Josiah Latimer Clark
Encyclopedia
Josiah Latimer Clark was an English
electrical engineer
, born in Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire
.
, and was younger brother to Edwin Clark (1814-1894), inventor of the Clark hydraulic lift graving dock. Latimer Clark studied chemistry at an early age. His first connection with technical work was in the chemical manufacturing industry in a large Dublin establishment. However in 1848 Clark began working in his elder brother's civil engineering practice and became assistant engineer at the Menai Strait
bridge. Two years later, when his brother was appointed engineer to the Electric Telegraph Company
, he again acted as his assistant, and subsequently succeeded him as chief engineer. In 1854 he took out a patent "for conveying letters or parcels between places by the pressure of air and vacuum," and later was concerned in the construction of the London Pneumatic Despatch Company
which built a tube between the general post office and Euston station
, London.
About the same period he was engaged in experimental researches on the propagation of the electric current in submarine cable
s, on which he published a pamphlet in 1855, and in 1859 he was a member of the committee which was appointed by the government to consider the numerous failures of submarine cable enterprises.
Latimer Clark paid much attention to the subject of electrical measurement, and besides designing various improvements in method and apparatus and inventing the Clark standard cell
, he took a leading part in the movement for the systematization of electrical standards, which was inaugurated by the paper which he and Sir CT Bright
read on the question before the British Association in 1861. With Bright also he devised improvements in the insulation of submarine cables. In the later part of his life he was a member of several firms engaged in laying submarine cables, in manufacturing electrical appliances, and in hydraulic engineering.
Clark married Margaret Helen Preece ( Sir William Preece's
sister) in 1854. They had two children. He later divorced her for good cause in 1861.
Clark died in London on the 30th of October 1898.
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England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
electrical engineer
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
, born in Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow is a town and civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England...
.
Biography
Latimer Clark was born in Great Marlow, BuckinghamshireMarlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow is a town and civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England...
, and was younger brother to Edwin Clark (1814-1894), inventor of the Clark hydraulic lift graving dock. Latimer Clark studied chemistry at an early age. His first connection with technical work was in the chemical manufacturing industry in a large Dublin establishment. However in 1848 Clark began working in his elder brother's civil engineering practice and became assistant engineer at the Menai Strait
Menai Strait
The Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales.The strait is bridged in two places - the main A5 road is carried over the strait by Thomas Telford's elegant iron suspension bridge, the first of its kind,...
bridge. Two years later, when his brother was appointed engineer to the Electric Telegraph Company
Electric Telegraph Company
The Electric Telegraph Company was the world's first public telegraph company founded in the United Kingdom in 1846 by Sir William Fothergill Cooke and John Lewis Ricardo, MP for Stoke-on-Trent....
, he again acted as his assistant, and subsequently succeeded him as chief engineer. In 1854 he took out a patent "for conveying letters or parcels between places by the pressure of air and vacuum," and later was concerned in the construction of the London Pneumatic Despatch Company
London Pneumatic Despatch Company
The London Pneumatic Despatch Company was formed on 30 June 1859, to design, build and operate an underground railway system for the carrying of mail, parcels and light freight between locations in London...
which built a tube between the general post office and Euston station
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
, London.
About the same period he was engaged in experimental researches on the propagation of the electric current in submarine cable
Submarine cable
Submarine cable may refer to:*Submarine communications cable*Submarine power cable...
s, on which he published a pamphlet in 1855, and in 1859 he was a member of the committee which was appointed by the government to consider the numerous failures of submarine cable enterprises.
Latimer Clark paid much attention to the subject of electrical measurement, and besides designing various improvements in method and apparatus and inventing the Clark standard cell
Clark cell
The Clark cell, invented by English engineer Josiah Latimer Clark in 1873, is a wet-chemical cell that produces a highly stable voltage usable as a laboratory standard.-Chemistry:...
, he took a leading part in the movement for the systematization of electrical standards, which was inaugurated by the paper which he and Sir CT Bright
Charles Tilston Bright
Sir Charles Tilston Bright was a British electrical engineer who oversaw the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable in 1858, for which work he was knighted....
read on the question before the British Association in 1861. With Bright also he devised improvements in the insulation of submarine cables. In the later part of his life he was a member of several firms engaged in laying submarine cables, in manufacturing electrical appliances, and in hydraulic engineering.
Clark married Margaret Helen Preece ( Sir William Preece's
William Henry Preece
Sir William Henry Preece was a Welsh electrical engineer and inventor. Preece relied on experiments and physical reasoning in his life's work. Upon his retirement from the Post Office in 1899, Preece was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath .-Biography:Preece was born in Caernarfon ,...
sister) in 1854. They had two children. He later divorced her for good cause in 1861.
Clark died in London on the 30th of October 1898.
Publications
Besides professional papers, Clark published an Elementary Treatise on Electrical Measurement (1868), together with two books on astronomical subjects, and a memoir of Sir W. F. Cooke.External links
- Josiah Latimer Clark
- Obituary (Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Vol XXVIII, 1899)
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