Edwin James Houston (July 9, 1847 – March 1, 1914) was an American electrical engineer, academic, businessman, inventor and writer.

Biography

Houston was born July 9, 1847, to John Mason and Mary (Lamour) Houston in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

. He graduated from

Central High School of Philadelphia Central High School is a public high school in the LoganLogan Redevelopment Area ...

(a degree-granting institution rather than an ordinary high school) in 1864. He received both his Bachelor of Arts and master's degree from the same Central High School, where he then became professor of

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

for a short period before holding its chair of Natural Philosophy and Physical Geography.

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

awarded him an honorary doctoral degree. He also served as emeritus professor of physics at 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 ...

and professor of physics at the Medico-Chirurgical College. While teaching physics at Central High School in Philadelphia, he helped design an arc light generator with his former student colleague

Elihu Thomson Elihu Thomson (March 29, 1853 – March 13, 1937) was an English-born American engineer and inventor who was instrumental in the founding of major electrical companies in the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Early life He was bor ...

. Together, they created the

Thomson-Houston Electric Company The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was a manufacturing company which was one of the precursors of the General Electric company. History The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was formed in 1882 in the United States when a group of Lynn, Massa ...

in 1882 which soon after moved to

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

. Elihu Thomson Papers at the American Philosophical Society He served as chief electrician of Philadelphia's International Electrical Exhibition in 1884. In 1892, Thomson-Houston merged with the Edison General Electric Company to form

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...

, with management from Thomson-Houston largely running the new company. In 1894, Houston formed a consulting firm in electrical engineering with

Arthur Kennelly Arthur Edwin Kennelly (December 17, 1861 – June 18, 1939) was an American electrical engineer. Biography Kennelly was born December 17, 1861, in Colaba, in Bombay Presidency, British India, and was educated at University College School in Lon ...

. He and Kennelly had also jointly published a series called "Primers of Electricity" in 1884. Houston was twice president of the

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 Insti ...

(1893–1895). He was a member of the United States Electrical Commission, the

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 ...

, the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

and many others. He also authored books for a series called "The Wonder Books of Science" to include ''The Wonder Book of Volcanoes and Earthquakes'', ''The Wonder Book of the Atmosphere'', ''The Wonder Book of Light'', and the ''Wonder Book of Magnetism''.Edwin James Houston
''The Wonder Book of Magnetism''
Frederick A. Stokes Company (1908) He died from heart failure in Philadelphia on March 1, 1914.

Works

Works by Houston

(Edited list, drawn from January 21, 1911 ''Electrical Review and Western Electrician'' p. 125)

*''Outlines of Natural Philosophy'' *''Easy Lessons in Natural Philosophy'' *''The Measurement of Electric Current'' *''Recent Types of Dynamo-Electric Machinery'' *''Elements of Physical Geology'' Eldredge & Brother (1878
1901
1904)
''Intermediate Lessons in Natural Philosophy''
Eldredge & Brother (1881
1884

''Elements of Chemistry: for the use of Schools, Academies, and Colleges''
Eldredge & Brother (1883, 1898) *''Primers of Electricity'' (1884) *''International Electric Exhibition of 1884'' *''Short Course in Chemistry'' (1884) *''Electric Furnaces'' (1888)
''Electrical Measurements and Other Advanced Primers of Electricity''
W.J. Johnston Company, Limited (1893)
''The Electric Transmission of Intelligence: and other Advanced Primers of Electricity''
W. J. Johnston Company, Limited (1893) *''Primers of Forestry'' (1893) *''Outlines of Forestry'' (1893)
''Electricity One Hundred Years Ago and Today''
W.J. Johnston Company, Ltd. (1894) *''A Dictionary of Electrical Words, Terms and Phrases'' (1894) (New York : P. F. Collier, 1902
Vol.1Vol.2
*''Electrical Engineering Leaflets'' (1895) *''Alternating Currents'' (1897, 1906) *''Elements of Natural Philosophy'' (1897) *''Arc Lighting'' (1897, 1906) *''Incandescent Lighting'' (1897, 1906) *''Electric Telegraphy'' McGraw Publishing Co. (1897
1906
*''Pocket Electrical Dictionary'' (1898)
''Electricity and Magnetism: being a Series of Advanced Primers''
McGraw Publishing Co. (1899) *''Electricity in Everyday Life'' (1904
Vol.3
(1905) *''Franklin as a Man of Science'' (1906)
''The Boy Geologist:at School and in Camp''

Henry Altemus Company The Henry Altemus Company was a publishing company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for almost a century, from 1842 to 1936. History The firm started as a bookbindery. In 1863, Altemus was awarded a patent for a particular type of binding f ...

(1907) *''The Boy Electrician'' (1907)
''The Wonder Book of Volcanoes and Earthquakes''
Frederick A. Stokes Company (1907
1908

''The Wonder Book of the Atmosphere''
Frederick A. Stokes Company (1907) *''The Search for the North Pole'' (1907) *''The Discovery of the North Pole'' (1907) *''Cast Away at the North Pole'' (1907) *''In Captivity in the Pacific'' (1907) *''The Wonder Book of the Light'' (1908)
''The Wonder Book of the Magnetism''
(1908) *''Five Months on a Derelict'' (1908) *''Wrecked on a Coral Island'' (1908) *''At School in the Cannibal Islands'' (1909) *''A Chip of the Old Block'' (1910)

Works by Houston & Kennelly

''Alternating Electric Currents''
The W.J. Johnston Company (1895)
''Electrical Engineering Leaflets : Advanced Grade''
Electrical World & Engineer (1895)
''Electrical Engineering Leaflets : Intermediate Grade''
Electrical World & Engineer (1895)
''Electric Heating''
The W.J. Johnston Company
1895
1897, 1906)
''Electricity in Electro-Therapeutics''
McGraw Publishing Co. (1896, 1897, 1898, 1903, 1906)
''Electric Incandescent Lighting''
The W.J. Johnston Company (1896)
''The Electric Motor and the Transmission Power''
The W.J. Johnston Company (1896
1906

''Electric Street Railways''
The W.J. Johnston Company (1896, 1897, 1906)
''Electro-dynamic Machinery for Continuous Currents''
The W.J. Johnston Company
1896
*''Algebra Made Easy'' American technical Book Company (1897
1898
*''Magnetism''

McGraw Publishing Company S&P Global Inc. (prior to April 2016 McGraw Hill Financial, Inc., and prior to 2013 The McGraw–Hill Companies, Inc.) is an American publicly traded corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City. Its primary areas of business are financ ...

(1897
1906
*''The Electric Telephone'' McGraw Publishing Company (1897
1902
1906)
''Electricity Made Easy: by Simple Language and Copious Illustration''
American Technical Book Company (1898)
''Interpretation of Mathematical Formulæ''
McGraw Publishing Co. (1898, 1900)
''Electric Arc Lighting''
Electrical World & Engineer (1902
1906

Works with other collaborators

Louis Gathmann Louis Gathmann (August 11, 1843 – June 3, 1917) was a German American engineer and an inventor who is best remembered as the inventor of the Gathmann gun, a large howitzer. Life and career Gathmann was born in Hanover. His father was a sch ...

''Rain Produced At Will''
Louis Gathmann (1891) * Alfred Newlin Seal
''The Elements of Physics''
Hinds, Noble & Eldredge (1912)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Edwin J. 1847 births 1914 deaths American educators American business writers American chief executives American civil engineers American electrical engineers American engineering writers American inventors Businesspeople from Alexandria, Virginia Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Engineers from Virginia General Electric people 19th-century American businesspeople Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)