George May Phelps (March 19, 1820 – May 18, 1888) was a 19th-century American inventor of automated telegraphy equipment. He is credited with synthesizing the designs of several existing printers into his line of devices which became the dominant apparatus for automated reception and transmission of telegraph messages.

Biography

George May Phelps was born in Watervliet, New York in 1820. As a youth, he went to work for his uncle Jonas H. Phelps, who made

mathematical instrument A mathematical instrument is a tool or device used in the study or practice of mathematics. In geometry, construction of various proofs was done using only a compass and straightedge; arguments in these proofs relied only on idealized properties ...

s in Troy, New York. During the 1850s, the Morse system of telegraphy was in competition with the Bain chemical system and the House printing system. Phelps' first business endeavor appears to be as Phelps and Dickerman in Troy, New York, building the House printing telegraph instruments. By this time his machinist skills had expanded into areas involving work in light machinery, paper sorting machines, and safe locks. Some of his earliest patents were designs on

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Printing telegraph

In 1855, David E. Hughes, a music professor, designed a new printing telegraph system. The Hughes system was purchased by the newly formed

American Telegraph Company American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, a Western Union competitor, and given to Phelps for refinement. Phelps made two important changes to the printer. He invented a device to re-synchronize both the transmitting and receiving printer after the completion of each character. He also combined both drive mechanisms together to increase the number of characters reaching the

platen A platen (or platten) is a flat platform with a variety of roles in printing or manufacturing. It can be a flat metal (or earlier, wooden) plate pressed against a medium (such as paper) to cause an impression in letterpress printing. Platen m ...

in the shortest possible time. These improvements made the Hughes printer design viable for commercial use.

Further career

In 1856, the recently organized American Telegraph Company purchased the Phelps and Dickerman shops and made Phelps plant superintendent of its most significant manufacturing operation. Western Union purchased American Telegraph Company following the

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in 1866 and positioned Phelps as superintendent of the mechanical department, first in Troy, later in Williamsburg and finally in New York City. Phelps continued to work on printing telegraph systems for many years with full support from Western Union management, who sought any competitive advantage. He also developed stock quotation printers, or ' tickers'. In the mid-1870s, Western Union's president

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Orton assigned Phelps to experiment with the harmonic telegraph in hopes of extended it to a working telephone. He tried to improve the construction of telephones. In August 1886 he helped Mr. Franklin Leonard Pope to conduct "The Electrician", and "Electrical Engineer". He acquired an interest in that journal. George Phelps was a charter member of the

American Institute of Electrical Engineers The American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was a United States-based organization of electrical engineers that existed from 1884 through 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) to form the Institu ...

, and was elected one of its managers on May 19th, 1885. At first, he served on the council, and he became a treasurer on May 17th, 1887.

References

External links

George Phelps
at Telegraph-History

at The Telegraph Office
George Phelps
in ''Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography'' 1820 births 1888 deaths 19th-century American inventors American engineers {{US-inventor-stub