The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-12-04

The firm strong hand of Thomas Hood Macdonald, a hand used to grasping in it's grip of rugged deter imitation projects of vast scope. re- faxed it's hold upon all things mortal at II o'clock yesterday morning when the noted inventor of talking machine devices succumbed to an incurable ail- ment at his home, 1890 Fairfield ave nue.
 The brain that had given birth to ! many of the most noted achievements | in the realm of photography was still ed by the touch of death. a hand that came not unexpectedly to terminate a picturesque and notable career. Thomas H. Macdonald, inventor and manufacturer, teacher and student. soldier and sailor, succumbed to pro tracted attack of stomach trouble. His death was hourly expected for several days. His end was peaceful Sur rounded by members of his family, un- conscious for several hours before the end came, he passed ou: so quietly that the moment of his death was barely perceDtible.
 MT. Macdonald was native Of Marysvflle. Cal, where he was born July 25, 18;9 He was not content with the environments of his birth place, and at an carry age embarked for sea. He spent year during which he circled the globe, gathering a vast store of information that prov ed of great value to him later in life. Returning home he completed his edu- cation, was graduated from the Napa County Normal school and began life as a teacher.
 The restlessneSs that characterized him during life, when he fe-t that he was not accomplishing big things. led him to abandon the prosaic life of the pedagogue to enter the army service. He was transferred shortly after his enlistment, to Washington, D. C., where he was assigned to duty under the surgeon general. At this time he devoted much attention to the study of medicine. While he never became a practicing physician, he was well yersed in the theory of medicine
 In 1888 he entered the employ of the North American Monograph Company. Naturally a student, he turned all the energies of his active brain to the talk ing machine. After a short term with the Washington enterprise he came to Bridgeport, and became so valuable in the early history of the American Graphophone Co.,, that in 1891 he was made factory manager.
 Twenty years ago the American CfdpHOpHOue SO. pi1hl III Clly was insignificant in comparison to it's present proportions. It was due prin- cially to the strong. clear Judgment of MT. Macdonald that the infant enter prise thrived and grew to it's present robust stature. He remained factory manager until two years ago, when he was relieved of the burdensome re- responsibilities of this post, and given his entire time to work out inventions and improvements for talking ma chimes.
 The product of MT. Macdonald's gen. jus nurtured the company from it's earliest days and laid the foundation for it's present standing in the manu- featuring world. Among his achieve ments were the gold molded record process, by which countless records may be made from the master record, for which he received the signal dis tinction of a certificate of merit from the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia; the introduction of the spring as the motive power of talking machines sup planting the use of electricity; the per lection of the disc record: and scores of other inventions that step by step lent to the similitude of the reproduc- tion of the human voice, of music and of other sound through mechanical agency.
 MT. Macdonald was an indefa tigable worker. Though for the last two years he was not bound down by the re- sponsibiJities that had before then chained him to tn eplant of the con = pany, he served as a director. as chief of the experimentation department, and consulting engineer. In these va rious ways he continued to lend his energies to the upbuilding of the com pany.
 Mir Macdonald was married in Washington in 1891. to Miss Sophie Bild of that city. His widow and two children, Russell G. and Margaret, survive him.
 While MT. Macdonald devoted tire