Charles Proteus Steinmetz

Charles Proteus Steinmetz

Charles Proteus Steinmetz (April 9, 1865 – October 26, 1923) was a German-born American mathematician and electrical engineer. He fostered the development of alternating current that made possible the expansion of the electric power industry in the United States, formulating maths theories for engineers. He made ground-breaking discoveries in the understanding of hysteresis that enabled engineers to design better electromagnetic apparatus equipment including especially electric motors for use in industry.

• Steinmetz was born on April 9, 1865 as Karl August Rudolph Steinmetz into a Jewish family in Breslau, Province of Silesia.[3] Steinmetz suffered from dwarfism, hunchback, and hip dysplasia, as so did his father and grandfather. Steinmetz attended Johannes Gymnasium and astonished his teachers with his proficiency in mathematics and physics.

Steinmetz maintained a small cabin overlooking the Mohawk River near Schenectady, New York.

Following the Gymnasium, Steinmetz went on to the University of Breslau to begin work on his undergraduate degree in 1883. He was on the verge of finishing his doctorate in 1888 when he came under investigation by the German police for activities on behalf of a socialist university group and articles he had written for a local socialist newspaper.

• Steinmetz died on October 26, 1923 and was buried in Vale Cemetery, Schenectady.
• As socialist meetings and press had been banned in Germany, Steinmetz fled to Zürich in 1888 to escape possible arrest. Faced with an expiring visa, he emigrated to the United States in 1889. He changed his first name to Charles in order to sound more American and chose the middle name Proteus after a childhood taunt given to him by classmates. Proteus was a wise hunchbacked character from the Odyssey who knew many secrets and he felt it suited him.

Cornell University Professor Ronald R. Kline, the author of Steinmetz: Engineer and Socialist, contended that other factors were more directly involved in Steinmetz's decision to leave his homeland, such as the fact that he was in arrears with his tuition at the University of Breslau and that life at home with his father, stepmother, and their daughters was full of tension.

• Despite his earlier efforts and interest in socialism, by 1922 Steinmetz concluded that socialism would never work in the U.S. because the country lacked a "powerful, centralized government of competent men, remaining continuously in office" and because "only a small percentage of Americans accept this viewpoint today."[4]

A member of the original Technical Alliance which also included Thorstein Veblen and Leland Olds, Steinmetz had great faith in the ability of machines to eliminate human toil and create abundance for all. He put it this way: "Some day we make the good things of life for everybody.

Patents.

At the time of his death, Steinmetz held over 200 patents:

• U.S. Patent 533,244, "System of distribution by alternating current" (January 29, 1895)
• U.S. Patent 559,419, "Inductor dynamo"
• U.S. Patent 583,950, "Three phase induction meter"
• U.S. Patent 594,145, "Inductor dynamo"
• U.S. Patent 714,412, "Induction motor"
• U.S. Patent 717,464, "System of electrical distribution"
• U.S. Patent 865,617, "Induction motor"
• U.S. Patent 1,025,932,"Means for producing light" 
• U.S. Patent 1,042,986, "Induction furnace"
• U.S. Patent 1,230,615, "Protective device"
• U.S. Patent RE11,576, "Inductor dynamo"