Difference between revisions of "St. George Lane Fox Pitt"
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Pioneer of electric lighting, otherwise known as George Lane-Fox | Pioneer of electric lighting, otherwise known as George Lane-Fox | ||
1856 Born in Malta; second son of | 1856 Born in Malta; second son of [[A. Pitt-Rivers|Augustus Henry Lane Fox]] and his wife Alice | ||
1877 Invented an electrical device for lighting public gas lamps<ref>The Times Dec 04, 1877</ref>. | 1877 Invented an electrical device for lighting public gas lamps<ref>The Times Dec 04, 1877</ref>. | ||
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1878 Wrote a detailed letter to ''The Times'' making a case for public electricity supply by comparison with the well-known gas supply<ref>The Times, Dec 26, 1878</ref> | 1878 Wrote a detailed letter to ''The Times'' making a case for public electricity supply by comparison with the well-known gas supply<ref>The Times, Dec 26, 1878</ref> | ||
1880 His father inherited the Rivers estate and adopted the name '''Pitt Rivers''' | |||
1881 Demonstration of electric lighting using incandescent lamps which were "almost identical" to those [[Thomas Edison|Mr Edison]], [[Joseph Swan|Mr Swan]] and [[Hiram Stevens Maxim|Mr Maxim]] but the system of distribution was different and patented. The demonstration was staged by [[British Electric Light Co]] in Palace chambers, Westminster. Mr Lane Fox also demonstrated that electricity could be used to boil water<ref>The Times, Feb 17, 1881</ref> Read a paper at the [[Society of Telegraph Engineers]] about the use of electricity for lighting and heating for domestic purposes<ref>The Times, Apr 16, 1881</ref>. | 1881 Demonstration of electric lighting using incandescent lamps which were "almost identical" to those [[Thomas Edison|Mr Edison]], [[Joseph Swan|Mr Swan]] and [[Hiram Stevens Maxim|Mr Maxim]] but the system of distribution was different and patented. The demonstration was staged by [[British Electric Light Co]] in Palace chambers, Westminster. Mr Lane Fox also demonstrated that electricity could be used to boil water<ref>The Times, Feb 17, 1881</ref> Read a paper at the [[Society of Telegraph Engineers]] about the use of electricity for lighting and heating for domestic purposes<ref>The Times, Apr 16, 1881</ref>. | ||
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1882 [[Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corporation]] placed its Lane-Fox Incandescent Lamp Department, Portpool Lane, in the charge of Mr [[St. George Lane Fox Pitt|St George Lane-Fox]]<ref>The Morning Post, November 28, 1882</ref>. | 1882 [[Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corporation]] placed its Lane-Fox Incandescent Lamp Department, Portpool Lane, in the charge of Mr [[St. George Lane Fox Pitt|St George Lane-Fox]]<ref>The Morning Post, November 28, 1882</ref>. | ||
1884 Was briefly a director of the | 1882-1884: Lane Fox and the Vienna-based [[Anglo Austrian Brush Electrical Company Limited]] introduce electric street lighting to the whole town of Temesvar (modern-day Timișoara) in Hungary (now Romania).<ref name=Crompton_Reminiscences>[[Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton|Crompton, Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton]] ''Reminiscences.'' (1928) London: Constable & Co. Ltd. p.131</ref> Completed in 1884, this was one of the earliest and most extensive uses of electric street lighting in Europe at the time<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201112023756/http://business-review.eu/featured/first-electric-illuminated-city-in-europe-celebrates-130-years-73251 ''First electric illuminated city in Europe celebrates 130 years''] Business Review (November 2014).</ref> | ||
1884 Was briefly a director of the [[General Electric Co|International Electric Company]]<ref>The Times, Jan 02, 1884</ref> | |||
1892 Brought an action for infringement of his patent against [[ | 1892 Brought an action for infringement of his patent against [[Rookes_Evelyn_Bell_Crompton|R.E.B. Crompton's]] company, the [[Kensington_and_Knightsbridge_Electric_Lighting_Co |Kensington and Knightsbridge Electric Lighting Co. Ltd.]]<ref>The Times, Mar 19, 1892</ref> in the High Court, but lost owing to "insufficiency" of the patent<ref>[https://doi.org/10.1093/rpc/9.23.221 Reports of Patent, Design and Trade Mark Cases, Vol 9, Issue 23, 22 June 1892] (Page 221, lines 28-31)</ref>. Later the same year, the Court of Appeal also ruled against Lane Fox, holding that his patent "was invalid on the grounds of variance, want of utility, and insufficiency of the Specification"<ref>[https://doi.org/10.1093/rpc/9.37.413 Reports of Patent, Design and Trade Mark Cases, Vol 9, Issue 37, 5 October 1892] (page 414 at lines 14-15)</ref>. A further appeal was then reported as being made to the Supreme Court, presenting his case himself (presumably lost there too)<ref>The Times Jul 05, 1892</ref>. | ||
1912 Mr Campbell-Swinton remarked at the Royal Institution that Fox Pitt was "the first to imagine, or at least patent, a public electricity supply to all and sundry." | 1912 Mr Campbell-Swinton remarked at the Royal Institution that Fox Pitt was "the first to imagine, or at least patent, a public electricity supply to all and sundry." | ||
Latest revision as of 08:21, 25 June 2023
St. George Lane Fox Pitt (1856-1932)
Pioneer of electric lighting, otherwise known as George Lane-Fox
1856 Born in Malta; second son of Augustus Henry Lane Fox and his wife Alice
1877 Invented an electrical device for lighting public gas lamps[1].
1878 Invented the Lane-Fox system of electric lighting (using small incandescent lamps in parallel) and took out a patent on it which was one of the first in that field.
1878 Wrote a detailed letter to The Times making a case for public electricity supply by comparison with the well-known gas supply[2]
1880 His father inherited the Rivers estate and adopted the name Pitt Rivers
1881 Demonstration of electric lighting using incandescent lamps which were "almost identical" to those Mr Edison, Mr Swan and Mr Maxim but the system of distribution was different and patented. The demonstration was staged by British Electric Light Co in Palace chambers, Westminster. Mr Lane Fox also demonstrated that electricity could be used to boil water[3] Read a paper at the Society of Telegraph Engineers about the use of electricity for lighting and heating for domestic purposes[4].
1882 Describing himself as consulting electrical engineer of Threadneedle St, he advertised to warn others that an electrical distribution system using accumulators, dynamos and incandescent lamps was covered by his patent on 1878[5].
1882 Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corporation placed its Lane-Fox Incandescent Lamp Department, Portpool Lane, in the charge of Mr St George Lane-Fox[6].
1882-1884: Lane Fox and the Vienna-based Anglo Austrian Brush Electrical Company Limited introduce electric street lighting to the whole town of Temesvar (modern-day Timișoara) in Hungary (now Romania).[7] Completed in 1884, this was one of the earliest and most extensive uses of electric street lighting in Europe at the time[8]
1884 Was briefly a director of the International Electric Company[9]
1892 Brought an action for infringement of his patent against R.E.B. Crompton's company, the Kensington and Knightsbridge Electric Lighting Co. Ltd.[10] in the High Court, but lost owing to "insufficiency" of the patent[11]. Later the same year, the Court of Appeal also ruled against Lane Fox, holding that his patent "was invalid on the grounds of variance, want of utility, and insufficiency of the Specification"[12]. A further appeal was then reported as being made to the Supreme Court, presenting his case himself (presumably lost there too)[13].
1912 Mr Campbell-Swinton remarked at the Royal Institution that Fox Pitt was "the first to imagine, or at least patent, a public electricity supply to all and sundry."
1932 Died at home in London
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Times Dec 04, 1877
- ↑ The Times, Dec 26, 1878
- ↑ The Times, Feb 17, 1881
- ↑ The Times, Apr 16, 1881
- ↑ The Times, Oct 27, 1882
- ↑ The Morning Post, November 28, 1882
- ↑ Crompton, Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton Reminiscences. (1928) London: Constable & Co. Ltd. p.131
- ↑ First electric illuminated city in Europe celebrates 130 years Business Review (November 2014).
- ↑ The Times, Jan 02, 1884
- ↑ The Times, Mar 19, 1892
- ↑ Reports of Patent, Design and Trade Mark Cases, Vol 9, Issue 23, 22 June 1892 (Page 221, lines 28-31)
- ↑ Reports of Patent, Design and Trade Mark Cases, Vol 9, Issue 37, 5 October 1892 (page 414 at lines 14-15)
- ↑ The Times Jul 05, 1892