Charles F. Brush

Engineer, inventor, electric pioneer and founder of a predecessor firm of General Electric (graduate of Central High).

What is Charles F. Brush known for?

Charles Francis Brush was an influential American engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist born on March 17, 1849 in Euclid, Ohio. Brush attended Central High School in Cleveland, where he developed a keen interest in science, specifically Humphry Davy's experiments with the arc light. At the tender age of 12, Brush was already experimenting and building simple electrical devices, such as a static electricity machine, and even crafted his first arc light during his high school years. He graduated with honors in 1867, giving a commencement oration on the "Conservation of Force".

Pursuing academics further, Brush received his undergraduate education in mining engineering from the University of Michigan, graduating in 1869. He completed his doctorate from the Western Reserve, now known as Case Western Reserve University in 1880. His appetite for innovation did not stop after his studies, and in 1876 Brush designed his "dynamo" - an electrical generator designed for powering arc lights.

In pursuit of improving the dynamo's efficiency and usability, Brush diverged from existing designs, citing in his U.S. Patent 189,997 that the best forms of magneto-electric apparatus were unnecessarily heavy, expensive, and wasteful of mechanical power. These efforts led to the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia recognizing Brush's dynamo as superior due to its simple design and maintainability in 1878.

Brush continually refined his design, allowing his arc lighting systems to be sold to multiple cities for public lighting. His arc lights were a significant improvement over the predecessors, with automatic functions and longer burn times. His generators were reliable and intelligently designed to automatically increase voltage with a higher load while keeping the current constant. Brush arc light systems began lighting up cities in the 1880s and continued to deliver public light into the 20th century.

Brush's contributions to electrical engineering were recognized during his lifetime with awards such as the Edison Medal in 1913, and, posthumously, his legacy continues to be remembered and celebrated. Charles Brush passed away on June 15, 1929, in Cleveland, Ohio, leaving an immense impact on his field and society at large.