in devices. This proved his undoing, for as a result gymnasium his father willingly sent him to the University of Breslau His parents were graduate students paid by GE to live with and take care of the man Ball called "Uncle Steinie". people from work. They did, and the generator performed to perfection. It would make their long working hours more convenient, and the house offered space he and Corrine could never afford on their own. "The Man Who Tamed Lightning" by Floyd Miller (out to alternating magnetism (hysteresis). Smithsonian Institution. Charles Proteus Steinmetz was born April 9, 1865, the day Lee sent a message to Grant announcing his willingness to surrender, thus ending the American Civil War. weeks found employment as a draftsman for Rudolph Eickemeyer at Yonkers, He had a green house where he kept "ugly" 2. Learn more about the Metal Halide Lamp Eickemeyer’s firm developed transformers for use in the transmission of electrical power among many other mechanical and electrical devices. Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant. grandmother, who mothered the family after the death of Charles' mother he was not an employee. A highly-publicized 1922 visit from Thomas Edison to GE’s research laboratory helped cement Steinmetz’s “Wizard of Schenectady” image. Eickemeyer in Yonkers. There were thunderous crashes at odd hours of the night. No one before really understood the physics of what they were experimenting with. Over a period of 20 years he authored volumes on the theory of alternating current and created an impressive body of work on the subject, which has been used to teach engineering students ever since. hysteresis loss, derived the law of hysteresis mathematically from At the time of his death, Steinmetz held over 200 patents: FAMpeople is your site which contains biographies of famous people of the past and present. and teaching. As Steinmetz helped define the role of “scientist-engineer” in the American electrical industry, he developed his own American identity. He would spend a lot of time in his wood cabin Steinmetz lectured often and authored a number of influential scientific articles, theories, and textbooks. professor of electrophysics, 1913 to 1923 at Union University, Schenectady, Proteus was a wise hunchbacked character from the Odyssey who knew many secrets and he felt it suited him. Steinmetz's fame in his day was due to the General Electric marketing machine Steinmetz and Edison did not regularly work together. It takes a special type of mind with the right educational foundation to understand. In addition to his consulting work and his The Wizard of Schenectady was gone. He never received his degree. "Men and Volts the Story of General Electric" by His electrochemical and high-voltage research attracted attention. Loki: The Life of Charles Proteus Steimetz. Further Reading on Charles Proteus Steinmetz. My Notes-I read about Steinmetz long ago in a Reader Digest that belonged to my grandfather. He also read widely in economics and politics, and in 1884 he associated himself with the Socialist party in Breslau. In the 1940s almost all His seminal books and many American Institute of Electrical Engineers papers "taught a whole generation of engineers how to deal with AC phenomena. students broadcast a concert by "Radio Telephone". California Do Not Sell My Info transformer patents. Electric Company in 1892 he joined the staff of the Calculating Department Steinmetz's It was evident early in his school career That public attention for Edison and Tesla have continued to this day. His theories on alternating currents (AC), experiments on power loss, and useful publications placed him at the front of the field. The design of the Detroit Electric car allowed him to drive from the back seat. He believed electrical engineering could bring about social change and predicted that universal electrification would improve standards of living. Steinmetz lived in the U.S. until the Jazz Age was in full swing. When a Socialist mayor took office, Steinmetz served as president of the Schenectady Board of Education and was instrumental in implementing longer school hours, school meals, school nurses, special classes for children of immigrants and the distribution of free textbooks. Ford acknowledged Steinmetz’s success but balked at the figure. as now a result of appliances doing the work, however in some ways he was not right. video requires a professional. and Thomson developed the first commercial 3 phase AC power This paper gained the attention produced many other types of inventions including W. During his six years at the university he never missed In 1894 he arrived in Schenectady, the place he would call home for the next thirty years, and his impact at General Electric was immediate. In the course of this work he tackled the problem of hysteresis, or the loss of efficiency in electric motors due to alternating magnetism. Charles Proteus Steinmetz (April 9, 1865 – October 26, 1923) He made ground-breaking discoveries in the understanding of hysteresis that enabled engineers to better design electric motors for use in industry. Steinmetz applied for citizenship in 1891, changed his name to Charles Proteus Steinmetz, and nurtured a healthy social life. Click the Extended Biography, Charles Americans had begun to distrust powerful corporations, and this odd yet brilliant man whose physical appearance seemed to belie his intellect helped humanize GE. Charles Steinmetz lived on Wendell Rd. Give a Gift. Legend has it that management of GE then bought Eickemeyer's company Betty M. Adelson. With a showman’s flourish, he flipped a switch and produced lighting bolts that splintered large blocks of wood, decimated the steeple on a white chapel and split a miniature tree. When he returned to Socialist politics in the 1910s, Steinmetz published his theory of corporate socialism, "America and the New Epoch." energy is required to magnetize the material. who was then engaged in research and in the development of electrical Coolidge's x-ray and Albert Mathematician, engineer and inventor Charles Proteus Steinmetz was responsible during the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th century for solving a number of problems related to the generation and transmission of electricity, at a critical time in history rife with developments that formed the technological characteristics of the modern, "wired" world. Poland) where Steinmetz was born and raised. Charles Proteus Steinmetz (April 9, – October 26, ) was a German- American mathematician and electrical engineer. Cornell University Professor Ronald R. Kline, the author of Steinmetz: Engineer and Socialist, contends that other factors were more directly involved in Steinmetz’s decision to leave his homeland, such as the fact that he was in arrears with his tuition at the University of Breslau and that life at home with his father, stepmother, and their daughters was full of tension. Steinmetz, While in college, he joined the Socialist Club and began editing the "People's Voice" Socialist newspaper. Before long, the greatest scientific minds of the time were traveling to Schenectady to meet with the prolific “little giant”; anecdotal tales of these meetings are still told in engineering classes today. life. Following the Gymnasium Steinmetz went on to the University of Breslau to begin work on his undergraduate degree in 1883. 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn, MI 48124‑5029, Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation Overview, Teacher's Choice @ Giant Screen Experience, Teacher's Choice @ Giant Screen Experience, Educator Professional Development Overview, Charles Steinmetz at 14 Months, with His Father, Karl Steinmetz, June 1866, Postcard Sent by Charles Steinmetz to Clara Steinmetz, February 28, 1897, "Gruss aus Breslau", Charles Steinmetz at Age 22, June 1, 1887, United States Patent No. Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, Statue of St. George Undergoes ‘Unrestoration’ to Salvage Botched Paint Job, The True History of Netflix's 'The Liberator', Nude Statue Honoring 'Mother of Feminism' Mary Wollstonecraft Sparks Controversy, New Research Suggests Alexander Hamilton Was a Slave Owner, Only One Factory in North America Still Makes Washboards, and They Are Flying Off of Shelves, When Catherine of Aragon Led England's Armies to Victory Over Scotland, The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season Officially Has the Most Named Storms on Record, Why This New Technology Inspired by Camel Fur Is Super Cool, Pottery Fragments May Hold Clues to Roanoke Colonists' Fate, Why Maine and Nebraska Split Their Electoral Votes, Researchers Excavating Norwegian Viking Ship Burial Find Remnants of Elite Society, Behind the Scenes With the White House Residence's Long-Serving Staff, The Lab Saving the World From Snake Bites, How Hedges Became the Unofficial Emblem of Great Britain. An American engineer and friend, Rudolph Eickenmeyer, offered Steinmetz a job at his company, Osterheld and Eickenmeyer, in Yonkers, New York, where Steinmetz quickly gained a reputation as a wunderkind of sorts. He was a consummate mathematician and electrical engineer. electrical engineer was born in Breslau, Germany, where his father Below: our video with historian George Wise on Steinmetz's life with Eickemeyer, After joining General Electric (one of the two best places to work in the field first 3 phase AC generator, but it was Steinmetz who understood CHARLES PROTEUS STEINMETZ Steinmetz also researched AC transient theory, carrying out a systematic study of lightning phenomena from about 1907 until 1921, resulting in experiments in “man-made lightning” in his laboratory. of a most daring editorial published in 1888, he had to flee from The 3 phase system won out in the end over Westinghouse's And yes, we read that Charles was investigated by the FBI ... Charles Proteus Steinmetz: A Biography, John Hammond, The Century Co., 1924. >, 1904 - Steinmetz with Corinne Hayden and Steinmetz’s Mohawk River cabin, moved by Henry Ford to Greenfield Village, serves as a reminder of his lasting contributions to today’s electrical system and the electrical engineering profession.