Peter Cooper Hewitt (May 5, 1861 – August 25, 1921) was an American electrical engineer and inventor, who invented the first

mercury-vapor lamp A mercury-vapor lamp is a gas-discharge lamp that uses an electric arc through vaporized mercury to produce light. The arc discharge is generally confined to a small fused quartz arc tube mounted within a larger soda lime or borosilicate gla ...

in 1901. Hewitt was issued on September 17, 1901. In 1903, Hewitt created an improved version that possessed higher color qualities which eventually found widespread industrial use.

Early life

Hewitt was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the son of New York City Mayor Abram Hewitt and the grandson of

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

Peter Cooper Peter Cooper (February 12, 1791April 4, 1883) was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and politician. He designed and built the first American steam locomotive, the ''Tom Thumb (locomotive), Tom Thumb'', founded the Cooper Union ...

. He was educated at the

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a Private university, private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely de ...

and the Columbia University School of Mines.

Career

In 1901, Hewitt invented and patented a

that was the forerunner of the

fluorescent lamp A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, to produce ultraviolet and make a phosphor ...

. A

gas-discharge lamp Gas-discharge lamps are a family of artificial light sources that generate light by sending an electric discharge through an ionization, ionized gas, a plasma (physics), plasma. Typically, such lamps use a noble gas (argon, neon, krypton, and x ...

, Hewitt's invention used mercury vapor produced by passing current through liquid mercury. His first lamps had to be started by tilting the tube to make contact between the two

electrode An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or a gas). In electrochemical cells, electrodes are essential parts that can consist of a varie ...

s and the liquid mercury; later he developed the inductive

electrical ballast An electrical ballast is a device placed in series with a load to limit the amount of electric current, current in an electrical network, electrical circuit. A familiar and widely used example is the inductive ballast used in fluorescent lamp ...

to start the tube. The efficiency was much higher than that of

incandescent lamps An incandescent light bulb, also known as an incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe, is an electric light that produces illumination by Joule heating a filament until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb that is either ...

, but the emitted light was of a bluish-green unpleasant color, which limited its practical use to specific professional areas, like photography, where the color was not an issue at a time where films were black and white. For space lighting use, the lamp was frequently augmented by a standard incandescent lamp. The two together provided a more acceptable color while retaining some efficiency advantages. In 1902, Hewitt developed the mercury arc rectifier, the first

rectifier A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The process is known as ''rectification'', since it "straightens" t ...

that could convert

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current that periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time, in contrast to direct current (DC), which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in w ...

power to

direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional electric current, flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor (material), conductor such as a wire, but can also flow throug ...

without mechanical means. It was widely used in electric

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...

, industry, electroplating, and

high-voltage direct current A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating current (AC) transmission systems. Most HVDC links use voltages betwe ...

(HVDC) power transmission. Although it was largely replaced by

power semiconductor device A power semiconductor device is a semiconductor device used as a switch or rectifier in power electronics (for example in a switch-mode power supply). Such a device is also called a power device or, when used in an integrated circuit, a power IC ...

s in the 1970s and 1980s, it is still used in some high power applications. In 1903, Columbia University awarded Hewitt the degree of Honorary Doctorate of Science in recognition of his work. In 1907, he developed and tested an early

hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...

. In

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...

, Hewitt joined Elmer Sperry to develop the Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane, one of the first successful precursors of the

cruise missile A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...

Personal life

Hewitt's first wife was Lucy Bond Work. Work was the daughter of Franklin H. Work (1819–1911), a well-known

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

and protégé of

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

, and his wife, Ellen Wood (1831–1877),Williamson, D. (1981) ''The Ancestry of Lady Diana Spencer'' In: ''Genealogist’s Magazine'' vol. 20 (no. 6) p. 192-199 and vol. 20 (no. 8) pp. 281–282. who was the sister of

Frances Ellen Work Frances Ellen Work (October 27 or 28, 1857 – January 26, 1947) was an American heiress and socialite. Early life Frances was born in New York City on October 27 or 28, 1857. She was a daughter of Franklin H. Work, a well-known stockbroker an ...

. Thus he was an uncle of Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy, the maternal grandfather of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

. Cooper Hewitt and his first wife had no children and divorced in December 1918. While married to Work, Hewitt had an extramarital relationship with Marion (aka Maryon) Jeanne Andrews that resulted in the birth of Ann Cooper Hewitt (July 28, 1914-1956). Hewitt later married Andrews in 1918, right after his divorce to Work, and formally adopted Ann. Prior to Hewitt, Andrews was married in 1902 to Dr. Peder Sather Bruguiere (brother of American photographer Francis Bruguière, brother-in-law of heiress Margaret Post Van Alen and grandson of banker Peder Sather) and in 1907 to wealthy New York broker Alexander Turner ''Stewart'' Denning. After Hewitt, Andrews married in 1922 to Baron Robert Frederic Emile Regis D'Erlanger and in 1926 to George William Childs McCarter (grandson of American author

Hannah Mary Bouvier Peterson Hannah Mary Bouvier Peterson (1811 – September 4, 1870) was an American writer of books on science, astronomy and cookery. Most of her works were published anonymously or under her maiden name. ''Bouvier's Familiar Astronomy'' "for the use ...

, great-grandson of Judge John Bouvier and nephew-in-law of American publisher George William Childs).

Ann Cooper Hewitt

Peter Cooper Hewitt died in 1921. His will left two-thirds of his estate to Ann and one-third to her mother Marion; but Ann's portion would revert to her mother if Ann (Gay Bradstreet) died childless. In 1935, just before Ann's 21st birthday when she would have attained legal majority, she was hospitalized for appendicitis. Ann's mother told the surgeons that Ann was "feebleminded" and paid them to sterilize her while performing her appendectomy. Ann retaliated by suing her mother in San Francisco court and telling the press about Maryon's gambling and alcohol addictions. The mother-daughter dispute riveted the public; and the unconventional use of sterilization (it occurred in private practice, not a public asylum) forced a public debate of eugenics.Farley, Audrey Clare (April 2021). The Unfit Heiress: The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt. Grand Central. https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/audrey-clare-farley/the-unfit-heiress/9781538753347/

References

External links