The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-05-12


of territory being known us LilSa l
gone through the educational training
Europe, and nearly eighteen years of
completed my preparatory in Gospich
school in Gratz, Austria. My first en-
ploylnent was in engineering; then
was connected with the hungarian
Government Telegraph company; after
ward engaged in telephone work.
After this was interested in the cleo
trio light industry, and finally in the
transmission of power.
I'm 1854 l came to this country, ray
principal object being TO develop GER
tain ideas of inventions which | had
vainly tried to develop in Europe. For
awhile worked with Edison. In the
beginning of 1856 company was
formed in my name. l developed for
this company certain inventions,
brought out system of lighting and
peculiar appliances belonging to that
system. In the following year another
company was formed = some time in
1SS6-thc object of which was to in
troduce u motor OF my invention. This
motor is based on what is now the
wcll-known discovery of the rotating
magnetic field as it is technically
called.
"My. father he continued, twas n
prominent clergyman attached to the
Greek Oriental church, an orator and
a writer of note. He was man highly
educated, who spoke fluently a great
many languages and also ranked high
as a mathematician. He was an ON
nivorolls reader and possessed large
library from which it was my privi-
lege to gather great deal of informa-
tion during the years of my life spent
at home. My uncle, his brother, was
another skilled mathematician and pro
fessor ola military academy in Austria.
He wrote number of standard works
on mathematics.
"My mother died about two years
ago. One of her brothers-the young
est-is one of the leading dignitaries
in the Greek Oriental church, having
the rank of cardinal. He is compara-
lively young man and n famous
orator.
THE section of country in which
was born was an exceedingly wild re-
gion-a mountainous and rocky region
with, however, many stretches of
beautiful scenery, but poor from the
agricultural point of view. In fact,
they had homely though somewhat
sacrilegious saying in our land, that
when God distributed the rocks over
the earth He carried them in sack,
and that when He was above our land
| the sack broke.
Il was interested in electricity al
most from the beginning of my educa-
tional career. / read all that could
find on the subject. All the phenomena
i witnessed in this line only excited
my interest. When was mere boy
began to experiment with batteries
and induction coils; also with FRACTIONAL
and static machines. When l attended
the polytechnic school ut Gratz began
to devote more and more of my time to
electrical studies, and after left the
school / may say that, practically, all
my time was taken up with the study
of electricity.
course of mathematics and physics with
the view of graduating as professor
,ofthose sciences. Itwas, think, in 1875
or 1870 that we experimental in the
polytechnic school with one of the first
practical dynamo machines which was
brought out by M. Gramme, French
man. 1T occurred to me that machine
might be constructed without the COM
plication of what is technically called
communal tor and brushes. A commuta-
| tor is used on electric current general
| 'ors and motors and on induction coils
nnd elsewhere for changing the direc-
tion of currents The brushes are
| pieces of copper or other material that
bear against the cylindrical surface of
| the commutntor.
Il remember that my professor at
| that time tried to demonstrate that
| such machine was out of the ques-
hon-in fact an impossibility. / must
confess to feeling that /, in common
with many better men, have had from
carly youth. AS a youth when was
told that certain thing was impos-
sible, it only served to arouse within
me a spirit of contradiction. In this
particular instance | began to think
about and 10 work on machine made
according to the idea that had occurred
to me. Day and night, year after year,
] worked incessartly.
after working several years | am
happy to say that was able to produce
n motor which is now gradually being
introduced in the United States 1t is
a machine of ideal simplicity, rcquir-
ing no attention whatever. 1t should
be remembered that in recent years
there has been wonderful advance
along almost all electrical lines. What
were at one time supposed TO be novel
or impossible schemes. of doubtful ac-