Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-02-04
PROF. ELISHA GRAY DEAD.
Famous Electrician and Inventor
Passes Away.

Famous Electrician and Inventor
Passes Away.
| Professor Elisha Gray, Phi. D., L. L..
| D.. a Chevalier in the Legion Of
Honor of France, and one Of this
country's most prominent electrical
| inventors, died suddenly a few days
ago at the residence of Mrs. Della B.
Kyle, So Otis street, Newtonville,
Mass, suburb of Boston. Heart dis
ease was the cause of death.
Professor Gray, whose home was in
Highland Park, had been living at 80
Huntington avenue, Boston, the last
two years, where he had given much
of his time to assisting Arthur j..
Mundy, a Boston man, in perfecting
the latter's invention Of a submarine
signaling device. The body will be
brought to Chicago for burial.
Besides his widow and son, David
E., Professor Gray leaves three other
children-Mrs. w. G. Stubs of Cleve-
land, O., Mrs. Charles S. Everitt of
Highland Park, and Edward E. Gray
of Hinsdale, I'll.
Elisha Gray was born in Barnes
vile, Belmont county, O., on Aug. 2,
/ 1888, and was of Quaker origin. In
his youth he manifested an unusual
/ interest in mechanics while working
as a carpenters apprentice. He en-
tered Oberlin College at the age of
/ 81, and devoted all of his sparetime
to the study of natural philosophy dur
| ing the five years he remained in the
| college.
Electricity attracted his attention
first when he was 80 years old, and
from that time he applied himself to
the scientific and practical develop
ment of the subject. His labors were
crowned with many successes. Among
the inventions for which he is given
the credit by scientists is the tele-
phone, although the pecuniary emoIu-
ments of the patent went to Professor
Bell. The litigation over the right
to the patent attracted wide atten-
i ton, and resulted in a triumph for
Professor Gray, it being shown that
he filed an application for patent on
Feb Ia, 1876, describing his inven-
ton as IAN art of transmitting vocal
sounds Geographically"
In 1867 Professor Gray perfected his
first invention, self-adjusting relay
Two years later he formed the firm of
Gray & Barton at Cleveland, dealing
in electrical supplies and manufactur.
ing electrical apparatus. He there
| ny cd ~
the telegraph repeater, the Geographic
switch, the annunciator system, and
several other devices. During the
years 1S73-1875 he turned his atten-
ton to developing the system OF
"electro-harmonic telegraphy' for the
transmission Of sounds over the tele-
graph wire. He succeeded in sending
over a wire 500 miles long nine diff
ferent messages at the same moment,
each having distinct note and each
capable Of being taken off at any mum
Der OF intermediate points by tuning
the receiver to the keynote on which
it was transmitted.
One of Professor Gray's recent in.
ventions was the telautograph. an IN
t~strument designed for reproducing
writing, pictures, drawings, or any
other product of the pen by transmits
sion over telegraph wire.
PROFESSOR Gray's latest and perhaps
his greatest invention from the stand
point Of practicability is the system
OF submarine wireless telephony, upon
which he was working to bring to per-
lection at the time of his death. This
system, the original idea of which was
furnished by Arthur j. Mundy. is de-
signed to prevent collisions at sea be-
| tween vessels, transmit warnings from
dangerous points on shore to vessels
IN their vicinity, insure safe entrance
to harbors, and supply a method of
telegraphy between warships which
will be of incalculable value in time
of battle.