Charles Grafton Page | |
|---|---|
 Charles Grafton Page[1] | |
| Born | 25 January 1812 Salem, Massachusetts, USA |
| Died | 5 May 1868 (aged 56) Washington D.C., USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard College Harvard Medical School |
| Known for | origins of induction coil origins of circuit breakers electromagnetic locomotive |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Electromagnetism |
| Institutions | US Patent Office Columbian College (George Washington University) |
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Charles Grafton Page (January 25, 1812 – May 5, 1868) was an American electrical experimenter and inventor, physician, patent examiner, patent advocate, and professor of chemistry.
Like his more famous contemporaries Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry, Page began his career as an astute natural philosopher who developed innovative work with natural phenomena through direct observation and experimenting. Toward the later part of their careers, the science of the day had moved on to a more mathematical emphasis in which these scientists did not participate.
Through his exploratory experiments and distinctive inventions, Page developed a deep understanding of electromagnetism. He applied this understanding in the service of the US Patent Office, in support of other inventors, and in pursuing his own ill-fated dream of electromagnetic locomotion. His work had a lasting impact on telegraphy and in the practice and politics of patenting scientific innovation, challenging the rising scientific elitism that maintained 'the scientific do not patent'.[2]