Edwin J. Houston


Edwin James Houston was an American author, electrical engineer, academic, businessman, and inventor.

Early life

Houston was born July 9, 1847, to John Mason and Mary Houston in Alexandria, Virginia. He graduated from Central High School of Philadelphia in 1864. He received both his Bachelor of Arts and master's degree from the same Central High School.

Career

Houston then became a professor of civil engineering at Central High School for a short period before holding its chair of Natural Philosophy and Physical Geography.
While teaching physics at Central High School in Philadelphia, he helped design an arc light generator with his former student colleague Elihu Thomson. Together, they created the Thomson-Houston Electric Company in 1882 which soon after moved to Lynn, Massachusetts. He served as chief electrician of Philadelphia's International Electrical Exhibition in 1884.
In 1892, Thomson-Houston merged with the Edison General Electric Company to form General Electric, with management from Thomson-Houston largely running the new company. In 1894, Houston formed a consulting firm in electrical engineering with Arthur Kennelly. He and Kennelly had also jointly published a series called "Primers of Electricity" in 1884.
He also served as emeritus professor of physics at the Franklin Institute and professor of physics at the Medico-Chirurgical College.
Houston was twice president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. He was a member of the United States Electrical Commission, the American Institute of Mining Engineers, the American Philosophical Society and many others. He also authored books for a series called The Wonder Books of Science.

Awards and honors

awarded him an honorary doctoral degree.

Personal life

He died from heart failure in Philadelphia on March 1, 1914.

Selected publications

Books

  • Elements of Physical Geology. Philadelphia: Eldredge & Brother, 1878, 1901, and 1904.
  • Intermediate Lessons in Natural Philosophy Philadelphia: Eldredge & Brother, 1881.
  • Philadelphia: Eldredge & Brother, 1883 and 1898.
  • A Short Course in Chemistry. Philadelphia: Eldridge & Brother, 1884.
  • . Philadelphia: Edwin J. Houston, 1891.
  • . Chicago: Edwin J. Houston, 1891.
  • . New York: The W. J. Johnston Company, Limited, 1893.
  • The Electric Transmission of Intelligence: and Other Advanced Primers of Electricity New York: The W. J. Johnston Company, Limited, 1893.
  • . Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1893.
  • Electricity One Hundred Years Ago and Today. New York: The W. J. Johnston Company, Ltd., 1894.
  • . New York: P. F. Collier, 1894.
  • Alternating Electric Currents with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: The W. J. Johnston Company, 1895.
  • Electrical Engineering Leaflets: Advanced Grade with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: The Electrical Engineer, 1895.
  • Electrical Engineering Leaflets: Intermediate Grade with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: The Electrical Engineer, 1895.
  • Electric Heating with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: The W. J. Johnston Company, 1895.
  • '. Philadelphia: Eldredge & Brother, 1895.
  • with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: The W. J. Johnston Company, 1896.
  • with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: McGraw Publishing Co., 1896, 1897, 1898, 1903, and 1906.
  • Electric Incandescent Lighting with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: The W. J. Johnston Company, 1896.
  • The Electric Motor and the Transmission Power with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: The W. J. Johnston Company, 1896.
  • Electric Street Railways with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: The W. J. Johnston Company, 1896.
  • Electro-dynamic Machinery for Continuous Currents with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: The W. J. Johnston Company, 1896.
  • with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: American Technical Book Company, 1897.
  • . with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: McGraw Publishing Company, 1897 and 1906.
  • . Philadelphia, Eldridge & Brother, 1897.
  • The Electric Telephone with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: McGraw Publishing Company, 1897, 1902, and 1906.
  • with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: American Technical Book Company, 1898.
  • with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: McGraw Publishing Co., 1898.
  • . with Arthur Edwin Kennelly. New York: P. F. Collier & Son, 1902.
  • ' with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: The W. J. Johnston Company, 1896.
  • ' with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: McGraw Publishing Co., 1897 and 1906.
  • Pocket Electrical Dictionary. London: Swan Sonnenschein and Co., 1898.
  • New York: McGraw Publishing Co., 1899.
  • Electric Arc Lighting with Arthur E. Kennelley. New York: Electrical World & Engineer, 1902.
  • . vol. 3. New York: P. F. Collier & Son, 1905.
  • . Chicago: The J. C. Winston Co., 1907.
  • The Discovery of the North Pole. Chicago: The J. C. Winston Co., 1907.
  • Cast Away at the North Pole. Chicago: The J. C. Winston Co., 1907.
  • . Philadelphia:The Griffith & Rowland Press, 1908.
  • '. Philadelphia: The Griffith & Rowland Press, 1908.
  • . Philadelphia:The Griffith & Rowland Press, 1909.
  • '. Philadelphia: The Griffith & Rowland Press, 1909.
  • The Elements of Physics with Alfred Newlin Seal. New York: Hinds, Noble & Eldredge, 1912.
  • '. New York: Hinds, Noble & Eldredge, 1916.

    Children's books

  • Houston's Outlines of Natural Philosophy. Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger, 1878.
  • Houston's Easy Lessons in Natural Philosophy. Philadelphia: Eldredge and Brother, 1879.
  • The Boy Geologist: at School and in Camp'. Philadelphia: Henry Altemus Company, 1907.
  • The Boy Electrician, or The Secret Society of the Jolly Philosophers. Philadelphia; London, J. B. Lippincott, 1907.
  • . New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1907.
  • The Wonder Book of the Atmosphere'. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1907.
  • The Wonder Book of the Light. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1908.
  • . New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1908.
  • A Chip of the Old Block; or, At the Bottom of the Ladder. Philadelphia: The Griffith & Rowland Press, 1910.
  • The Land of Drought; or, Across the Great American Desert. Philadelphia: The Griffith & Rowland Press,1910.
  • The Jaws of Death; or, In and Around the Cañons of the Colorado. Philadelphia: The Griffith & Rowland Press, 1911.
  • The Yellow Magnet; or, Attracted by Gold. Philadelphia: The Griffith & Rowland Press, 1911
  • Once a Volcano; or, Adventures Among the Extinct Volcanoes of the United States. Philadelphia: The Griffith & Rowland Press, 1912
  • . Philadelphia: The Griffith & Rowland Press, 1912.
  • . Philadelphia: D. McKay, 1912.

    Journal articles

  • "Glimpses of the international electrical exhibition", Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 118, no. 6 : 449–459.
  • "". Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 125, no. 4 : 300-305.
  • "The physiological effects of alternating currents of high frequency", Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 134, no. 1 : 71–74
  • "Some additional notes on the graphic representation or magnetic fields", Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 134, no. 3 : 240–244.
  • "Cerebral Radiation", Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 133, no. 6 : 488–497.
  • "Graphic representation or the magnetic field", Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 134, no. 1 75–86
  • "Some curiosities in early electroth-therapeutics", Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 134, no. 5 : 402–409.
  • "The international electrical congress and world's fair, of 1893". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, vol. 10, : 464–483.
  • "A Plea for the Study of Elementary Forestry in the Lower Schools". Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 137, no. 2 : 107–117.
  • "Resonance in Alternating Current Lines" with A. E. Kennelly. Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, vol. 12, : 133-157.
  • "" with A. E. Kennelly. Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 141, no. 4, : 241-278.
  • “Franklin as a Man of Science and an Inventor,” Journal of the Franklin Institute, vol. 161 : 241–316, 321–383.