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President & CEO Dr. Mark W. Hurwitz, CAE [email protected] Senior Vice President and Frances Schrotter Chief Operating Officer [email protected] On the Cover Vice President Bob Feghali Gateway Arch Business Development & [email protected] Chief Information Officer St. Louis, Missouri, USA Vice President Lane Hallenbeck Photo: Stock by Photodisc Green Conformity Assessment [email protected] at www.gettyone.com Vice President Peggy Jensen Finance and Administration [email protected] Vice President David Karmol n 1904, leading scientists and pioneering industrialists from around the Public Policy and [email protected] Government Relations globe gathered at the Coliseum Music Hall in St. Louis, Missouri, to discuss Vice President John Kalemkerian, CAE the need for cooperation leading to the standardization of electrical appara- Membership, Communications [email protected] I and Education tus and machinery. This pivotal meeting ultimately led to the establishment of Vice President Gary Kushnier the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 1906. One year later, in International Policy [email protected] 1907, U.S. interests rallied to form a National Committee (the U.S. National Vice President Amy Marasco and General Counsel [email protected] Committee of the IEC, or “USNC”) to oversee the country’s participation in IEC activities. Today, the IEC promotes international cooperation on all ANSI REPORTER STAFF

questions of standardization and the verification of conformity to standards in Editor and Stacy M. Leistner the fields of electricity, electronics and related technologies. Art Director [email protected] Lead Writer Sarah C. McCreary [email protected] In recognition of 100 years of global standardization efforts in the electrotech- Production Stephanie Carroll nical industry, and in remembrance of the historic meeting in St. Louis, [email protected] Tricia Power Missouri, on September 22, 2004, the American National Standards Institute [email protected] and its USNC proudly present this collection of commemorative articles to USNC STAFF begin the IEC 2004 Centenary Celebration. Program Director and Charlie Zegers Secretary-General, USNC [email protected]

Kevin Sullivan [email protected] Hilary Zerbst [email protected] The articles in this commemorative tribute were commissioned by and

are reprinted with the permission of the International Electrotechnical AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE Commission (IEC). Headquarters 1819 L Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20036 Telephone: 202.293.8020; Fax: 202.293.9287

03 The World of Electricity: 1820-1904 Operations by Mark Frary, with input by Paul Tunbridge 25 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 Telephone: 212.642.4900; Fax: 212.398.0023

The ANSI Reporter (ISSN 0038-9676) is published quarterly. 06 The Appointment of a Representative Commission Members of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) receive by Jeanne Erdmann free subscriptions and online access (www.ansi.org/reporter). Paid subscriptions are available for non-members at an annual rate of $100. Requests for permission to reprint should be sent to Editor, ANSI 09 The Founding of the IEC Reporter, c/o ANSI Communications and Public Relations Department. by Mark Frary Bylined articles and Letters to the Editor are encouraged. Submissions are published at ANSI’s discretion and are subject to editing for space and clarity. Viewpoints expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or the policies of the American National Standards Institute. All submissions are non-returnable. Please include a daytime phone number.

© 2004 ANSI Reporter American National Standards Institute 2 Q ANSI REPORTER a commemorative tribute called the “evolution of electricity from mag- netism.” Faraday made minute and accurate measurements of electric forces. He also conducted numerous experiments through a process of magnetization and demagnetization, 1820-1904 for which two separate insulated coils wound round an iron ring enabled him to successfully HE ORLD OF LECTRICITY demonstrate the complex phenomena of induc- T W E tion. This discovery was later to pave the way for the development of electric generators and alternators. Faraday’s experimental disk gener- ator became the first to produce a continuous electric current. In a series of or much of the 19th century, the industrial revolution was papers between 1855 in full swing, with electricity being harnessed for commercial and 1873, the theoreti- cal physicist James purposes for the first time. This was a period of great Clerk Maxwell used F the mathematics of industry and inventiveness. Author Mark Frary, with contributions incompressible fluids provided by Paul Tunbridge, introduces many of the theoreticians and to express Faraday’s inventors that laid the foundation for the electrical world that exists today. lines of force, estab- lishing his famous series of equations and speculating that elec- tromagnetism bore a remarkable resemblance to the properties of light. At the time, Maxwell Following Alessandro Volta’s experiments in current. When the demonstration was repeated said: “We can scarcely avoid the conclusion 1800, which produced electricity by the mutual by Professor de la Rive at the Académie des that light consists in the transverse undulations contact of discs of silver and zinc moistened sciences in Paris, among those present was the of the same medium which is the cause of with water, the study of electric current distinguished mathematician André-Marie electric and magnetic phenomena.” changed the direction of 19th century physics. Ampère who began a series of researches on However, Maxwell who died in 1879, In their search to find a continuous source of the phenomenon. Meanwhile, Georg Simon did not live to see the experimental proof power, inventors in various parts of the world Ohm, a Bavarian physicist, established in 1827 of his theory. This was left to Heinrich Hertz. designed larger batteries but, as today, were the important relationship that the current Between 1885 and 1889, Hertz was a profes- defeated by the cost question. Mathematicians through a circuit is proportional to the applied sor at Karlsrühe Polytechnic in Germany and physicists were engaged in a race to electric and magnetic fields and inversely and carried out experiments in which he unravel the intimate relationship between proportional to the resistance. discharged a condenser across a spark gap, electricity and magnetism. At the same time, The English chemist Sir Humphrey creating radio waves that were then detected inventors and engineers were trying to outdo Davey, working to improve the safety of by means of a resonator with a similar gap. each other with ingenious and ever more miners who relied on candles, had produced This was the first successful transmission and efficient devices and systems to produce, in 1802 the first electric arc lamp in which reception of radio waves and Hertz was able measure and harness it. electricity was to measure their wavelength and frequency. discharged between He subsequently showed that radio waves The “theoreticians” two pieces of carbon. were reflected and refracted in the same way he theoretical basis for understand- His laboratory assis- as light. ing electricity began in the 1800s. tant was Michael Sir Charles Wheatstone, an English T In 1820 a Danish physicist, H.C. Faraday, who in physicist and inventor, was professor of Oersted, demonstrated that a current passing 1831, while Director experimental philosophy at King’s College through a wire would deflect a compass of the Laboratory of London. While in Heidelberg, Germany, needle. This experiment enabled him to the Royal Institution, studying anatomy, he attended a lecture in discover the magnetic effect of an electric investigated what he 1836 during which (continued on page 4)

a commemorative tribute ANSI REPORTER 3 The World of Electricity: 1820-1904

(continued from page 3) Professor Müncke calculate and reduce power losses in motors, Guglielmo demonstrated a single-needle telegraph. generators and transformers. Steinmetz went Marconi was born Impressed, Wheatstone designed the first on to show how complex number theory could in Bologna, Italy, in commercially acceptable installation which be used as an elegant means of predicting the 1874. By 1896, he two years later went into operation in England behavior of alternating currents in circuits. had come to England on the Great Western Railway. He also and was helped in designed a workable ABC printing telegraph, The inventors his experiments in which eventually failed to find a suitable hile the first half of the century wireless telegraphy market. In 1843 Wheatstone experimented belonged to the “theoreticians,” by William Preece, with underwater telegraphy, but this model W the second half was a period of the engineer-in-chief lacked the appropriate insulation for the creativity in science and engineering. Important of the Post Office. In a letter to Preece in conducting wires. Almost simultaneously, inventors from this era included Thomas November of that year Marconi remarked that in the United States, Samuel Morse was con- Edison, Nikola Tesla, Guglielmo Marconi “this very rapid charging and discharging of ducting similar experiments and successfully and Colonel R. E. B. Crompton. the capacity throws the ether all around into operated a public service between Baltimore In the United States, Thomas Edison, a vibrations which affect the conductor at the and Washington. Wheatstone is also remem- former newsboy, started in business making receiver.” In April 1897, he admitted to Preece bered for having invented two new devices telegraph instruments. Transmitting a single that “I have not yet been able to find a satis- to measure and regulate electrical resistance signal along a telegraph cable was time- factory explanation as to how the signals get to and current: the rheostat and the Wheatstone consuming and costly. Edison’s multiplex the other side of the hills.” bridge, which is named after him. telegraph enabled more than one signal on a The interests of Colonel Crompton ranged from auto- mobiles, bicycles, military tanks and Thomas Edison was America's road engineering to electric lighting, most prolific inventor with 1,093 power generation patents to his credit. and electrical equipment. The English engineer went on to form one The first international submarine cable single cable. In 1877, Edison expanded his of the most success- service linking Dover with Calais was laid factory to manufacture complete generators ful engineering firms of the century, Crompton in 1851 by the British Electric Telegraph and lighting systems including his own design and Co. By the end of the century, despite mil- Company. In 1866, a British scientist, Lord of filament lamp. After commercial success itary service in the Boer War, the proliferation Kelvin — who later became the first president with his invention of the phonograph, he of electricity and electrical devices brought of the International Electrotechnical went on to develop the first commercially him to appreciate the need for standardization Commission — went further and achieved successful incandescent light bulb. at both the national and international level. worldwide fame with his Atlantic telegraph. Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 in Smiljan Meanwhile, the mathematician Oliver in Croatia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian The “power” generation Heaviside, who had worked as a telegraph Empire) to Serbian parents and emigrated to he first practical dynamo-electric operator, showed how Maxwell’s equations America in 1884. He held 112 patents in the machine to appear on the market could be reduced to more readily usable U.S. alone, including Patent 382,280 on the T was invented by Zénobe Gramme, differential equations. electrical transmission of power, for which he a Belgian carpenter turned industrial As public power generation became is best remembered. a practical reality, scientists turned their In this patent, Tesla wrote: “By producing attention to the problems of dealing mathemat- an alternating current, each impulse of which ically with electrical engineering. One of the involves a rise and fall of potential I reproduce key figures was Germany’s Charles Steinmetz, in the motor the exact conditions of the gener- who within three years of his arrival in the ator, and by such currents and the consequent United States in 1889, had formulated the law production of poles the progression of the of hysteresis, allowing electrical engineers to poles will be continuous and not intermittent.”

4 ANSI REPORTER a commemorative tribute The World of Electricity: 1820-1904

When you can measure what you model-maker, who in about 1870, improving world started forming their own electrotechni- are speaking about, and express it upon existing machines, produced his own cal societies. In 1871, the Society of Telegraph in numbers, you know something design. Other makers followed Gramme’s ini- Engineers was founded in London. The over- about it. tiative including Siemens in Germany and lap between telegraphy and electrical engineer- their offshoot in Britain, as well as Emil ing then led to the society broadening its name — Lord Kelvin Bürgin in Switzerland. In the United States, nine years later to become the Society of electric power came to the masses in autumn Telegraph Engineers and Electricians. That electrical equipment had become a worldwide 1882 with the opening of Edison’s Pearl Street name lasted even less time and in 1888 it problem. With the development of economic generating station in lower Manhattan. became the Institution of Electrical Engineers generators, filament lamps, fittings and reliable Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti was born in (IEE), the name it retains today. cables, local authorities and distributors for the Liverpool, England, in 1864. His precocious In 1883, the Société Internationale des first time could choose between the merits of interest in electricity led him to design lighting Electriciens was formed in France and the different designs. But in the absence of agreed for his father’s photographic studio at the age Elektrotechnischer Verein in Vienna, Austro- ratings and recognized performance criteria of 13. At 16, he patented a dynamo and at 21 Hungary. The following year saw the estab- they were often obliged to follow the advice of was made chief engineer of the London lishment of the American Institute of Electrical experienced consultants. Manufacturers, on the Electric Supply Corporation. It was in this role Engineers. The Canadian Electrical other hand, began to appreciate that to facili- that he was instrumental in the design and con- Association appeared in 1891, followed two tate repetitive production, simplification of struction of the world’s first high voltage AC years later by Germany’s Verband Deutscher designs was essential especially in reducing power station at Deptford in London. On its Elektrotechniker and in 1897 by Italy’s cost for the consumer, meeting competition opening, the station generated power at 10,000 Associazione Elettrotecnica Italiana. from foreign producers, and providing recog- volts and supplied electricity to most of central The British Association for the nized guarantees. London. Advancement of Science appointed in In Britain a committee set up under the In the United States, the inventor George 1861 a specialized committee under Lord auspices of the Institution of Civil Engineers Westinghouse was particularly interested in the Kelvin (then William Thomson) to study the in 1901 considered the advisability of stan- area of safety. He devised the world’s first air question of electrical units. Foremost to dardizing iron and steel sections. One year brakes, automatic signals for railways and a recognize their importance, Kelvin insisted later the committee was enlarged to include system for transporting natural gas safely, but that ‘when you can measure what you are electrical plant. It was this committee under in 1884 he turned his attention to electrical speaking about, and express it in numbers, Sir John Wolfe Barry that finally emerged as power generation. you know something about it.’ The following the British Standards Institution. Westinghouse year, as well as recommending the use of the The American Institute of Electrical had followed metric system, he emphasized the need for a Engineers (IEEE) had already set up a com- developments in coherent set of electrical units. mittee in 1897 to deal with electrical standard- AC power generation At the 1881 Paris Congress, although ization but it was not until 1918 that the in Europe with inter- lacking precise definitions, the ampere, volt, American Standards Engineering Institute est. Employing the and ohm were recommended as practical units. (later ANSI) came into existence. newly arrived Nikola Kelvin’s pioneer work in the British Electrical engineers in the early 20th cen- Tesla to develop AC Association and at the series of International tury began to see the need for closer collabora- generators and Congresses contributed to the establishment of tion embracing terminology, testing, safety and motors, Westing- a solid foundation of electrical units and stan- internationally agreed specifications. While the house opened a hydroelectric power station at dards, and up to his death he more than any 19th century had been the era of electrotechni- Niagara Falls in 1895, starting the trend for other, paved the way for their international cal innovation, the emphasis was now on con- siting generating capacity at a distance from adoption. In 1967 the unit ‘kelvin’ (symbol K) solidation and standardization. While the consumption — something for which AC was was assigned to the unit of thermodynamic series of International Electrical Congresses, better suited. temperature as one of the base units of the particularly those between 1881 and 1900, had International System of Units. been solely concerned with electric units and Emergence of regional standards, it was at the St. Louis, USA, electrotechnical societies International standardization congress, held in 1904 that, in the interests of he rapid pace of change at that period lthough the importance of electrical commercial transactions and trade, the propos- is particularly reflected in the growth measuring units had been universal- al was made for the setting up of a permanent T of the learned societies between 1870 A ly recognized, by the end of the international commission to study the unifica- and 1890. Countries in various parts of the 19th century the lack of standardization of tion of electrical machines and apparatus.

a commemorative tribute ANSI REPORTER 5 the appointment of

representative commission

n 1903, the city of Niagara Falls bustled at the center of the North American electrical I industry. By then, the power of rushing water had been channeled into electricity. George Westinghouse had built a power station there using two-phase alternating current generators patented by Nikola Tesla. Factories moved to the area because no comparable abundant power was available. Beginning in July of that year, perhaps Why did St. Louis host a unnoticed by those outside the sphere of amperes aworld’s fair in 1904? and volts, Niagara Falls, USA, hosted the planning committee for a week-long International Electrical had adopted terminology, such as Gauss and Congress in 1904. Four similar congresses, held Maxwell for units of magnetic field and magnetic Why was electricity during the preceding 23 years in different parts flux, but not all scientists used that terminology. such an important topic of the world, had all pointed towards this final And the electrical world was divided about the one. It was to be a special part of the Louisiana need to name every unit. that people came from Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, These issues were in the forefront on July 1, all over the globe which took place from May to December of that 1903, when the Niagara organizing committee to propose an year. This congress would set the stage for a per- held its first meeting. On that day, the members manent International Commission on electricity. elected Elihu Thomson, international commission? inventor and founder of Niagara Falls the General Electric What were the steps There was a lot at stake for the Niagara commit- Corporation, as president tee, which was organizing the scientific sessions of the 1904 congress. the organizers took to of the Electrical Congress. Although electricity The committee also convene such an august was still in its infancy, the commercialization of elected other officers and electrotechnology was well underway. Incandes- appointed a 25-member group? cent lamps were beginning to illuminate streets advisory board. In addi- and homes, offices and laboratories. Telephones tion, the Niagara commit- What were the outcomes connected households, telegraphs connected cities, tee divided the work of and transoceanic cables connected continents. the congress into two sections: general theory and of these efforts? Now, international standardization was needed applications. for electrical science so that scientists in every During the second meeting, held again in country could use the same words for this Niagara Falls two months later, the committee Author Jeanne Erdmann emerging technology. asked the secretary, Arthur Kennelly, to issue answers all these The Niagara planning committee decided that invitations “among all interested in electricity or questions . . . and more. when the International Congress met in St. Louis its applications” to join the congress. In the letter, in 1904, a special group of government appointed Kennelly outlined plans for the congress and delegates would address international electromag- described a strategy by which the St. Louis netic units and international standardization. Such congress would host a Chamber of Delegates, standardization was necessary to promote commu- appointed by respective governments. The dele- nication among scientists, to support safety, func- gates would serve as the official representatives tion, and performance of all things electrical, and to the St. Louis congress and would address to spur international commerce. Earlier congresses standardization issues such as nomenclature.

6 ANSI REPORTER a commemorative tribute A Representative Commission

By October, the Niagara committee had gallons of water mailed 14,900 typed and signed invitations to streaming down join the congress. Letters to potential foreign the Cascades. A participants were sent in English, French, transformer room and German. The USD 5.00 membership fee under the Cascades included admission to scientific meetings, a supplied power to copy of the transactions, and, for the foreign illuminate the rush- delegates, an invitation to a circular tour that ing water with alter- would precede the Exposition. The Niagara nating lights of red, committee’s efforts found success. By the green, and opal, time the Fifth International Electrical Congress each color controlled opened in St. Louis on September 12, 1904, by a triple-throw as many as 16 technical societies in the U.S. switch on a separate and abroad had accepted the invitation, 719 wiring system. electrical scientists had registered, and 15 The Palace of governments had appointed a total of 29 Electricity served as delegates [see inset photo at right]. a centerpiece for the Exposition. Despite The Palace of Electricity the high tariff imposed by the United States kilowatt, to help power the intramural railway Opening ceremonies for the Louisiana on products of foreign factories, nearly half plant. But each country brought exhibits Purchase Exposition were held on April 30, of the 109,973 square feet (10,216 square requiring different power: direct current and 1904. The exposition celebrated the purchase meters) exhibit area in the Palace held alternating current; 25- and 60-cycle alternat- of the Louisiana Territories from France for international electrical exhibits. Visitors ing current; 1-, 2-, and 3-phase alternating USD 15 million in 1803 (the centennial cele- watched electricity at work. There were current, and numerous direct current voltages. bration came one year late as the Exposition running demonstrations of alternating planning committee needed additional time). and direct current. Fair goers positioned The 1904 Electrical Congress While New Orleans had been discussed as a at telephone stations on either side of the Members of the Chamber of Delegates addres- possible site for the celebration, St. Louis was Palace could speak to each other on tele- sed this lack of consistency when the congress chosen for its central location and because it phones, “without any metallic connection assembled from September 12 to 17. When the was the largest city in states that had emerged between the two.” Visitors saw working General Congress opened in the Coliseum from the Purchase. demonstration of dynamo, a model of a Music Hall on the morning of September 12, Although the International Electrical monorail train from Great Britain, and a Professor William Goldsborough, chief of the Congress would not begin until September, wireless telegraph, which was used by the department of electricity, spoke to more than electricity took front and center at the Fair. press during the Exposition to file stories. 1,000 people. He told participants that the On April 30 during the formal opening, On September 12, the Electrical Congress “cooperative spirit that animates electrical President Theodore Roosevelt sat in the east opened at the Exposition. During that week, workers” had already produced better nomen- room of the White House in Washington D.C. on September 14, Electricity Day was cele- clature, uniform standards and a system for and pushed a telegraph button sending the brated with parades and demonstrations. At the producing accurate records among internation- message that signaled the official opening. Palace on that day, visitors watched demon- al scientists. Flags unfurled and fountains gushed to life. strations of the mega-volt transformer. The That work was far from over. Four On the south side of the Palace of Electricity, output of 1,000,000 volts shot a “flaming arc” previous international electrical congresses had three motor-driven pumps sent nearly 100,000 into the sky as loud cracks of sound rippled already started the dialogue on nomenclature across the fairgrounds. and standardization that began with the first The Palace of Electricity needed a congress, which met in Paris in 1881, where “large amount of power” for the USD 4 the centimeter-gramme-second (c.g.s.) system million worth of exhibits. The lack of stan- was adopted. By the time the fifth congress dardization was reflected in the many types convened in St. Louis, the terminology of of power that needed to be supplied to kilowatt had replaced horsepower, but no two exhibitors. Little power was available for countries had yet defined units in the same way. purchase at the time, although some was At the General meeting of the congress, purchased at a cost of USD 3.04 per rated several of the (continued on page 8)

a commemorative tribute ANSI REPORTER 7 A Representative Commission

(continued from page 7) 158 research papers vast inconsistencies in how units were defined. societies of the world, by the appointment of that were read dealt with standardization of Those differences could be costly, Kennelly a representative commission to consider the units. Professor Moise Ascoli head of the dele- noted, because a “question of one-tenth of a question of the standardization of the gation from Italy, Associazone Elettrotechnica volt in one hundred and ten”, could involve nomenclature and ratings of electrical appara- Italiana, read a paper that discussed the merits “large sums of money in regard to a contract tus and machinery.” The Chamber adjourned of the Giorgi versus Heaviside systems. for incandescent lamps.” when all resolutions were adopted. The previous day, Arthur E. Kennelly, then On Friday, the delegates met for the final a professor of engineering at Harvard, A permanent organization time. They agreed to report back to their addressed the importance of nomenclature For the Chamber of Delegates, these issues respective governments and technical societies when his paper on alternating current theory were not theoretical or academic. The 29 dele- regarding actions taken in St. Louis. They on transmission speed over submarine cables gates hailed from 15 countries including the thanked Thomson and other officers for their was read. Frank A. Wolff, of the National USA, France, Great Britain, Mexico and India. service. Bureau of Standards [Editor’s Note: The Their meetings were held separately from the The congress officially came to a close NBS later became the National Institute of scientific sessions of the congress so the dele- during a General Meeting on Saturday, Standards and Technology], read a paper that gates could formally address issues regarding September 17. Many speeches were given detailed efforts for standardization during international standardization. in regard to the potential of international the four previous international congresses. standardization. Professor Webster, of Clark Following Wolff’s paper, a long debate University, president of the American Physical began, which covered: accurate measurement Society said: “We feel that the work accom- of units, nomenclature, and the differences in plished at this congress will render it a memo- laws regarding electricity among countries. rable one not only on account of the subjects Dr. Kennelly was a long-time supporter of under discussion but also for the move that has naming all of the absolute units, as he been taken in regard to the International mentioned the previous day, when his paper Commission.” was read, because “all germs and even Elihu Thomson, who played an integral weeds have names.” role beginning with the Niagara planning “A noxious germ is not used because committee, expressed confidence that efforts it is named,” remarked Mr. H.E. Harrison towards standardization of nomenclature in the discussion following Wolff’s paper. and units would be handled by an appropriate Harrison continued by saying that naming the At 3:15 p.m. on September 12, 1904, deliberating body. “I have no doubt that this two absolute systems would bring confusion delegates held their first meeting at the Hotel Commission will soon be a fact, and will then to people reading research papers. At the Jefferson (shown above) in St. Louis. They be able to take up questions which are not, or 1900 Paris congress, continued Harrison, adjourned fifteen minutes later after having for which many of us thought are not, proper the names Gauss and Maxwell were adopted nominated Elihu Thomson as president of the to be discussed during an exposition,” said but in England “only one in 100 engineers” Chamber. Delegates also appointed a commit- Thomson. would know what these terms mean. tee to consider officers for a permanent When addressing specifically the foreign After a long discussion on the volt International Commission. On Tuesday, delegates, Thomson said, “I have found that standard, Kennelly said: “It seems only September 13, delegates met at the Hotel the unanimity of action, the absence of any reasonable that fundamental units which Jefferson for a second time. They appointed disagreement whatsoever has been remarkable. have to be used, at least in theoretical investi- a committee to investigate international As soon as a measure was known to be a gations, should receive names, and perhaps standardization of electrical science. proper thing, all votes were unanimous and the simplest method of naming these units is On September 15, delegates awoke to this bodes well for future work of the to employ prefixes in connection with the sunshine and a cool day. That afternoon, International Commission.” practical units.” Others, such as John Perry they met for the third time. During the meet- Thomson went on to note the “boundless” and Doctor R.T. Glazebrook, both of Great ing, Thomson and his colleagues unanimously future of electrical science and closed his Britain, thought Kennelly was insisting on adopted many resolutions addressing the lack remarks with: “prepare then to accept an “far too many names” because the c.g.s. of uniformity regarding “laws relating to electrical universe.” system is self-evident. electrical units.” One resolution took the first The debate lasted long after the session official action toward a permanent internation- In 1908, Thomson would become the adjourned. When the discussion led to a al congress: “That steps should be taken to IEC’s second president, following the death comparison of laws, participants noted the secure the cooperation of the technical of Lord Kelvin.

8 ANSI REPORTER a commemorative tribute F IEC UNDING THE FOUNDINGO OF THE INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

Crompton, Chelmsford, England and to the President of the American Institute of hat took place between September 1904 in Electrical Engineers, New York City.” St. Louis and June 1906 in London when the IEC Colonel Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton, who had been asked by Britain’s Institution of officially came into being? Who spoke to whom, Electrical Engineers (IEE) to accompany the Wwho decided what, who had the lead and what kinds of personalities did IEE president, J. K. Gray, to America to repre- sent British electrical engineering, was a key they have? Ultimately, how did it all come together for the founding meet- figure in the industry. ing in London? Mark Frary provides insight into the two years leading The inimitable Colonel Crompton up to the founding of the International Electrotechnical Commission. olonel Crompton Much was going on in the world during the to the Olympics and the Universal Exposition C was born period from 1904 to 1906. Einstein published held to celebrate the centenary of the in Yorkshire, his paper on the Special Theory of Relativity; Louisiana Purchase, electrical engineers from England in 1845 U.S. engineers had just begun work on the around the world came to the city for the and like many Panama Canal; and the picture postcard, the International Electrical Congress, the fifth in Victorian era ice cream cone and the jukebox were invented. the international series. engineers had a On both sides of the Atlantic, factories At the congress, a Chamber of Delegates, panoply of interests. and townships were clamoring for more made up of engineers from 15 countries, His Kensington electricity to replace outmoded gas and oil including the Argentine Republic, France, Court power station lighting systems. H.G. Wells, in the North Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland and the in London was one of the first in the city and American Review (1901), predicted the United States, carried a resolution to the effect he was involved in many of Britain’s early electrical century ahead when houses and that: public lighting and electricity supply schemes. factories would be heated, ventilated and Crompton was also fondly keen of all forms of operated by electricity. Steps should be taken to secure the vehicular transport, particularly bicycles, and In the world of electrical engineering co-operation of the technical societies was also a founder of the Royal Automobile much was happening, too. John Ambrose of the world by the appointment of a Club as well as being involved in the invention Fleming, Britain’s first ever professor of representative commission to consider of the military tank. electrical engineering, invented the thermionic the question of the standardization of Crompton had been singled out by the valve while in the U.S., Lee De Forest invent- the Nomenclature and Ratings of Chamber of Delegates because of a paper he ed the triode. This was the period that saw the Electrical Apparatus and Machinery. gave at the congress on the subject of stan- beginnings of the International Electrotechni- dardization in electrical engineering. In his cal Commission (IEC). The delegates were then charged to return autobiography, Reminiscences, Crompton The road to the organization’s existence to their respective technical societies to take remembers: “My paper had this effect, that at really began in St. Louis. The Missouri city action on this resolution and “communicate the the end of the session I was officially request- was a busy place in 1904. Not only was it host results of such action to Colonel R. E. B. ed to do my best (continued on page 10)

a commemorative tribute ANSI REPORTER 9 The Founding of the IEC

(continued from page 9) to form a permanent International Electrotechnical Commission, which should deal with electrical standardiza- tion from an international standpoint. I fore- saw great difficulties, but these difficulties were eventually overcome.” On his return, Crompton communicated the desire of the congress to the British Engineering Standards Committee, which brought together engineers from all disci- plines, including the Institution of Mechanical Institute of Electrical Engineers, France’s who had accepted Crompton’s invitation — Engineers, the IEE and the Institution of Civil Société Internationale des Electriciens, Denmark, Sweden and Norway — had not Engineers (ICE) to discuss matters regarding Italy’s Associazione Elettrotecnica Italiana, been able to appoint delegates to attend by standardization. This committee held its the Canadian Electrical Association, the time of the London meetings. However, sittings under the direction of ICE and so it Germany’s Verband Deutscher representatives from Belgium, Holland, Japan, was this organization that Crompton first Elektrotechniker and Austro-Hungary’s Switzerland and Spain had added to the approached. Elektrotechnischer Verein. The electrical original list of countries. Initially, the ICE Council were positive societies of Denmark, Sweden, Norway also As for a venue to hold this prestigious about the international proposal but felt it expressed their interest in the proposals. meeting, there was only really one choice. too early. The council commented at the time: Six months later, the IEE Council “The appointment of such a Commission announced it had appointed an Executive Europe’s largest hotel though in every way desirable, would at Committee to “consider and report upon a ondon’s premier hotel in the early present be premature; but we believe that scheme for the constitution of such an 1900s was the Hotel Cecil, with an preliminary action may, with advantage be International Commission.” The members L entrance on the Strand and overlook- taken with the aim of paving the way to the included among others the new IEE president ing the River Thames. At the time, it was the ultimate formation of such a Commission, John Gavey, the immediate past president largest hotel in Europe and had more than 800 if the Council approves the general object.” Alexander Siemens, Post Office chief engineer luxuriously decorated rooms. The Cecil was In February 1905, ICE President Sir John Sir William Preece, Lord Kelvin and Colonel at the height of its popularity, and was a regu- Wolfe-Barry, the engineer who had designed Crompton. lar haunt of visiting Americans. The IEE held London’s Tower Bridge, conferred with the June 1906 looked to be an ideal time for its annual dinner there each year. then IEE president Alexander Siemens regard- the Commission to come together. The IEE Opening the first meeting on Monday ing Crompton’s proposal and suggested that Council had already extended invitations to June 26, Siemens explained that “the first the IEE should take the lead in the matter by several of the world’s electrotechnical societies business of the meeting was to constitute the appointing an Executive Committee. to come to London “in some measure to return commission by adopting a set of rules. A draft For the two presidents, conferring was the courtesies received in former years from which had been provisionally prepared and a relatively easy task as the two institutions the electrical institutions in Europe and circulated previously to the delegates was then shared premises at One Great George Street America.” in London’s West End. The rapidly expanding Thus meetings were set up for June Electrical Engineers did not move to their 26-27, 1906, under the chairmanship of Savoy Place home — where the IEC Alexander Siemens, president of the eventually held its first plenary meeting — Executive Committee. As with many interna- until 1907. tional get-togethers, social events were also arranged including a post-meeting ten-day Oui, Si, Yes, Ja and Hai tour of England and Scotland by specially t the end of 1905, Colonel chartered train in which the visiting engineers Crompton announced to the would visit various electrical companies and A IEE Council that he had sent local branches of the Institution of Electrical out preliminary enquiries regarding the Engineers around the country as well as the Commission and had received favorable sights of the Lake District and Shakespeare’s responses from the electrical societies of Stratford-upon-Avon. nine countries. These were the American In the event, three of the nine countries

10 ANSI REPORTER a commemorative tribute The Founding of the IEC

referred to a subcommittee for detailed consid- each local committee d) the Honorary were among 1,700 guests who went that eration.” The subcommittee adjourned until Secretary; evening to the Natural History Museum for an the following day. in general, the business of the IEC will ‘a conversazione’ evening, entertained by the That evening, the IEE threw a banquet be conducted by correspondence, but the string band of the Royal Engineers. The next at the Cecil for 450 guests and delegates in President may summon a meeting of the day the visiting engineers departed on their honor of the foreign visitors. According to Council or of the Commission when he tour of country, happy in the knowledge that a report of the event in the Times later that sees fit…. These meetings are to take they had embarked upon a new journey of week, IEE president John Gavey proposed a place in London, or in such other places international co-operation. toast. Speaking in French, he said it gave him as the majority of the Commission deter- Although Kelvin and Crompton were the “the greatest happiness to see the solidity mine. Each local committee is to find first public faces of the IEC, the contribution which existed between the great professions, funds for its own expenses, and to con- of a third person should not be forgotten. whether political, religious or national. He tribute an equal share to the expenses of thought that this solidarity was the most the Central Office. The American influence pronounced among engineers.” n his autobiography Reminiscences, The following day saw more meetings, With the modus operandi for the IEC now Crompton claimed that Professor Elihu including the adjourned meeting of the sub- worked out, all that remained was to appoint I Thomson (see photo on page 6) had been committee that was examining the rules for the first incumbents of the two unfilled posi- the “real originator of the International scheme the operation of the proposed Commission. tions on the fledgling IEC Council. at the St. Louis Conference.” The principal rules agreed at that meeting Professor Thomson was born in 1853 in were as follows: Kelvin for president Manchester, England, but his family moved to ecause Philadelphia when he was five. Initially his the Commission is to be known as the of his interests were in the field of chemistry and International Electrotechnical Commis- B major indeed his professorship was in this area. But sion (IEC) for the standardization of role in bringing by 1880, Thomson had become totally nomenclature and ratings of electrical the Commission absorbed into the rapidly developing field of apparatus and machinery…; to fruition, Col- electrical engineering. He was granted a multi- any self-governing country desiring to onel Crompton tude of patents, including the electric welding join the IEC may form a local committee. was an obvious machine, and the firm he founded with E. J. These committees are to be formed one choice for one of Houston merged later with Edison’s firm to for each country, by the technical soci- the roles and he create the General Electric Company. eties of each country. In a country having was duly appointed Professor Thomson was therefore a natu- no such technical societies, the govern- as the IEC’s first Honorary Secretary. ral choice for the role of president of the 1904 ment may appoint a committee; The role of first IEC President was St. Louis congress. Speaking about those early each committee is to send delegates to bestowed upon Lord Kelvin. Best remembered years of international co-operation to Colonel the Commission. Each country is entitled for his work on thermodynamics and in partic- Crompton a few years after the IEC’s inaugu- to one vote only, whatever the number of ular for the concept of absolute zero, the tem- ration, Professor Thomson said: delegates…Only such decisions may be perature at which all molecular motion ceases, published as those of the IEC which have Kelvin had a prodigious output as a scientist “No work of such huge importance to the been passed unanimously by the Com- and electrical engineer. electrical industry has exceeded that of the mission. All decisions passed by a divid- His 1856 paper, “Dynamical illustrations work commenced during the last few ed vote may be published only when the of the magnetic and helicoidal rotary effects of years in the international exchange of names of the countries voting for and transparent bodies on polarized light,” laid the electrical ideas. It is a very difficult thing against are given; groundwork for James Clerk Maxwell’s subse- to carry on these matters internationally; the central offices of the IEC are for the quent theories on electromagnetism while the there are many jealousies to be overcome, present in London, at the office of the mirror galvanometer that he designed was many susceptibilities to be met; and it is Institution of Electrical Engineers. The crucial in the successful laying of the first something to be proud of that no quarrels methods of carrying out the objects of the transatlantic submarine cable in 1865. It was and no troubles have yet arisen.” Commission are in the hands of a for this latter work that he was named to Council consisting of a) the President of Britain’s House of Lords. That same spirit of co-operation persists the Commission b) the Presidents of the To celebrate this highly satisfactory out- today as the IEC celebrates its hundred years local committees c) one delegate from come, Lord Kelvin and Colonel Crompton of existence.

a commemorative tribute ANSI REPORTER 11 Headquarters 1819 L Street, NW Sixth Floor Washington, DC 20036 Tel: 202.293.8020 Fax: 202.293.9287

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oday’s ideal standards scenario centers on the develop- T ment of a single, internationally recognized, technically valid document. International standards make it clear how to improve the safety of products for the protection of con- sumers. They support the worldwide sale of products and prevent regions from using local standards to favor local industries.

U.S. experts have worked extensively with both national and international standards bodies to ensure American interests are well represented in the development of international standards.

Within the electrotechnical community, the USNC serves as the U.S. link to the International Electrotechnical Commission and as the primary U.S. electrotechnical industry interface with regional standards bodies such as the CENELEC, Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC), the Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT), and the Council for Harmonization of Electrotechnical Standards of the Nations of the Americas (CANENA).

The USNC advocates on behalf of U.S. interests that inter- national standards must be based on the principles of the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (WTO/TBT) Agreement and adopt the concepts of valid jus- tification, global relevance, consensus, openness, balance, impartiality, transparency, due process (including prompt appeal), flexibility, coherence and timeliness. The USNC also promotes the concept of “one test and one certification” based on the marketplace demand.