was a friend of and worked with

Andrew Crosse Andrew Crosse (17 June 1784 – 6 July 1855) was a British scientist who was born and died at Fyne Court, Broomfield, Somerset. Crosse was an early pioneer and experimenter in the use of electricity. He became known after press reports of an e ...

, another early electrical pioneer. Singer built, almost unassisted, a large room at the back of his mother's house in Prince's Street,

Cavendish Square Cavendish Square is a public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square in the much lar ...

, where he gave courses of lectures on electricity and kindred subjects. Among his audience were

Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

and

Sir Francis Ronalds Sir Francis Ronalds FRS (21 February 17888 August 1873) was an English scientist and inventor, and arguably the first electrical engineer. He was knighted for creating the first working electric telegraph over a substantial distance. In 1816 ...

. Singer published ''Elements of Electricity and Electro-chemistry'', London, 1814, a work of considerable contemporary importance, which was translated into French (Paris, 1817), into Italian (Milan, 1819), and into German (Breslau, 1819). He also contributed several papers to the ''Philosophical Magazine'' from 1813 to 1815, of which a list is given in Ronalds's ''Catalogue of Books on Electricity, Magnetism'', &c. Singer made almost the whole of his apparatus himself, and introduced several enhancements. He invented an improved gold-leaf

electrometer An electrometer is an electrical instrument for measuring electric charge or electrical potential difference. There are many different types, ranging from historical handmade mechanical instruments to high-precision electronic devices. Modern e ...

that was used widely for many years. A key feature was a new mode of insulating the wire connected to the leaves through the cap of the bottle, which he announced in 1811 and described in his book. Ronalds later put on record that the idea for the insulation was his. Singer died, unmarried, of pulmonary

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, induced by overwork, on 28 June 1817, at his mother's house. He lived in the Old House now known as Coundon Court Academy.

References

Attribution *

External links

Elements of Electricity and Electro-chemistry
by George Singer, 1814, from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, George John 1786 births 1817 deaths 18th-century English people 19th-century English people Experimental physicists English inventors English physicists People associated with electricity