Charles Vincent Walker
Encyclopedia
Charles Vincent Walker FRS (20 March 1812 – 24 December 1882) was an English
electrical engineer and publisher, a major influence on the development of railway telecommunications, he was also the first person to send a submarine telegraph signal.
, Middlesex
son to Vincent and Ann née Blake, Walker's elementary education and engineering training are uncertain. However, by 1838 he had acquired some knowledge of electricity
and had helped to found the London Electrical Society. Walker was secretary and treasurer of the Society in its early days and edited its Proceedings from 1841 to 1843. He also founded the Electrical Magazine though only two volumes appeares in 1841–3.
Also in 1841, Walker worked on the Manual of Electricity, Magnetism and Meteorology which formed part of Dionysius Lardner
's Cabinet Cyclopedia. Walker also published his own book on Electrotype Manipulation, followed by his Electric Telegraph Manipulation (1850), and many other scientific works.
, a post in which he was to serve for the rest of his life. His achievements included:
and sent the first submarine telegraph message in 13 October 1848 over a 2 mile (3.2 km) cable from Folkestone
to a ship and back.
. Though he appears to have died a widower, nothing is known of his wife.
Charles Vincent Walker died at his residence at Tunbridge Wells, on the morning of December 24, 1882, in the seventy-first year of his age. He had been Telegraph Engineer to the South Eastern Railway
since 1845, and was one of the oldest telegraph engineers in the country. He was a zealous worker in the science of electricity, and was the inventor of several useful appliances in connection with telegraphy, including the instruments by which the block system on railways is worked. His name is especially associated with the origin of the distribution of time by telegraph. On May 10, 1849, Mr. Glaisher
wrote to Mr. Walker that he wished to talk with the latter about the laying down of a wire from the Observatory to the Lewisham Station
, and on May 23 following, the Astronomer Royal
gave Mr. Walker a brief sketch of the use to be made of the wire referred to, his scheme, as he stated, being " the transmission of time by galvanic signal to every part of the kingdom in which there is a galvanic telegraph from London." It was proposed to lay four wires underground from the Royal Observatory
to the railway station at Lewisham
, and to extend them to London Bridge
. The South Eastern Railway Company
gave every facility. On September 16, 1852, an electric clock at London Bridge Station
was erected, and connected by wire with an electric clock at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
. The first time-signal sent from the Royal Observatory
was received at London Bridge Station at 4 p.m. on August 5, 1852; and on August 9, 1852, Dover received a time-signal for the first time from the Royal Observatory
direct, and it was made visible at certain first-class stations between London and Dover. After that the system rapidly spread, its success depending greatly on the scientific skill and zeal of Mr. Walker.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1855, and he was a late President of the Meteorological Society, and of the Society of Telegraph Engineers. He was elected a Fellow of the Society
on January 8, 1858.
Index of Obituary Notice for the Year 1882
WALKER (Charles Vincent), F.R.S., Past President of the Society of Telegraph Engineers, Telegraph Engineer to the South-Eastern Railway Co.
1845-82, d. at 26, Upper Grosvenor Road, Tunbridge Wells, Dec. 24 (aged 70). Nature, xxvii. p. 228 ; Telegraphic Jour. and Electrical Review, xii. p. 16; Mon. Notices R. Astron. Soc. xliii. p. 182; *Iron, xx. p. 549; *Times, Dec. 28, p. 3/; Ath. 1883, i. p. 21; Engineering, xxxv. p. 18.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
electrical engineer and publisher, a major influence on the development of railway telecommunications, he was also the first person to send a submarine telegraph signal.
Life
Born MaryleboneMarylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
son to Vincent and Ann née Blake, Walker's elementary education and engineering training are uncertain. However, by 1838 he had acquired some knowledge of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and had helped to found the London Electrical Society. Walker was secretary and treasurer of the Society in its early days and edited its Proceedings from 1841 to 1843. He also founded the Electrical Magazine though only two volumes appeares in 1841–3.
Also in 1841, Walker worked on the Manual of Electricity, Magnetism and Meteorology which formed part of Dionysius Lardner
Dionysius Lardner
Dionysius Lardner , was an Irish scientific writer who popularised science and technology, and edited the 133-volume Cabinet Cyclopedia.-Early life in Dublin:...
's Cabinet Cyclopedia. Walker also published his own book on Electrotype Manipulation, followed by his Electric Telegraph Manipulation (1850), and many other scientific works.
Railway electrician
In 1845 he became electrician to the South Eastern RailwaySouth Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
, a post in which he was to serve for the rest of his life. His achievements included:
- The first person to insulateElectrical insulationthumb|250px|[[Coaxial Cable]] with dielectric insulator supporting a central coreThis article refers to electrical insulation. For insulation of heat, see Thermal insulation...
telegraph wires with gutta-perchaGutta-perchaGutta-percha is a genus of tropical trees native to Southeast Asia and northern Australasia, from Taiwan south to the Malay Peninsula and east to the Solomon Islands. The same term is used to refer to an inelastic natural latex produced from the sap of these trees, particularly from the species...
; - Invention of a device to protect telegraph equipment from atmospheric electricityAtmospheric electricityAtmospheric electricity is the regular diurnal variations of the Earth's atmospheric electromagnetic network . The Earth's surface, the ionosphere, and the atmosphere is known as the global atmospheric electrical circuit...
; - Improvement of graphite batteries;
- Time signalTime signalA time signal is a visible, audible, mechanical, or electronic signal used as a reference to determine the time of day.-Audible and visible time signals:...
s transmitted to the railway's stations from the Royal ObservatoryRoyal Observatory, GreenwichThe Royal Observatory, Greenwich , in London, England played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian...
, GreenwichGreenwichGreenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, introduced following Walker's collaboration with Astronomer RoyalAstronomer RoyalAstronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the second is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834....
George Biddell AiryGeorge Biddell AirySir George Biddell Airy PRS KCB was an English mathematician and astronomer, Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881...
(1849); - A device to enable passengers to communicate with the guard; patentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed in 1866; - A train describer; patented in 1876.
Submarine telegraph
His work with gutta-percha led him to see the opportunity for a submarine communications cableSubmarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean....
and sent the first submarine telegraph message in 13 October 1848 over a 2 mile (3.2 km) cable from Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
to a ship and back.
Death and personal life
Walker died of heart failure in Tunbridge Wells, KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. Though he appears to have died a widower, nothing is known of his wife.
Obituary Notices
Royal Astronomical SocietyCharles Vincent Walker died at his residence at Tunbridge Wells, on the morning of December 24, 1882, in the seventy-first year of his age. He had been Telegraph Engineer to the South Eastern Railway
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
since 1845, and was one of the oldest telegraph engineers in the country. He was a zealous worker in the science of electricity, and was the inventor of several useful appliances in connection with telegraphy, including the instruments by which the block system on railways is worked. His name is especially associated with the origin of the distribution of time by telegraph. On May 10, 1849, Mr. Glaisher
James Glaisher
James Glaisher FRS , was an English meteorologist and aeronaut.Born in Rotherhithe, the son of a London watchmaker, Glaisher was a Junior assistant at the Cambridge Observatory from 1833 to 1835 before moving to the Royal Greenwich Observatories, where he served as Superintendent of the Department...
wrote to Mr. Walker that he wished to talk with the latter about the laying down of a wire from the Observatory to the Lewisham Station
Lewisham station
Lewisham station is a National Rail and Docklands Light Railway station in Lewisham, south east London. It is on the south-east London commuter rail network operated by Southeastern. The Docklands Light Railway station opened in 1999 on a southward extension from Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs...
, and on May 23 following, the Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the second is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834....
gave Mr. Walker a brief sketch of the use to be made of the wire referred to, his scheme, as he stated, being " the transmission of time by galvanic signal to every part of the kingdom in which there is a galvanic telegraph from London." It was proposed to lay four wires underground from the Royal Observatory
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich , in London, England played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian...
to the railway station at Lewisham
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, and to extend them to London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
. The South Eastern Railway Company
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
gave every facility. On September 16, 1852, an electric clock at London Bridge Station
London Bridge station
London Bridge railway station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the London Borough of Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles east of Charing Cross. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the...
was erected, and connected by wire with an electric clock at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich , in London, England played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian...
. The first time-signal sent from the Royal Observatory
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich , in London, England played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian...
was received at London Bridge Station at 4 p.m. on August 5, 1852; and on August 9, 1852, Dover received a time-signal for the first time from the Royal Observatory
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich , in London, England played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian...
direct, and it was made visible at certain first-class stations between London and Dover. After that the system rapidly spread, its success depending greatly on the scientific skill and zeal of Mr. Walker.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1855, and he was a late President of the Meteorological Society, and of the Society of Telegraph Engineers. He was elected a Fellow of the Society
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
on January 8, 1858.
Index of Obituary Notice for the Year 1882
WALKER (Charles Vincent), F.R.S., Past President of the Society of Telegraph Engineers, Telegraph Engineer to the South-Eastern Railway Co.
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
1845-82, d. at 26, Upper Grosvenor Road, Tunbridge Wells, Dec. 24 (aged 70). Nature, xxvii. p. 228 ; Telegraphic Jour. and Electrical Review, xii. p. 16; Mon. Notices R. Astron. Soc. xliii. p. 182; *Iron, xx. p. 549; *Times, Dec. 28, p. 3/; Ath. 1883, i. p. 21; Engineering, xxxv. p. 18.
Offices and honours
- British Meteorological Society
- Member, (1850);
- President, (1869–70);
- Editor of the Proceedings, (1861–1864);
- Fellow of the Royal Society, (1855);
- Fellow of the Royal Astronomical SocietyRoyal Astronomical SocietyThe Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
, (1858); - President of the Society of Telegraph Engineers and Electricians, (1876).