Frank Julian Sprague
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Frank Julian Sprague (July 25, 1857 in
Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between New Haven and Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the village of Devon and the borough of Woodmont. ...
– October 25, 1934) was an American inventor who contributed to the development of the
electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...
,
electric railways A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), e ...
, and electric elevators. His contributions were especially important in promoting
urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
development by increasing the size cities could reasonably attain (through better transportation) and by allowing greater concentration of business in commercial sections (through use of electric elevators in
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
s). He became known as the "Father of Electric Traction". Demonstrating an aptitude for science and mathematics, Sprague secured an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1874 and, after graduation in 1878 and 2 years at sea, resigned to pursue his career in electrical engineering.


Early life and education

Sprague was born in
Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between New Haven and Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the village of Devon and the borough of Woodmont. ...
, in 1857 to David Cummings Sprague and Frances Julia King Sprague, a school teacher His mother died when he was ten, and was sent by his father to live with an aunt in New York. He attended
Drury High School Drury High School is a public school in North Adams, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the North Adams Public School District, it serves students in grades 7-12 from North Adams, and the towns of Clarksburg, Florida, and Monroe. Current st ...
in
North Adams, Massachusetts North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 12,961 as of the 2020 census. Best known as the ...
, and excelled in mathematics. After graduating high school, Sprague went to
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
, to take an entrance exam for
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
, but somehow unexpectedly was taking the four day entrance exam for 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 ...
in
Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
. He got the highest score (twelve others took the exam), and to go to the school he needed to borrow money. A local contractor and a bank loaned him four thousand dollars, and he travelled to Maryland. There, he graduated seventh (out of thirty-six) in the class of 1878.


Career


United States Navy, inventor

He was commissioned as an
ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
in the
United States 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 ...
. During his ensuing naval service, he first served on the USS ''Richmond'', then the USS ''Minnesota''. While in Asia, Sprague wrote stories he filed for the
Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...
. While his ship was in
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
, in 1881, Sprague invented the inverted type of
dynamo file:DynamoElectricMachinesEndViewPartlySection USP284110.png, "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator (electric), commutator. Dynamos were the f ...
. After he was transferred to the USS ''Lancaster'', the flagship of the European Squadron, he installed the first electric call-bell system on a United States Navy ship. Sprague took leave to attend the
International Exposition of Electricity The first International Exposition of Electricity in Paris ran from August 15, 1881 through to November 15, 1881 at the Palais de l'Industrie on the Champs-Élysées. It served to display the advances in electrical technology since the small elect ...
of 1881 in Paris and the
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...
Exhibition in
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...
, England in 1882, where he was on the jury of awards for gas engines,
dynamo file:DynamoElectricMachinesEndViewPartlySection USP284110.png, "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator (electric), commutator. Dynamos were the f ...
s and lamps.


Engineer for Edison

In 1883,
Edward H. Johnson Edward Hibberd Johnson (January 4, 1846 – September 9, 1917) was an inventor and business associate of American inventor Thomas Alva Edison. He was involved in many of Edison's projects, and was a partner in an early organization which evolved i ...
, a business associate of
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 ...
, persuaded Sprague to resign his naval commission to work for Edison. Sprague, who began at a salary of $2,500, was neither happy with his salary nor his assignments. Sprague wanted to focus on motors, while motors bored Edison, who was consumed in making his incandescent lighting work. Edison sent Sprague to run the construction departments where Edison had built central power stations for his lighting systems in
Sunbury, Pennsylvania Sunbury is a city and county seat of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and west ...
, and
Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of ...
. Sprague did important work for Edison, including correcting Edison's system of mains and feeders for central station distribution. In 1884, he decided his interests in the exploitation of electricity lay elsewhere, and he left Edison to found the Sprague Electric Railway & Motor Company.


Electrical pioneer

By 1886, Sprague's company had introduced two important inventions: a constant-speed, non-sparking motor with fixed brushes, and
regenerative braking Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. In this mechanism, the electric traction mo ...
, a method of braking that uses the drive motor to return power to the main supply system. His motor was the first to maintain constant speed under varying load. It was immediately popular and was endorsed by Edison as the only practical electric motor available. His regenerative braking system was important in the development of the electric train and the electric elevator.


Electric streetcars

Sprague's inventions included several improvements to designs for systems of electric
streetcars A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
collecting electricity from
overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...
s. Middleton, William D. (1966). ''The Time of the Trolley'', pp. 63–73. Milwaukee:
Kalmbach Publishing Kalmbach Media (formerly Kalmbach Publishing Co.) is an American publisher of books and magazines, many of them railroad-related, located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. History The company's first publication was ''The Model Railroader'', which be ...
. .
He improved designs for a spring-loaded
trolley pole A trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" (electrified) overhead wire to the control and the electric traction motors of a tram or trolley bus. It is a type of current collector. Th ...
that had been developed in 1885 by
Charles Van Depoele Charles Joseph Van Depoele (27 April 1846, Lichtervelde, West Flanders, Belgium – 18 March 1892, Lynn, Massachusetts, US) was an electrical engineering, electrical engineer, inventor, and pioneer in electric railway technology, including the ...
, devised a greatly improved mounting for streetcar
motors An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
and better gear designs, and proved that regenerative braking was practical. After testing his trolley system in late 1887 and early 1888, Sprague installed the first successful large electric street railway system – the
Richmond Union Passenger Railway The Richmond Union Passenger Railway, in Richmond, Virginia, was the first practical electric Tram, trolley (tram) system, and set the pattern for most subsequent electric trolley systems around the world. It is an Institute of Electrical and E ...
in
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
, which began passenger operation on February 2, 1888. Long a transportation obstacle, the hills of Richmond included
grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also r ...
of over 10%, and were an excellent proving ground for acceptance of his new technology in other cities, in contrast to the cable cars which climbed the steepest grades of
Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highes ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
at the time. By the summer of 1888, Henry M. Whitney of the
West End Street Railway The West End Street Railway was a streetcar company that operated in Boston, Massachusetts and several surrounding communities in the late nineteenth century. Originally an offshoot of a land development venture, the West End rose to prominence ...
in Boston had witnessed the simultaneous startup of multiple streetcars on a single power source and had signed up for conversion. By January 1889, Boston had its first electric streetcars — which would be the first in the Americas to go underground some eight years later — and which had become so popular and noteworthy that poet Oliver Wendell Holmes composed a verse about the new trolley pole technology, and the sparking contact shoe at its apex:
:Since then on many a car you'll see :A broomstick as plain as plain can be; :On every stick there's a witch astride— :The string you see to her leg is tied.
Within a year, electric power had started to replace more costly
horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, wh ...
s in many cities. By 1889 110 electric railways incorporating Sprague's equipment had been begun or planned on several continents. In 1890, Edison, who manufactured most of Sprague's equipment, bought him out, and Sprague turned his attention to electric elevators. However, he continued to be interested in the use of electricity for urban transportation and proposed a major expansion of London's Underground in 1901. Sprague's system of electric supply was a great advantage in relation to the first bipolar U-tube overhead lines, in everyday use since 1883 on the
Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram or ''Mödling and Hinterbrühl Local Railway'' (German: ''Lokalbahn Mödling–Hinterbrühl'') was an electric tramway in Austria, running 4.5 km (2.8 mi) from Mödling to Hinterbrühl, in the southwest ...
.


Electric elevators

While electrifying the streetcars of Richmond, the increased passenger capacity and speed gave Sprague the notion that similar results could be achieved in vertical transportation — electric
elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
s. He saw that increasing the capacity of elevator shafts would not only save passengers' time but would also increase the earnings of tall buildings, with height limited by the total floor space taken up in the shaftways by slow hydraulic-powered elevators. In 1892, Sprague founded the Sprague Electric Elevator Company. Working with Charles R. Pratt he developed the Sprague-Pratt Electric Elevator, the first of which was installed in the
Postal Telegraph Building The Home Life Building, also known as 253 Broadway, is an office building in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is in Manhattan's Tribeca and Civic Center neighborhoods at the northwest corner of Broadway and Murray Street, adjacent to City H ...
in 1894. The company developed floor control, automatic elevators, acceleration control of car safeties, and a number of freight elevators. The Sprague-Pratt
elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
ran faster and with larger loads than hydraulic or steam elevators, and 584 elevators had been installed worldwide. Sprague then sold his company to the
Otis Elevator Company Otis Worldwide Corporation (trade name, branded as the Otis Elevator Company, its former legal name) is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets elevators, escalators, moving walkways, and related equipment. Based in Farming ...
in 1895.


Multiple unit train controls

Sprague's experience with electric elevators lead him to devise a
multiple unit A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contr ...
system of electric railway operation, which accelerated the development of
electric traction A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), ele ...
. In the multiple-unit system, each car of the train carries electric traction motors. By means of relays energized by train-line wires, the
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
(or motorman) commands all of the traction motors in the train to act together. For lighter trains there is no need for
locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
s, so every car in the train can generate revenue. Where locomotives are used, one person can control all of them. Sprague's first multiple unit order was from the
South Side Elevated Railroad The South Side Elevated Railroad (originally Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad) was the first elevated rapid transit line in Chicago, Illinois. The line ran from downtown Chicago to Jackson Park, with branches to Englewood, Normal Par ...
(the first of several elevated railways locally known as the "L") in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. This success was quickly followed by substantial multiple-unit contracts in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and Boston, Massachusetts.


New York: Grand Central, elevators in skyscrapers

From 1896 to 1900 Sprague served on the Commission for Terminal Electrification of the
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
, including the
Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he designed a system of automatic train control to ensure compliance with trackside signals. He founded the Sprague Safety Control & Signal Corporation to develop and build this system. Along with
William J. Wilgus William J. Wilgus (1865–1949) was an American civil engineer. In 1902 he was responsible for the design and construction of New York City's Grand Central Terminal. Wilgus coined the term "taking wealth from the air" from his idea to lease the ...
, he designed the Wilgus-Sprague bottom contact
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
system used by the railroads leading into Grand Central Terminal. During
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 ...
, Sprague served on the Naval Consulting Board. Then, in the 1920s, he devised a method for safely running two independent elevators, local and express, in a single shaft, to conserve floor space. He sold this system, along with systems for activating elevator car safety systems when acceleration or speed became too great, to the Westinghouse Company.


Legacy

Sprague's developments in electric traction let cities grow larger, while his development of the elevator permitted greater concentration in their commercial sections and increased the profitability of commercial buildings. Sprague's inventions made modern light rail and
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
systems possible, which today still function on the same principles. The iconic
Sprague-Thomson Sprague-Thomson is the name of the first rolling stock on the Paris Métro made completely of metal. It replaced the mostly wooden M1. History Research before 1908 In light of the Paris Métro train fire of 1903, the Compagnie du chemin ...
rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
of the
Paris Métro The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the Paris, city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform ar ...
, in service from 1908 to 1983, are still referred to as ("Sprague
trainset In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...
s") today. Sprague's engines were used as far afield as
Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
in Australia. A five-horsepower Lundell electric motor used at the
Cockatoo Island Dockyard The Cockatoo Island Dockyard was a major dockyard in Sydney, Australia, based on Cockatoo Island. The dockyard was established in 1857 to maintain Royal Navy warships. It later built and repaired military and battle ships, and played a key role ...
between 1900 and 1980 is now in the collection of the
National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...
in
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
.


Awards and recognition

Sprague was awarded the gold medal In Paris at the
International Exposition of Electricity The first International Exposition of Electricity in Paris ran from August 15, 1881 through to November 15, 1881 at the Palais de l'Industrie on the Champs-Élysées. It served to display the advances in electrical technology since the small elect ...
in 1889, the grand prize at the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...
in 1904, 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 ...
in 1904, and the
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 f ...
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 Instit ...
(now
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...
), for "meritorious achievement in electrical science, engineering and arts as exemplified in his contributions thereto" in 1910. In addition, he received the
Franklin Medal The Franklin Medal was a science award presented from 1915 until 1997 by the Franklin Institute located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. It was founded in 1914 by Samuel Insull Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was a Bri ...
in 1921 and was posthumously awarded the John Fritz Gold Medal in 1935.''Electrical World''
Obituary
November 10, 1934


Personal life

Sprague was twice married, first to a Mary Keatinge, and thereafter to Harriet Chapman Jones. Frank and Mary had one son, Frank Desmond. Frank and Harriet had two sons and a daughter: Robert C. Sprague (also an inventor), Julian K. and Frances A. Remembering his father, Robert wrote in 1935: Sprague died on October 25, 1934. He was buried with full U.S. Navy honors at
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
in Virginia. His wife Harriet was interred with him after her death in 1969. After Sprague's death, Harriet turned over a substantial amount of material from his collection to the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
, where it remains today accessible to the public via the rare books division. Other papers, including six volumes of congratulatory letters and photographs presented to Sprague on the occasion of his 75th birthday, is held at the Chapin Library,
Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
. In 1959, Harriet Sprague donated funds for the Sprague Building at the
Shore Line Trolley Museum The Shore Line Trolley Museum is a trolley museum located in East Haven, Connecticut. Incorporated in 1945, it is the oldest continuously operating trolley museum in the United States. The museum includes exhibits on trolley history in the visit ...
at
East Haven, Connecticut East Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 27,923. Located east of New Haven, it is part of the Greater New Haven area. East Haven is from Hartford, from New Yor ...
, not far from Sprague's boyhood home in Milford. The museum is the oldest operating trolley museum in the United States and has one of the largest collections of trolley artifacts in the United States. Frank's son Robert C. Sprague would go on to found and lead the
Sprague Electric Company Sprague Electric Company was an electronic component maker founded by Robert C. Sprague in 1926. Sprague was best known for making a large line of capacitors used in a wide variety of electrical and electronic in commercial, industrial and milit ...
as its president (1926-1953) and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(1953-1987). At its peak, Sprague Electric employed 12,000 people worldwide with plants in Scotland, France, Italy, and Japan, in addition to multiple locations in the United States, to become a leading manufacturer of capacitors and other electronic components. Sprague Electric was eventually acquired by
General Cable General Cable is an American multinational cable manufacturing company based in Highland Heights, Kentucky, with sales offices and manufacturing facilities in several countries. General Cable manufactures and distributes copper, aluminum, and o ...
in 1979 and then
Vishay Intertechnology Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. is an American manufacturer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components founded by Polish-born businessman Felix Zandman. Vishay has manufacturing plants in Israel, Asia, Europe, and the Americas wher ...
in 1992. Frank and Harriet's grandson Peter Sprague, an entrepreneur, would become CEO of
National Semiconductor National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer which specialized in analog devices and subsystems, formerly with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The company produced power management integrated circuits, display drive ...
(1965-1995).


In remembrance and popular culture

In 1999, grandsons, John L. Sprague and Peter Sprague cut the ribbon and started an 1884 Sprague motor at a new exhibit at the
Shore Line Trolley Museum The Shore Line Trolley Museum is a trolley museum located in East Haven, Connecticut. Incorporated in 1945, it is the oldest continuously operating trolley museum in the United States. The museum includes exhibits on trolley history in the visit ...
, where a permanent exhibit, "Frank J. Sprague: Inventor, Scientist, Engineer", tells the story of the role of the "Father of Electric Traction" and the role of electricity in the growth of cities. In 2012, the
Pennsylvania Trolley Museum The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum is a museum in Washington, Pennsylvania, dedicated to operation and preservation of streetcars and trolleys. The museum primarily contains historic trolleys from Pennsylvania, but their collection includes examples ...
adopted a stray cat, naming it after Sprague: Frank the Trolley Cat. In 2017, Sprague was the subject of a documentary episode, called ''The Race Underground'', on season 29 of
American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...
series that premiered on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
television stations. It partly chronicled the beginnings of the Boston-area MBTA's streetcar network, which described him as "The Forgotten Hero of the American Subway".Doug Most
The Forgotten Hero of the American Subway
PBS


References


Further reading

* * * * * * *


External links




Frank J. Sprague Papers (#628)
East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.



* ttp://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Frank_J._Sprague IEEE Biography of Sprague
Vishay Electronics Company History


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprague, Frank 1857 births 1934 deaths Edison Pioneers American inventors American electrical engineers United States Naval Academy alumni IEEE Edison Medal recipients American railroad mechanical engineers People from North Adams, Massachusetts Military personnel from Connecticut American railroad pioneers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery People from Milford, Connecticut Naval Consulting Board Engineers from Connecticut John Fritz Medal recipients