Charles Wheatstone

Charles Wheatstone
Wheatstone,
drawn by Samuel Laurence in 1868
Born(1802-02-06)6 February 1802
Barnwood, Gloucestershire, England
Died19 October 1875(1875-10-19) (aged 73)
Paris, France
Known forWheatstone bridge
Wheatstone–Playfair cipher
Wheatstone system
Wheatstone ABC telegraph
Cooke and Wheatstone telegraph
Kaleidophone
Potentiometer
Pseudoscope
Stereoscope
Early contributions to Spectroscopy
AwardsRoyal Medal (1840, 1843)
Albert Medal (1867)
Copley Medal (1868)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
InstitutionsKing's College London

Sir Charles Wheatstone FRS FRSE (/ˈwtstən/;[1] 6 February 1802 – 19 October 1875), was an English scientist and inventor of the Victorian era, his contributions including to the English concertina, the stereoscope (a device for displaying three-dimensional images), and the Playfair cipher (an encryption technique). However, Wheatstone is best known for his contributions in the development of the Wheatstone bridge, originally invented by Samuel Hunter Christie, which is used to measure an unknown electrical resistance, and as a major figure in the development of telegraphy.

  1. ^ "Wheatstone, Sir Charles". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.