Background
Frank Sprague was born in Milford, Connecticut, on July 25, 1857, but lived with relatives in North Adams, Massachusetts, after 1866.
Frank Sprague was born in Milford, Connecticut, on July 25, 1857, but lived with relatives in North Adams, Massachusetts, after 1866.
Demonstrating an aptitude for science and mathematics, Sprague secured an appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy in 1874. After graduation in 1878 and 2 years at sea, he pursued his electrical studies relentlessly.
In 1883 Sprague joined Thomas Edison's staff, but he soon withdrew to form the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Company. He soon marketed a "constant speed" motor for industrial use but subcontracted its manufacture so he could devote himself to electric traction development. In 1887 he contracted to electrify a new street railway in Richmond, Va. Despite having to devise the entire system from scratch, he completed the installation of a 12-mile, 40-car system in 1888.
By 1890 over 200 electric street railways were in operation or under construction; half of these used Sprague equipment, and 90 percent of them were based on his patents. In 1890 the Edison General Electric Company acquired Sprague's business, but Sprague left to establish the Sprague Electric Elevator Company. He developed and installed electric elevators in several New York buildings before selling out to the Otis Elevator Company.
Having worked out a system of multiple-unit control for elevators, Sprague sought to apply it to railways. He realized that trains made up of individually motorized cars controlled by a single operator had enormous advantages. His multiple-unit system, installed in Chicago in 1897-1898, was adopted generally for subway, elevated, and suburban service. Thus the basis for the modern rapid transit system was complete. Sprague continued to advance the application of electrical engineering. He worked on automatic railroad signaling and elevator control systems, and during World War I he served on the Naval Consulting Board.
Sprague died on October 25, 1934.
He received many professional honors before his death. Sprague was awarded the gold medal In Paris at the International Exposition of Electricity in 1889, the grand prize at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904, the Elliott Cresson Medal in 1904, and the Edison Medal of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (now Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), for "meritorious achievement in electrical science, engineering and arts as exemplified in his contributions thereto" in 1910.
In addition, he received the Franklin Medal in 1921 and was posthumously awarded the John Fritz Gold Medal in 1935.
The effect of Sprague's developments in electric traction was to permit an expansion in the size of cities, while his development of the elevator permitted greater concentration in cities' commercial sections and increased the profitability of commercial buildings. Sprague's inventions over 100 years ago made possible modern light rail and rapid transit systems which still function on the same principles today.
Sprague's engines were used as far afield as Sydney Harbour, Australia. A five-horsepower Lundell electric motor used at the Cockatoo Island dockyard between 1900 and 1980 is now in the collection of the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.
Sprague was energetic and resourceful.
Twice married, he was the father of four children.
