William Edward Ayrton,
FRS (14 September 18478 November 1908) was an English
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
and
electrical engineer.
Life
Early life and education
Ayrton was born in London, the son of Edward Nugent Ayrton, a barrister, and educated at
University College School and
University College
In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...
, London. He later studied under
Lord Kelvin at
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
.
India (1868–1872)
In 1868, Ayrton went to
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
in the service of the
Indian Government
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
Telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
department, where he invented a method of detecting faults in lines, which was of great benefit in the maintenance of the overland communications network.Returning to England, Ayrton married Matilda Chaplin.
Japan (1873–1879)
In 1873, Ayrton accepted an
invitation from the Japanese government as Chair of Natural Philosophy and Telegraphy at the new
Imperial College of Engineering, Tokyo. He advised the college's architect on the design of the laboratory and demonstration rooms, and is credited with introducing the electric
arc light to Japan in 1878.
Sierra Leone (1880)
Ayrton worked for several months in
Freetown, Sierra Leone before returning to London. He worked in an advisory role with respects to engineering in the colony.
London
On his return to London, Ayrton became professor of applied physics at the Finsbury College of the
City and Guilds of London Technical Institute, and, in 1884, he was chosen professor of electrical engineering, or of applied physics,
at the
Central Technical College,
South Kensington
South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
. He published, both alone and jointly with others, a large number of papers on physical, and in particular electrical, subjects, and his name was especially associated, together with that of Professor
John Perry, with the invention of a long series of electrical measuring instruments,
including the spiral-spring
ammeter, and the
wattmeter. They also worked on
railway electrification
A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply.
Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), ...
, produced a
dynamometer and the first electric
tricycle. Ayrton is also known for his work on the electric
searchlight
A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely luminosity, bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a part ...
.
Ayrton died in London in 1908 and is buried in
Brompton Cemetery.
Family
In 1872, Ayrton married his cousin,
Matilda Chaplin (1846–1883), one of the
Edinburgh Seven
The Edinburgh Seven were the first group of matriculated undergraduate female students at any British university. They began studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1869 and, although the Court of Session ruled that they should neve ...
, the first group of matriculated undergraduate female students at any British university who fought for open
medical education
Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, including the initial training to become a physician (i.e., medical school and internship) and additional training thereafter (e.g., residency, fellowship, ...
for women. The marriage took place while Ayrton was on home leave from India and Matilda was involved in the Edinburgh Seven campaign. Chaplin was awarded a posthumous honorary
MBChB by the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
in 2019.
Chaplin and Ayrton's daughter was the feminist and author
Edith Ayrton
Edith Ayrton Zangwill (1879 – 1945) was a British author and activist. She helped form the Jewish League for Woman Suffrage.
Early life
Ayrton was born in 1875 in Japan to the scientist William Edward Ayrton and the doctor Matilda Chaplin A ...
, wife of
Israel Zangwill
Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and be ...
and mother of
Oliver Zangwill.
Ayrton married his second wife,
Phoebe Sarah Marks, in 1885. She assisted him in his research and became known (as Hertha Ayrton) for her own scientific work on the electric arc and other subjects.
In 1899, Ayrton supported Hertha on her way to being elected the first woman member of the
Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Royal Society awarded her a
Hughes Medal
The Hughes Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "in recognition of an original discovery in the physical sciences, particularly electricity and magnetism or their applications". Named after David E. Hughes, the medal is awarded wit ...
in 1906. Their daughter
Barbara Ayrton-Gould
Barbara Bodichon Ayrton-Gould (née Ayrton; 3 April 1886 – 14 October 1950) was a British Labour politician and suffragist who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hendon North from 1945 to 1950.
Background and family life
Ayrton-Goul ...
became a
Labour MP; grandson
Michael Ayrton was an artist and sculptor.
Hertha and Willian Ayrton acted as guardians for artist and suffragette
Ernestine Mills
Ernestine Evans Mills (née Bell; 1871 – 6 February 1959) was an English metalworker and enameller who became known as an artist, writer and suffragette. She was the author of ''The Domestic Problem, Past, Present, and Future'' (1925). Three pi ...
after the death of Mills' mother Emily "Mynie" Ernest Bell in 1893. (Her father, writer
Thomas Evans Bell had died in 1887).
Honours and awards
He was elected president in 1892 of the
Institute of Electrical Engineers.
He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...
in 1881 and awarded their
Royal Medal in 1901.
See also
*
Henry Dyer
*
John Milne
John Milne (30 December 1850 – 31 July 1913) was a British geologist and mining engineer who worked on a horizontal seismograph.
Biography
Milne was born in Liverpool, England, the only child of John Milne of Milnrow, and at first raised i ...
*
Anglo-Japanese relations
*
Ayrton shunt
Notes
References
* Graham Gooday's entry in the New ''
Dictionary of National Biography'' published in September 2004.
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayrton, William Edward
1847 births
1908 deaths
Scientists from London
Alumni of University College London
English expatriates in Japan
English physicists
Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-period Japan
Foreign educators in Japan
Burials at Brompton Cemetery
English inventors
Fellows of the Royal Society
People educated at University College School
Royal Medal winners
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Presidents of the Physical Society
English electrical engineers
19th-century British physicists
20th-century British physicists
19th-century British engineers
20th-century British engineers
19th-century English scientists
20th-century English scientists
William