Miller Reese Hutchison
[2] At the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898, he volunteered and was appointed engineer for the United States Lighthouse Board, laying cables and mines to protect harbors in the Gulf of Mexico.Besides his training in engineering, Hutchison had attended classes at the Medical College of Alabama to study the anatomy of the ear.Queen Alexandra of Denmark was so happy with the results, she invited Hutchison to the coronation ceremony in 1902 when her husband became King Edward VII.[6] The American press called the device a "miracle", and Hutchison helped by staging publicity events, such as having Metropolitan Opera lead singer Suzanne Adams photographed singing to formerly deaf people."[8] He also developed related devices known as the Akou-Massage (renamed the Massacon), and Akoulalion, which converted audio into vibrations, to help those with more profound hearing loss.[17] A common quip, sometimes attributed to Mark Twain,[18][19] was that Miller had invented the Klaxon to deafen people so they would have to wear his Acousticon.The Witherbee Igniter Company installed storage batteries that could be re-charged from an on-board generator, or by plugging into a light socket.[24] In an appeal and other cases, however, Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr. generally ruled that Hutchison's claims were overly broad, and thus invalidated many of them.[28] By 1908 Hutchison had developed an electrical tachometer that would give an accurate reading of the speed of steam ship engines.The innovation of using a simple generator and voltmeter allowed much more precise control, and using wires the speed could be displayed remotely in the pilot house or captain's stateroom as well as engine room.[32] After experimental batteries caused an explosion of hydrogen gas on the USS E-2, Hutchison was accused of making false statements in a Navy inquiry.It was advertised as handling from two to forty sheets of paper, cloth, or cardboard, with a single wire spool replacing 15,000 individual staples.It was a crude measurement of the unburned vapors that allowed a pilot (or driver of an automobile) to adjust the air-fuel ratio for both better efficiency and lower dangerous CO emissions.
Montrose, AlabamaNew York, New Yorkelectrical engineervehicle hornhearing aidMarion Military InstituteSpring Hill CollegeUniversity of MobileAuburn Universitypatentedlightning arresterSpanish–American WarUnited States Lighthouse BoardGulf of Mexicoscarlet feverMedical College of AlabamaAlexandra of Denmarkcoronation ceremonyEdward VIINew York CityMetropolitan OperaSuzanne AdamsLouisiana Purchase ExpositionSt. Louis, MissouriFrequencydynamic rangevacuum tubeautomobileKlaxonMadison Square GardenGeorge B. McClellan Jr.chauffeurThomas ChatfieldUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New YorkAlfred Conkling Coxe Sr.United Motors CompanyGeneral MotorsUnited States NavyWorld War IItachometersteam shipvoltmeterThomas EdisonEdison's laboratoryWest Orange, New JerseyElectrical Engineer degreeWorld War IsubmarineshydrogenUSS E-2staplesWoolworth BuildingLower Manhattanrivetscarbon monoxideoxygen sensorair-fuel ratioMinnetonka, MinnesotaTime magazineNew York TimesRutgers UniversityProject GutenbergNational Park Service