Sir Charles Tilston Bright (1832–88) was a renowned telegraph engineer, best known for his role in laying the first successful transatlantic cable in 1858, for which he was knighted. Bright later worked on the telegraph networks that would span not only the British Empire but the entire globe. Written by his brother Edward Brailsford Bright (1831–1913) and son Charles (1863–1937), both telegraph engineers who worked alongside him, this two-volume biography, first published in 1898, would do much to cement Bright's reputation as an electrical engineer, providing an insider account of telegraphy's formative years. Volume 1 traces Bright's career up to his laying of the first transatlantic cables in the mid-nineteenth century. Volume 2 covers his work on the burgeoning telegraph network, touching also on his personal qualities and political pursuits.
Contents
Volume 1: Preface; Introduction; 1. Family memoirs; 2. Boyhood; 3. Land telegraphs; 4. The cable to Ireland; 5. The Atlantic cable; Appendices; Index. Volume 2: 1. The Mediterranean cables; 2. 1860–3; 3. The telegraph to India; 4. The Greenwich election; 5. 1865–99; 6. West India cables; 7. 1873–4; 8. Land telegraphs; 9. Mining; 10. The fire alarm; 11. Telephony; 12. Electric lighting; 13. Railways; 14. Various evidence and reports; 15. The Paris Exhibition; 16. The Institute of Electrical Engineers; 17. Colleagues and pupils; 18. Volunteering; 19. Freemasonry; 20. The Needlemakers Company; 21. Home life and recreations; 22. Death and funeral; 23. Summary; Appendices; Index.
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