Thomas Robins (1868-1926) of the Naval Consulting Board in 1916

The Naval Consulting Board, also known as the Naval Advisory Board (a name used in the 1880s for two previous committees), was a

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

organization established in 1915 by Josephus Daniels, the

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

at the suggestion of

Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

. Daniels created the Board with membership drawn from eleven engineering and scientific organizations two years before the United States entered World War I to provide the country with the "machinery and facilities for utilizing the natural inventive genius of Americans to meet the new conditions of warfare." Daniels was concerned that the U.S. was unprepared for the new conditions of warfare and that they needed access to the newest technology.

History

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

gave a speech in which he proposed a group of scientists should be involved with the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

effort. In a statement issued in the ''New York Times'' on September 13, 1915, Josephus Daniels, the

asked

to be president of an advisory board.

Miller Reese Hutchison Miller Reese Hutchison (August 6, 1876 – February 16, 1944) was an American electrical engineer and inventor. He developed some of the first portable electric devices, such as a vehicle horn and a hearing aid. His father was William Hutchison ...

who was Edison's chief engineer also became part of the Board. Secretary Daniels "approached eleven engineering and scientific societies to nominate two members to present their society on the Board." There were 24 original members, including the following: *

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

Willis Rodney Whitney Willis Rodney Whitney (August 22, 1868 – January 9, 1958) was an American chemist and founder of the research laboratory of the General Electric Company. He is known as the "father of industrial research" in the United States for blending the w ...

Leo Baekeland Leo Hendrik Baekeland (November 14, 1863 – February 23, 1944) was a Belgian chemist. He is best known for the inventions of Velox photographic paper in 1893, and Bakelite in 1907. He has been called "The Father of the Plastics Industry" ...

American Institute of Electrical Engineers The American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was a United States-based organization of electrical engineers that existed from 1884 through 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) to form the Instit ...

Frank Julian Sprague Frank Julian Sprague (July 25, 1857 in Milford, Connecticut – October 25, 1934) was an American inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. His contributions were especially ...

Benjamin Garver Lamme Benjamin Garver Lamme (January 12, 1864 – July 8, 1924) was an American electrical engineer and chief engineer at Westinghouse, where he was responsible for the design of electrical power machines. Lamme created an efficient induction motor fr ...

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

Robert Simpson Woodward Robert Simpson Woodward (July 21, 1849 – June 29, 1924) was an American civil engineer, physicist and mathematician. Biography He was born at Rochester, Michigan on July 21, 1849, to Lysander Woodward and Peninah A. Simpson.

, a civil engineer, physicist and mathematician. **

Arthur Gordon Webster Arthur Gordon Webster (November 28, 1863 – May 15, 1923) was an American physicist who founded the American Physical Society. Biography Webster was born on November 28, 1863, at Brookline, Massachusetts, to William Edward Webster and Mary Sha ...

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Andrew Murray Hunt Andrew Murray Hunt (August 12, 1859 – December 8, 1930) was an American electrical and mechanical engineer who served on the Naval Consulting Board during the First World War and was president of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1921 ...

Alfred Wingate Craven Alfred Wingate Craven (20 October 1810 - 29 March 1879) was a chief engineer of the Croton Aqueduct Department, was a founding member—and host of its initial meeting—of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects, which later became ...

, Chief Engineer of the New York city Rapid Transit commission. * American Aeronautical Society **

Matthew Bacon Sellers II Matthew Bacon Sellers II (March 29, 1869 – April 5, 1932) was a United States inventor and scientist known for his work in the field of aviation. Biography He was born on March 29, 1869, in Baltimore, Maryland to Matthew Bacon Sellers I. ...

Hudson Maxim Hudson Maxim (February 3, 1853 – May 6, 1927), was a U.S. inventor and chemist who invented a variety of explosives, including smokeless gunpowder, Thomas Edison referred to him as "the most versatile man in America". He was the brother ...

* The Inventor's Guild **

Peter Cooper Hewitt Peter Cooper Hewitt (May 5, 1861 – August 25, 1921) was an American electrical engineer and inventor, who invented the first mercury-vapor lamp in 1901. Hewitt was issued on September 17, 1901. In 1903, Hewitt created an improved version t ...

** Thomas Robins *

American Society of Automotive Engineers SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a United States-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. SAE Internatio ...

** Andrew J. Riker ** Howard E. Coffin *

American Institute of Mining Engineers The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) is a professional association for mining and metallurgy, with over 145,000 members. It was founded in 1871 by 22 mining engineers in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Uni ...

** William Lawrence Saunders **

Benjamin Bowditch Thayer Benjamin Bowditch Thayer (October 20, 1862 – February 22, 1933) was a vice president of Anaconda Copper and served on the Naval Consulting Board. He was president of the New York Society of Harvard Engineers. Biography He was born on October ...

* American ElectroChemical Society ** Joseph William Richards **

Lawrence Addicks Lawrence Addicks (March 3, 1878 - January 16, 1964) was president of the Electrochemical Society from 1915 to 1916. He was a member of the Naval Consulting Board during World War I starting in 1915. Biography He was born on March 3, 1878, in Phil ...

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

William Le Roy Emmet William Le Roy Emmet (July 10, 1859 – September 26, 1941) was an electrical engineer who made major contributions to alternating current power systems including the design of large rotary converters. Biography Emmet was born in New Rochelle ...

** Spencer Miller * American Society of Aeronautic Engineers, merged into

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a United States-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. SAE Internatio ...

(SAE) in 1916. **

Henry Alexander Wise Wood Henry Alexander Wise Wood (March 1, 1866 - April 9, 1939) was an American inventor of a high speed newspaper press and member of the Naval Consulting Board. His father Fernando Wood was mayor of New York City and a Democratic Party member of Cong ...

Elmer Sperry Elmer Ambrose Sperry Sr. (October 12, 1860 – June 16, 1930) was an American inventor and entrepreneur, most famous for construction, two years after Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe, of the gyrocompass and as founder of the Sperry Gyroscope Company. ...

Later, the physicists

Arthur Compton Arthur Holly Compton (September 10, 1892 – March 15, 1962) was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1927 for his 1923 discovery of the Compton effect, which demonstrated the particle nature of electromagnetic radia ...

Robert Andrews Millikan Robert Andrews Millikan (March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American experimental physicist honored with the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1923 for the measurement of the elementary electric charge and for his work on the photoelectric e ...

and

Lee De Forest Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first electronic device for controlling current flow; the three-element "Audion" triode va ...

, inventor of the radio tube and William Lawrence Saunders later replaced Edison as chairman. Initially the board had no legal status, budget or staff, and its mission was unclear. Not until August 1916 did the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

appropriate $25,000 for its operation. The initial publicity surrounding its creation resulted in a flood of suggestions about how to improve the US Navy's ships, totaling 110,000 during the war. The Board's members decided that they could be most effective if they divided into technical committees to utilize their specialist expertise, including the Committee on Aeronautics and Aeronautical Motors. They provided consultants and arranged for research to be carried out in established civilian laboratories. During World War I, the board was responsible for approving camouflage schemes for civilian ships, including one invented by William MacKay. One of the most significant committees was that on Industrial Preparedness, which drew up an inventory of manufacturing capacity and sought to develop common manufacturing standards. On 10 February 1917 the Board established a Special Problems Committee with a Subcommittee on Submarine Detection by Sound. This led to the collaboration of the Submarine Signal Company, engaged in acoustic research and producer of

submarine signals Submarine signals had a specific, even proprietary, meaning in the early 20th century. It applied to a navigation aid system developed, patented and produced by the Submarine Signal Company of Boston. The company produced submarine acoustic signal ...

devices since 1901, the

Western Electric Company The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ma ...

and

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...

in experiments on the problem. An experimental station was established at

Nahant, Massachusetts Nahant is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,334 at the 2020 census, which makes it the smallest municipality by population in Essex County. With just of land area, it is the smallest municipality by are ...

.The Submarine Signal Company, H J Fay, ''Soundings'', publication of the Submarine Signal Company, Boston, November 1944 On May 11, 1917 the

United States Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States D ...

created a Special Board on Antisubmarine Detection "for the purpose of procuring either through original research, experiment and manufacture, or through development of ideas and devices submitted by inventors at large, suitable apparatus for both offensive and defensive operations against submarines". Dr. Millikan of the

United States National Research Council The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrell ...

, Dr. Whitney of the General Electric Co., Dr. Jewett of the Western Electric Co., and Mr. Fay of the Submarine Signal Co. were appointed as advisory members.

References

*{{NHC

External links

Naval Consulting Board of the United States
by L.N. Scott ncomplete
Joseph William Richards biography
Military history of the United States during World War I