George Singer
| George Singer | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1786 |
| Died |
28 June 1817 Pulmonary tuberculosis |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields | Electrics |
| Known for | Publications and lectures |
George John Singer (1786–1817) was an English early pioneer of electrical research, noted for his publications and for lectures delivered privately and at the Russell Institution.
Biography
George John Singer was son of Thomas Singer, and younger brother of Samuel Weller Singer. In early life he was engaged in his mother's business of artificial-flower making. Every spare moment, however, he devoted to scientific study, more particularly to the investigation of electricity and electromagnetism, then little known. He made almost the whole of his apparatus himself, and introduced several improvements, inventing, among other things, the gold-leaf electrometer. He built, almost unassisted, a large room at the back of his mother's house in Prince's Street, Cavendish Square, where he gave courses of lectures on electricity and kindred subjects. Among his audience were Michael Faraday and Sir Francis Ronalds.[1] Singer was a friend of and worked with Andrew Crosse, another early electrical pioneer.[2]
He published Elements of Electricity and Electro-chemistry, London, 1814, a work of considerable contemporary importance, which was translated into French (Paris, 1817), into Italian (Milan, 1819), and into German (Breslau, 1819). He also contributed several papers to the Philosophical Magazine from 1813 to 1815, of which a list is given in Ronalds's Catalogue of Books on Electricity, Magnetism, &c.[1]
He died, unmarried, of pulmonary tuberculosis, induced by overwork, on 28 June 1817, at his mother's house.
He lived in the Old House now known as Coundon Court Academy.
References
- 1 2 Carlyle, E. I.. (1897). "Singer, George John (1786–1817), electrician". Dictionary of National Biography Vol. LII. Smith, Elder & Co. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
- ↑ James, Frank A. J. L. "Singer, George John (1786–1817), electrical researcher". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Singer, George John". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
External links
- Elements of Electricity and Electro-chemistry by George Singer, 1814, from the Internet Archive
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