William Le Roy Emmet (July 10, 1859 – September 26, 1941) was an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

who made major contributions to

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 ...

power systems including the design of large rotary converters.

Biography

Emmet was born in

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to William Jenkins Emmet and Julia Colt Pierson. He is the great-grandson of

Thomas Addis Emmet Thomas Addis Emmet (24 April 176414 November 1827) was an Irish and American lawyer and politician. He was a senior member of the revolutionary Irish republican group United Irishmen in the 1790s. He served as Attorney General of New York from ...

, a lawyer, who was an elder brother of executed Irish nationalist

Robert Emmet Robert Emmet (4 March 177820 September 1803) was an Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader. Following the suppression of the United Irish uprising in 1798, he sought to organise a renewed attempt to overthrow the British Crown and Prote ...

. His father's parents were Robert Emmet and Rosina Hubley. His mother's parents were Josiah G. Pierson and Julia Colt. His sisters included noted portrait artists

Rosina Emmet Sherwood Rosina Emmet Sherwood (13 December 1854 – 19 January 1948) was an American painter. Born in New York City, she was the daughter of William J. and Julia Pierson Emmet; her surviving siblings were Robert Temple Emmet (1854–1936), her twin; W ...

Lydia Field Emmet Lydia Field Emmet (January 23, 1866 – August 16, 1952) was an American artist best known for her work as a portraitist. She studied with, among others, prominent artists such as William Merritt Chase, Harry Siddons Mowbray, Kenyon Cox and Tony ...

and

Jane Emmet de Glehn Jane Erin Emmet de Glehn (born Jane Erin Emmet in 1873; died 20 February 1961) was an American figure and portrait painter. Early life Born in New Rochelle, New York, she was the youngest daughter of ten siblings. Her great-great-uncle Rober ...

. In addition his brothers included, C. Temple Emmet, an attorney and sportsman who was a graduate of the Yale Forest School Class of 1902; William LeRoy Emmet, a graduate of the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

, Class of 1881; Devereux Emmet, who became a prominent golf course architect; and Richard Stockton Emmet. His uncle, John Emmet, attended West Point from 1814 to 1817. His first cousin was portrait artist

Ellen Emmet Rand Ellen Emmet Rand (née Ellen Gertrude Emmet; March 4, 1875 – December 18, 1941) was a painter and illustrator. She specialized in portraits, painting over 500 works during her career including portraits of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, artis ...

. He graduated from the

in 1881. He joined the Edison General Electric Company in 1891. Three years later, after a merger, he became employee of

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 ...

(GE). Emmet was a leading advocate of the electrical propulsion of ships from turbines. His systems were first used in American ships during World War I. He also developed the

mercury vapour turbine A mercury vapour turbine is a form of heat engine that uses mercury as the working fluid of its thermal cycle. A mercury vapour turbine has been used in conjunction with a steam turbine for generating electricity. This example of combined cycle ...

system for electric power production. He received the

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 ...

Edison Medal The IEEE Edison Medal is presented by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) "for a career of meritorious achievement in electrical science, electrical engineering, or the electrical arts." It is the oldest medal in this fi ...

in 1919 ''For inventions and developments of electrical apparatus and primo movers.'' He received the

Elliott Cresson Medal The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848. The ...

of the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

in 1920 and was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

. Emmet worked at GE into his 70s and held 122 patents.Current Biography 1941, p262

Writing

Emmet's autobiography, ''Autobiography of an engineer'', was published by Fort Orange Press in 1930 or 1931.

Sources

IEEE History Site William Le Roy Emmet

References

External links

National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmet, William Le Roy 1859 births 1941 deaths ASME Medal recipients American electrical engineers Emmet family Engineers from New York (state) IEEE Edison Medal recipients Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Naval Consulting Board People from New Rochelle, New York United States Naval Academy alumni