Where was Francis Robbins Upton educated from 1868 to 1870?
Francis Robbins Upton Francis Robbins Upton ( 1852 in Peabody , Massachusetts – March 10 , 1921 in Orange , New Jersey ) was an American physicist and mathematician . Upton worked alongside Thomas Edison in the development of incandescent light bulbs , electric generators , and electric power distribution . He was the first president of the Edison Pioneers . Early life . Francis Upton was the son of Elijah Wood Upton and Lucy Elizabeth Winchester . Elijah was well educated and after , he did European travel . Later he was forced to take over his fathers glue business due to his fathers illness . Francis was 16 by this time and studying at Phillips Academy in Andover , after he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1875 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick , ME . There he met Elizabeth F . Perry , later to become his wife . Francis Upton also attended Berlin University and Princeton University . Francis was the first ever to officially receive his doctoral degree from Princeton University . Upton was then hired by Thomas Edison . One of Edisons biographers described the hired man thus : Upton married Elizabeth F . Perry in September , 1879 , in Brunswick , Maine . Their daughter Elizabeth Fenno Upton was born August 24 , 1880 . Uptons sister Sadie , a frequent visitor in Menlo Park , is described as a smart attractive lady with a distinguished swing . Work life . Upton was hired by Edison in 1878 on the recommendation of Grosvenor Lowrey . Edison was largely self-educated . He was brimming over with ideas but needed someone with advanced mathematical skills who could do calculations and research the scientific literature to help solve intractable problems . As Francis Jehl was also working with Edison , he needed another handle besides Francis for Upton : The challenge of electric illumination was addressed : Initially experiments ran currents through metals . Upton attended the 28th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and spoke On the phenomena of heating metals in vacuo by means of electric current . Upton and Edison worked together on the incandescent lamp and in 1880 Upton reported on the history of electric lighting and Edisons lamp . As evidence of the Uptons use of algebra , his approach to finding the appropriate cross-section S for a wire of length L carrying W amperes at V volts , was to take resistance R = L / S . Upton applied Ohms law to obtain S = ( W L ) / V . Upton has been credited with helping Edison govern his Menlo Park laboratory : When Edisons generator was evaluated , Upton published the report . Upton contributed to other key inventions such as the watt-hour meter , the parallel circuit distribution grid and the new constant voltage dynamo . Upton was of crucial importance to Edison in the design of Edisons power plant and distribution system put into service at the Pearl Street Station in Lower Manhattan on September 4 , 1882 . In 1890 , Upton patented the first electric fire alarm and detector along with a Mr . Fernando J . Dibble , an accomplishment of his which is often overlooked , stemming most probably from a typographical error that labels the device a Portable Electric Tire-Alarm . Since 1958 , the Princeton University has had Francis Upton Graduate Fellowships . Later life . In 1894 Francis Robbins Upton left Edisons electrical business which he had managed up to his departure . Upton returned after four years . He assisted in the Edison Ore-Milling Company , extracting iron from sand , and the remaining sand Upton sold to concrete manufactures . Upton eventually left the business in 1911 but still continued to sell bricks and concrete . On February 3 , 1918 , the Edison Pioneers elected Upton as their first President . Francis Robbins Upton died in Orange , New Jersey , on March 10 , 1921 . External links . - Francis Robbins Upton from Encyclopedia Britannica - Libserve