William Wales ( – September 15, 1907) was an English-American optical instrument inventor specializing in the manufacture of objectives for use in
microscope
A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisibl ...
s. Wales's objective inventions were used frequently in contemporary microscopes and many examples survive in private and museum collections today.
Life
Wales was first employed with the
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
-based optics firm Smith & Beck. There, he ground lenses for use in microscopes. He immigrated to the United States from England in 1862, settling in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and quickly opened his own business manufacturing objectives. In 1864, Wales entered a partnership with W. H. Bulloch under the name William Wales & Co., although this dissolved in 1866 when Bulloch moved to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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Although he did not manufacture microscopes as a whole device, Wales's optics were used frequently in microscopes sold across the United States. Wales assisted with
John Leonard Riddell
John Leonard Riddell (February 20, 1807 – October 7, 1865) was a science lecturer, botanist, geologist, medical doctor, chemist, microscopist, numismatist, politician, and science fiction author in the United States. He was born in Leyden, Massa ...
's invention of the monobjective
binocular
Binocular may refer to:
Science and technology
* Binocular vision, seeing with two eyes
* Binoculars, a telescopic tool
* Binocular microscope, binocular viewing of objects through a single objective lens
Other uses
* Binocular (horse), a thoroug ...
microscope, constructing the objective in such a way that it could illuminate itself rather than needing to be separately lit.
On February 21, 1865, Wales filed an application for a patent on a microscope. This invention used two or more oblique lenses that could allow natural light to pass through; previous microscopes had to be manually shifted to accommodate lighting.
Wales was also involved in the Grand Lodge of Good Templars and was elected to their New Jersey board in 1878.
On October 18, 1889, he was elected President of the New-York Microscopical Society ''
pro tempore
''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...
'' and continued to be on its committee on admissions between 1889 and 1891.
Death
On September 13, 1907, Wales and his family returned home to
Leonia, New Jersey
Leonia is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,937,Englewood, where he died of his injuries on the afternoon of September 15. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' cited "insane jealousy" over his wife as his motive, although Wales himself did not provide a reason before his death. Wales was survived by his second wife and four children.
Legacy
Contemporary microscopists regarded Wales's objectives as exemplary. One early edition of ''
The American Naturalist
''The American Naturalist'' is the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society of Naturalists, whose purpose is "to advance and to diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as to enhance th ...
'' described his inventions, "With no equal power of Powell & Leland's of London, of Hartnack of Paris, of Tolles & Grunow of this country, or of Gundlach of Vienna, various objectives of each and all of which makers I have examined, have either, I myself, or other microscopists of my acquaintance been able to effect this".
Microscopes that include objectives supplied by Wales are in collections at various institutions, including
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
East Carolina University
East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina.
Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...