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Information about Alexander Bain (inventor)

Alexander Bain (October 1811 – January 2, 1877), was a Scottish instrument inventor, technician, and clockmaker. He invented the electric clock, the electric printing telegraph, and the first fax machine. Bain installed the railway telegraph lines between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Biography

Bain was born in Watten, Caithness, Scotland. Bain's father was a crofter. Bain had a twin sister, Margaret, and, in total, he had six sisters and six brothers. Bain did not excel in school. He was apprenticed in the art of clockmaking to a clockmaker in Wick and moved eventually to Edinburgh and then in 1837 to London (Clerkenwell). Bain frequented the lectures at the Polytechnic Institution and the Adelaide Gallery. Bain later constructed his own workshop for building instruments which was at Hanover Street.

His first patent was in October 1840 for the first electric clock, followed by a patent in January 1841 for one with a pendulum kept in motion by electromagnetic impulses. He went on to design a number of electric clocks and the Earth battery to supply them with a reasonably stable and constant current of low electromotive force (or voltage). He also developed the automatic telegraph, electrical timepieces, and insulation for electric cables, an electric fire alarm, inkstands, ink holders, and a form of ship's log.

Bain's ideas on electrical horology were incorporated in five UK patents taken out during the period 1841 to 1852, and these also include much of his work on telegraphy. In 1842, he transmitted a first image over a wire and went on to patent the facsimile machine in May 1843. His fax machine relied also on the movement of a pendulum. Initially Bain made a considerable sum from his inventions but, due to poor investments, he was eventually supported only by his Civil List pension of £80 per year.

Death and legacy

Bain was buried in the Old Aisle Cemetery, Kirkintilloch. It was restored in 1959. The headstone had a fallacious date of death (1876) which was later corrected to 1877. A pub in Wick, close to where Alexander Bain served his apprenticeship, is now named after the inventor. Also, as a tribute to his inventions, the main BT building in Glasgow is named Alexander Bain House.

Further reading

Published works
  • Bain, A, "A Short History of the Electric Clocks". London: Chapman and Hall, 1852
  • Bain A, "Autobiography"London: Longmans, Green, 1904.
Other
  • Finlaison, John, "An account of some remarkable applications of the electric fluid to the useful arts, by Mr. Alexander Bain; with a vindication of his claim to be the first inventor of the electro-magnetic printing telegraph, and also of the electro-magnetic clock". London, Chapman and Hall, 1843. LCCN 08003694
  • Hackmann, W. D., "Alexander Bain's Short History of the Electric Clock (1852)" London: Turner & Devereux 1973.
  • Burns, R. W., Engineering Science and Education Journal, Vol 2, No2, April 1993.
  • Aked, C. K., "Alexander Bain. The father of electric horology". Antiquarian Horology December, 1974.
  • Hope-Jones, F', "Electrical Timekeeping". London: NAG Press, 1940.
  • Kieve J, "The Electric Telegraph. A Social and Economic History". Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles, 1973.
  • "Guest editorial". Perception, 2001, volume 30, pages 777 - 783 DOI 10.1068/p3007ed (ed., cover the two Bains)

External articles

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January 2 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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An electric clock is a clock that is powered by electricity instead of powered manually or by other sources of energy, specifically in order to wind the mainspring or to drive the pendulum or oscillator.
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Fax (short for facsimile, from Latin fac simile, "make similar", i.e. "make a copy") is a telecommunications technology used to transfer copies (facsimiles) of documents, especially using affordable devices operating over the telephone network.
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Watten (grid reference ND242544 ) is a small village in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland, on the main road (A882-A9) between the county town of Wick and the burgh of Thurso, about twelve kilometres (eight miles) west of Wick and close to Wick River and to Loch Watten.
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Caithness (Gallaibh in Gaelic)[1] is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (1708
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Motto
Nemo me impune lacessit   (Latin)
"No one provokes me with impunity"
"Cha togar m'fhearg gun dioladh"   
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croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land.

The word croft
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Wick
Gaelic - Inbhir Uige

Population 7,794
OS grid reference ND365505
 - Edinburgh 256 miles (412 km)
 - London 631 miles (1016 km)
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Edinburgh
Gaelic - Dùn Èideann
Scots - Edinburgh[1]
Auld Reekie, Athens of the North


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London
Canary Wharf is the centre of London's modern office towers
London shown within England
Coordinates:
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
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Clerkenwell


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An electric clock is a clock that is powered by electricity instead of powered manually or by other sources of energy, specifically in order to wind the mainspring or to drive the pendulum or oscillator.
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v and A).]] A pendulum is an object that is attached to a pivot point so it can swing freely. This object is subject to a restoring force that will accelerate it toward an equilibrium position.
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Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field which exerts a force on particles that possess the property of electric charge, and is in turn affected by the presence and motion of those particles.
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An Earth battery is composed of a pair of electrodes made of two dissimilar metals, such as iron and copper, which are buried in the soil or immersed in the sea. A device that is placed in water is labeled a "sea battery".
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Electromotive force (emf, ) is a term used to characterize electrical devices, such as voltaic cells, thermoelectric devices, electrical generators and transformers, and even resistors.
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Voltage (sometimes also called electric potential difference or electrical tension) is the potential similarity of electrical potential between two points of an electrical or electronic circuit, expressed in volts.
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Telegraphy (from the Greek words (τηλη) = far and (γραφειν) = write) is the long-distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally by changing something that could
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cable is one or more wires or optical fibers bound together, typically in a common protective jacket or sheath. The individual wires or fibers inside the jacket may be covered or insulated. Combination cables may contain both electrical wires and optical fibers.
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A fire alarm system is an active fire protection system that detects fire or the effects of fire, and as a result provides one or more of the following: notifies the occupants, notifies persons in the surrounding area, summons the fire service, and controls all the fire alarm
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inkstand is a stand or tray used to house writing instruments, with a tightly-capped inkwell and a sand shaker for rapid drying. A penwiper would often be included, and from the mid-nineteenth century, a compartment for steel nibs, which replaced quill pens.
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Logbook was originally a book for recording readings from the log, and is used to determine the distance a ship traveled within a certain amount of time. The readings of the log have been recorded in equal times to give the distance traveled with respect to a given start position.
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Horology is the study of the science and art of timekeeping devices. Clocks, watches, and marine chronometers are examples of instruments used to measure time. The name of the study is derived from the Latin word hora
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Motto
"Dieu et mon droit" [2]   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
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A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom the Civil List is the sum that covers most expenses associated with the Sovereign performing of his or her state duties, including those for staffing, state
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Kirkintilloch
Gaelic - Cathair Cheann Tulaich


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worldwide view of the subject.
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A headstone, tombstone or gravestone
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