William Stanley Jr. (November 28, 1858 – May 14, 1916) was an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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

. During his career, he obtained 129 patents covering a variety of electric devices. In 1913, he also patented an all-steel vacuum bottle, and formed the Stanley Bottle Company.

Early life and education

Stanley was born November 28, 1858, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of William Stanley and Elizabeth A. Parsons Stanley. William Jr. attended Williston Seminary and later graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

with the class of 1881.

Career

Stanley was as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesman, tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the ...

working with tele keys and

fire alarm A fire alarm system is a building system designed to detect, alert occupants, and alert emergency forces of the presence of fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, or other fire-related emergencies. Fire alarm systems are required in most commercial buil ...

s of an early manufacturer. In

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Stanley designed one of the first electrical installations (at a Fifth Avenue store). Shortly thereafter,

George Westinghouse George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) was a prolific American inventor, engineer, and entrepreneurial industrialist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his creation of the railway air brake and for bei ...

hired Stanley as his chief engineer at his Pittsburgh factory. In 1885, Stanley built the first practical

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current that 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 w ...

transformer based on

Lucien Gaulard Lucien Gaulard (16 July 1850 – 26 November 1888) was a French engineer who invented devices for the transmission of alternating current electrical energy. Biography Gaulard was born in Paris, France in 1850. A power transformer developed by G ...

and

John Dixon Gibbs John Dixon Gibbs (1834–1912) was a British engineer and financier who, together with Lucien Gaulard, is often credited as the co-inventor of the AC step-down transformer. The transformer was first demonstrated in 1883 at London's Royal Aquari ...

' prototype of 1881. This device was the precursor to the modern

transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...

. In December, under a new contract with Westinghouse, Stanley moved his operations to

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a New England town, town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Bot ...

. In 1886, on March 20, Stanley demonstrated the first complete system of high voltage

transmission, consisting of generators, transformers and high-voltage transmission lines. His system allowed the distribution of electrical power over wide areas. He used the system to light offices and stores along the main street of Great Barrington - the location of his West Avenue family home. Stanley's transformer design became a prototype for future transformers, and his AC distribution system formed the basis of modern electrical power distribution. His work in the electrification of Great Barrington's Main Street was named an IEEE Milestone. Agreeing that the AC system had arrived, Westinghouse further tested the system in summer 1886 in Pittsburgh; it transmitted over a distance of 3 miles, and used an alternator designed by Stanley to replace the Siemens model, which regulated voltage poorly. Satisfied with the pilot system, Westinghouse began commercial production and shipped his company's first commercial alternator to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, where a local utility placed it in service. Orders for 25 alternating-current plants followed within months. Thomas Parke Hughes
''Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880–1930''
pp. 103–104, (1993) In 1890, Stanley founded the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

. In 1903 the

General Electric Corporation General Electric Company (GE) was an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the years, the company had multiple divisions, including aerospace, energy, ...

purchased a controlling interest in the firm. The land on which the company once stood is now the site of the William Stanley Business Park of the Berkshires in Pittsfield.

Patents

William Stanley Jr. was granted 129 patents for a range of products and electrical devices.Owen, E.L., "Rediscovering William Stanley Jr. Part I", ''Industry Applications Magazine'', IEEE, November–December 2003 Volume 9, Issue 6, pp. 9–12 INSPEC 7949020 A selection of patents follow. ''Significant patents are in bold''. Edison 7949430936 a7aee4bddd o

* , Circuit-closer for incandescent lamps * , Electric lamp * , Filament for incandescent electric lamps * , Multiple incandescent electric lamp * , Carbon for incandescent lamps * , Socket for incandescent electric lamp * , Holder for incandescent electric lamp * , Globe for incandescent electric lamp * , Induction coil * , Automatic cut-out for electric-lighting circuits * , Automatic cut-out for electric-lighting circuit * , Incandescent electric lampThis is th
1886 Stanley-Westinghouse Lamp
* , System of electric lighting * * *

Personal life

William married to Lila Courtney (Wetmore) Stanley in 1884. In 1935, their son,

Harold Stanley Harold Stanley (October 2, 1885 – May 14, 1963) was an American businessman and one of the founders of Morgan Stanley in 1935. For 20 years, he ran Morgan Stanley until he left the firm in 1955. Early life Stanley was born in Great Barring ...

, went on to found the modern day financial firm of

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

with

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ...

's grandson, Henry Sturgis Morgan. William Stanley Jr. died at his home in Great Barrington on May 14, 1916.

References

External links

*
Alternating Current Development in America by William Stanley

William Stanley Lighted a Town and Powered an Industry by Bernard A. Drew and Gerard Chapman

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20030807192316/http://home.frognet.net/~ejcov/ ejcovbr>William Stanley Jr.

Early History of the A-C System in America

IEEE Legacies William Stanley Jr.
* , 1908. P. 348

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, William Jr. 1858 births 1916 deaths Scientists from Brooklyn Williston Northampton School alumni Yale University alumni American electrical engineers American physicists IEEE Edison Medal recipients Engineers from New York City Scientists from New York (state)