Francis Blake (inventor)
Francis Blake | |
|---|---|
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| Born | December 25, 1850 Needham,Massachusetts |
| Died | January 20, 1913(aged 62) Weston,Massachusetts |
| Occupation | Inventor |
| Spouse |
Elizabeth Livermore Hubbard
(m.1874) |
| Signature | |
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Francis Blake Jr.(December 25, 1850 – January 20, 1913) was an American inventor.
Biography
[edit]Francis Blake was born inNeedham, Massachusettson December 25, 1850, the son of Caroline Burling (Trumbull) and Francis Blake, Sr.[1]
In 1879, he invented acarbon microphonefor use in the telephone, and patented[2][3][4]it shortly afterThomas Edisoninvented a similar microphone that also used carbon contacts. Blake used a carbon button design that initially would not stay in adjustment, but with later improvements proved to be workable.Alexander Graham Bellhired Blake and put him to work withEmile Berlinerwho also invented a carbon microphone. The improved Berliner-Blake microphone was standard with the Bell company for many years.[5]Blake also improved the construction of themicrotome,[6][7]andphotographic shutter.[8]
Blake worked on theUnited States Coast Surveyfrom his teenage years through early adulthood (1866-1878). He was a physicist and an amateur photographer.
In 1874, Blake married Elizabeth Livermore Hubbard (1849-1941) whose father provided land in Weston, on which Blake designed and built an elaborate house where he conducted his electrical experiments. They had two children: Agnes (Blake) Fitzgerald (b. 1876) and Benjamin Sewall Blake (b. 1877).
Blake was elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Societyin 1900.[9]
He died at his home in Boston on January 20, 1913.[10]
Patents
[edit]- Canadian patent 10021 for telephone transmitter, granted May 28, 1879, voided March 3, 1887 because of failure to manufacture telephone parts in Canada.
- US patent granted in 1881
References
[edit]- ^Bacon, Edwin M.,ed. (1896).Men of Progress: One Thousand Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Leaders in Business and Professional Life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.Boston:The New England Magazine.pp. 948–950.RetrievedFebruary 14,2022– via Internet Archive.
- ^"US Patent № 250,126. Speaking telephone. Patented Nov. 29, 1881"(PDF).
- ^"US Patent № 250,127. Speaking telephone. Patented Nov. 29, 1881"(PDF).
- ^"US Patent № 250,128. Speaking telephone. Patented Nov. 29, 1881"(PDF).
- ^Coe, pages 22, 33, 76
- ^Hall, Elton Wayland (2003).Francis Blake: An inventor's life: 1850-1913.Massachusetts Historical Society. p. 170.ISBN0-934909-84-9.
- ^Иванов Александр."Фрэнсис Блэйк Младший".telhistory.ru.Музей истории телефона.
- ^Hall, Elton Wayland (2003).Francis Blake: An inventor's life: 1850-1913.Massachusetts Historical Society. p. 156.ISBN0-934909-84-9.
- ^American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
- ^"Francis Blake is Dead".The Marshfield News.Boston. January 30, 1913. p. 2.RetrievedApril 8,2020– via Newspapers.
- Lewis Coe,The Telephone and its Several Inventors,McFarland Publishers, 1995.
- Elton W. Hall,Francis Blake: An Inventor's Life,Massachusetts Historical Society, 2004
External links
[edit]- Blake Transmitters
- Telephone Museum newsletterThe Pole Line,May 2004 issueArchivedMay 30, 2009, at theWayback Machine
- Blake website
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