Ralph Davenport Mershon (1868–1952) was an
electrical engineer and
inventor. His company Mershon Condensers was a successful manufacturer of
electrolytic capacitors for the expanding
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
market of the 1920s. He is known for the Mershon Auditorium (1957) and the
Mershon Center for International Security Studies
The Mershon Center for International Security Studies is a research institute at the Ohio State University. The current director is Dorothy Noyes.
History
The Mershon Center was founded in 1952 upon the death of Ralph D. Mershon, an alumnus of ...
at his alma mater
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
that his estate made possible. In 1956 a biography and summary of his work was published by Ohio State University; the following article is a digest of that publication.
Family
Ralph D. Mershon was born in
Zanesville, Ohio
Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capita ...
on July 14, 1868.
His sister Hope Lord Mershon was born in 1875 and lived to 1953, but their other siblings perished in infancy.
His father Ralph Smith Mershon was a
watchmaker
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...
, having apprenticed in Trenton, New Jersey and Philadelphia. He played
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
and was an
inventor, devising a compound regulator for timepieces, and a repeating pistol similar to the
Girandoni Air Rifle
The Girardoni air rifle was an air gun designed by Italian inventor Bartolomeo Girardoni circa 1779. The weapon was also known as the ''Windbüchse'' ("wind rifle" in German). One of the rifle's more famous associations is its use on the Lewi ...
. In 1863 he purchased Henry Kruger jewelers in
Zanesville, Ohio
Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capita ...
. R.S. Mershon married Mary Elizabeth Jones on November 12, 1863. The clock installed by Ralph Smith Mershon in the tower of
Muskingum County Courthouse was still functioning in 1956.
Career
Early career and education
Unsatisfied by classes at
Zanesville High School in 1884, R.D. Mershon joined a crew
surveying for a railroad. Working under Mr. Bateman, a surveyor, he gained hands-on experience with a transit and level. Bateman would not answer Mershon's questioning, referring him instead to the ''Handbook of Civil Engineering'' by
John Trautwine. From that point he learned to use reference works. Given that young Merson had an interest in mechanics, a coworker suggested he study at Ohio State. Returning to Zanesville, Mershon turned to
superintendent of schools
In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principal ...
William D. Lash for examination and certification. Mershon was admitted to Ohio State in the fall of 1886. His skills being evident, in his senior year he served as student assistant. In 1890 he graduated with a degree in
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...
. After graduation he was an assistant instructor in
electrical engineering. Working with
alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
machinery, Mershon developed a means of
waveform
In electronics, acoustics, and related fields, the waveform of a signal is the shape of its graph as a function of time, independent of its time and magnitude scales and of any displacement in time.David Crecraft, David Gorham, ''Electro ...
measurement. It is described as an instantaneous potentiometer method, employing a telephone receiver to indicate balance. This work attracted the attention of the
Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is an American nuclear power company formed in 1999 from the nuclear power division of the original Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, includi ...
.
Success in electrical power transmission
In 1891 he joined the Company in
East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
East Pittsburgh is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, about southeast of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers at Pittsburgh. The population in 1900 stood at 2,883, and in 1910, at 5,615. As of the 2020 census, t ...
where he designed
transformer
A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...
s for
electrical power distribution
Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electric power; it carries electricity from the transmission system to individual consumers. Distribution substations connect to the transmission system and lower the transmissi ...
systems. In 1896 he and
Charles F. Scott were sent to
Telluride, Colorado
Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains. The firs ...
to carry out experiments on high-voltage transmissions. Their experiments went up to 133,000
volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827).
Defin ...
s; they observed
corona discharge
A corona discharge is an electrical discharge caused by the ionization of a fluid such as air surrounding a conductor (material), conductor carrying a high voltage. It represents a local region where the air (or other fluid) has undergone e ...
along the
transmission line
In electrical engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable or other structure designed to conduct electromagnetic waves in a contained manner. The term applies when the conductors are long enough that the wave nature of the transmi ...
s. The losses were ameliorated with thicker wires and greater separation. To gain experience in the deployment of a
power grid
An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...
, Mershom took a
leave of absence
The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...
from Westinghouse to work with Colorado Electric Power in 1897/8. He returned to Westinghouse, serving for a short time in the
New York office.
In 1900 Ralph Mershon became a
consultant in electrical power transmission. He designed and supervised the construction of power systems in various states,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. From 1905 he consulted with South African firms taking power from
Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls ( Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "The Smoke That Thunders"; Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and anim ...
, and travelled there. From 1912 he consulted on a project at
Inawashiro lake in Japan. He helped place visiting Japanese engineers with American manufacturers and power companies so that the necessary expertise could be acquired. Mershon became a Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science on January 2, 1906.
Membership of engineering organizations
Mershon was a member of the
Engineer's Club in New York City. The
Engineers' Club Building
The Engineers' Club Building, also known as Bryant Park Place, is a residential building at 32 West 40th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, United States. Located on the southern edge of Bryant Park, it was construc ...
was erected in 1907. In 1910 he was involved in the formation of an "Inventors' Guild" that included
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 inventi ...
,
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 ...
,
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. ...
,
Mihajlo Pupin
Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin ( sr-Cyrl, Михајло Идворски Пупин, ; 4 October 1858Although Pupin's birth year is sometimes given as 1854 (and Serbia and Montenegro issued a postage stamp in 2004 to commemorate the 150th anniversary o ...
,
Baekeland, and others. These men were concerned with
patent law
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
, sometimes critically. Mershon was made a Life Member of the Engineers Club on January 26, 1950.
Mershon was president of
AIEE
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 Institu ...
in 1912. He is quoted making the wry observation that such posts went to men whose "chief claim to fame arise from activities in fields other than that of electrical engineering as defined by the Institute's constitution."
Patents and accomplishments
Mershon had many
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
s for
inventions he devised. One of the most celebrated was a compensating
voltmeter
A voltmeter is an instrument used for measuring electric potential difference between two points in an electric circuit. It is connected in parallel. It usually has a high resistance so that it takes negligible current from the circuit.
A ...
that was awarded the
John Scott Medal
John Scott Award, created in 1816 as the John Scott Legacy Medal and Premium, is presented to men and women whose inventions improved the "comfort, welfare, and happiness of human kind" in a significant way. "...the John Scott Medal Fund, establish ...
by Philadelphia. In 1916 Mershon advocated for the "Ohio Plan" of military preparedness on campuses that is embodied in the
ROTC. In 1918
Tufts College
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science.
Mershon became a master of the art of building
capacitor
A capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy in an electric field by virtue of accumulating electric charges on two close surfaces insulated from each other. It is a passive electronic component with two terminals.
The effect of ...
s, an important element not only of power systems but also in the electronics of radio. From 1911 to 1942 he was granted 55 patents. His Mershon Condensers were featured in the popular
Crosley brand radios, and suppressed the 60 cps hum heard without them. In 1930 the Mershon company was bought by
Magnavox
Magnavox (Latin for "great voice", stylized as MAGNAVOX) is an American electronics company that since 1974 has been a subsidiary of the Dutch electronics corporation Philips.
The predecessor to Magnavox was founded in 1911 by Edwin Pridham and ...
, and the brand was discontinued. However, the patent-holder continued to defend his interest with
lawsuits: ''Merson v. Robinson'' (June 30, 1941) and ''Mershon v. Sprague'' (April 2, 1936).
Personal life and legacy
Ralph Mershon never married. He died February 14, 1952, at his home in
Coconut Grove, Florida
Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...
.
His papers are preserved by Ohio State University Archives. In 1956
Ohio State University Press
The Ohio State University Press is the university press of Ohio State University. It was founded in 1957.
The OSU Press has published approximately 1700 books since its inception. The current director is Tony Sanfilippo, who had previously work ...
published a two-volume biography by Edith D. Cockins, who was
registrar
A registrar is an official keeper of records made in a register. The term may refer to:
Education
* Registrar (education), an official in an academic institution who handles student records
* Registrar of the University of Oxford, one of the se ...
of the University from 1895 to 1944. From the account, she came to know him first when the
alumni association was invigorated by his Presidency. The first volume recounts Mershon's life and engineering projects, the second is an edited and annotated collection of his writings. His suggestions for the improvement of the patent system are found on pages 142 and 143 of volume one.
References
* Edith D. Cockins (1956) ''Ralph Davenport Mershon'', 2 volumes,
Ohio State University Press
The Ohio State University Press is the university press of Ohio State University. It was founded in 1957.
The OSU Press has published approximately 1700 books since its inception. The current director is Tony Sanfilippo, who had previously work ...
.
External links
Ralph Mershonfrom IEEE Global History Network.
Ralph D. Mershon Papersfrom Ohio State University Archives.
Biographical sketch of Ralph D. Mershonfrom
Mershon Center
The Mershon Center for International Security Studies is a research institute at the Ohio State University. The current director is Dorothy Noyes.
History
The Mershon Center was founded in 1952 upon the death of Ralph D. Mershon, an alumnus of ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mershon, Ralph D.
1868 births
1952 deaths
American electrical engineers
Patrons of schools
Ohio State University College of Engineering alumni
American inventors