Information AboutElihu Thomson |
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BIOGRAPHY He was born in Manchester ( England ) on 29 March 1853 , but his family moved to Philadelphia in 1858 . In 1879 he established, with Edwin J. Houston , the Thomson-Houston Electric Company . In 1892 this merged with the Edison General Electric Company to become the General Electric Company . Thomson's name is further commemorated by the British Thomson-Houston Company (BTH), and the French companies Thomson and Alstom . His early companies are also involved in the history of The General Electric Company Limited (GEC) in Britain and the Compagnie Général D'Electricité in France. Thomson was a prolific inventor, being awarded over 700 patents. He was the first recipient of the American Institute Of Electrical Engineers AIEE (now Institute Of Electrical And Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ) Edison Medal , bestowed upon him in 1909 "For meritorious achievement in electrical science, engineering and arts as exemplified in his contributions thereto during the past thirty years." Ironically, Thompson and Houston had been involved in a very public and acrimonious dispute with Edison in 1877-78 over Etheric Force . He served as acting president of MIT in 1920 . PATENTS
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