Edward Davy

Edward Davy (June 16, 1806 - January 26, 1885), was an English physician, scientist and inventor.

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To quote from Matthew & Harrison's Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) (2004 Edition) volume 15, pages 504-505 ...

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:"Davy, Edward (1806-1885), chemist and promoter of the telegraph, was born on 16 June 1806 at Ottery St Mary, Devon, the eldest son of Thomas Davy, a surgeon, and his wife, Elizabeth Boutflower. He was educated at the Revd Richard Houlditch's school at Ottery St Mary and at the school of his maternal uncle in Tower Street, London. ... His interests lay in the general sciences, particularly chemistry and electricity, and a catalogue of instruments, appended to his Experimental Guide to Chemistry, published in 1836, includes several devices invented by him in the list of goods and instruments for sale. In 1836 he patented Davy's diamond cement, an adhesive for mending china and glass, from which he gained a small annual income until he sold the rights to the process."

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:"Also in 1836, Davy published Outline of a New Plan of Telegraphic Communication, and in 1837 he carried out telegraphic experiments in Regent's Park. ... He demonstrated a working model of his telegraph that year and a needle telegraph in the Exeter Hall in central London for several months in 1838. He applied for a patent for his telegraph, which was granted on 4 July 1838 after the solicitor-general asked Michael Faraday's advice as to whether it constituted a different mechanism from that of (Sir William Fothergill) Cooke and (Sir Charles) Wheatstone, patented on 12 June 1837. Davy managed to interest two railway companies, the Birmingham Railway and the Southhampton Railway, in his telegraph, but left England for Australia before developing a practical system for completing negotiations, which he left in the hands of his father and a friend, Thomas Watson, a London dentist. Eventually his patent was bought by the Electric Telegraph Company in 1847 for ?600. Although his telegraph was never developed, Davy was important for popularizing to the general public the concept of telegraphy, and was the first to develop a relay system ."

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But Davy was clearly the originating inventor of the Telegraph despite his several difficulties with pursuit of his projects to their final "approvable" conclusions; and not Morse, who wasn't even originally granted a patent for his version until 1840 ? conveniently, one year after Davy had abandoned his pursuits entirely in this area.

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Confer the O'Reilly v. Morse, et al link below and any copy that you can get from a law library, because the article has been redacted.

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It clearly states that Morse's first patent of 1840 was annulled ("for which letters-patent were granted on the 20th June, 1840, which letters-patent were surrendered and rescinded on the 15th day of January, 1846, which last letters-patent are hereby cancelled on account of a defective specification"), but re-granted in 1849; and the "evidence" that was presented at the trial, actually accepted the "fact" that Morse had these ideas in his "mind" as early as 1832 (and of course, two years after "the researches of Professor Joseph Henry on the electro-magnet, in 1830," ).

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:To quote from O'Reilly v. Morse, et al (1853) 56 U.S. 62, 15 How 62, 14 LEd 601: "hen he was returning from a visit to Europe, in 1832, he was deeply engaged upon this subject during the voyage; and that the process and means were so far developed and arranged in his own mind ..." (Emphasis added)

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On page 68 of the same above O'Reilly v. Morse, et al (from an unedited, law library edition), under the subtitle "History of the Invention"; it recounts the following quote of trial witness, the Hon. William C. Rives, Minister of the United States to the Court of France, concerning the statement that Morse made on the same above-stated 1832 voyage, in a letter that Rives wrote to Morse on September 27, 1837 ...

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:"I remember perfectly, that you explained to me the idea of your ingenious instrument during the voyage which we made together in the autumn of 1832. I also remember that during your many conversations on this subject, I suggested several difficulties to you, and that you obviated them with promtness and confidence."

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But compare the quote below; the two dates do not jibe ? 1832, when Morse was "fully aware of electromagnatism" and 1837, when he "was not aware that anyone had even conceived the notion of using the magnet for such a purpose" ...

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:And in Heroes of The Telegraph Chap III: "According to his own statement, he devised the relay in 1836 or earlier; but it was not until the beginning of 1837 that he explained the device, and showed the working of his apparatus to his friend, Mr. Leonard D. Gale, Professor of Chemistry in the University ... , indeed, was very ignorant of what had been done by other electricians; and Professor Gale was able to enlighten him. When Gale acquainted him with some results in telegraphing obtained by Mr. Barlow, he said he was not aware that anyone had even conceived the notion of using the magnet for such a purpose."

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June 16: June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining....

1806: 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar)....

January 26: January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 339 days remaining (340 in leap years)....

Edward Davy related Images and Photos (experimental)

Edward W. Bok	Edward, My Son (Remastered)	Edward VI	Edward II (1970) (DVD)
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