Siemens

Siemens, SIR WILLIAM (KARL WILHELM) (1823-83), metallurgist and electrician, was born at Leuthe, in Hanover, and received his education at the Polytechnic school of Magdeburg and the university of Gottingen. In 1843 he came to England in order to patent a process for electro-gilding, invented by his brother, WERNER VON SIEMENS (b. 1816), and himself. A second journey to England in 1844, in which he brought with him his "chronometric" or differential governor, was followed by his permanent settlement in this country, Wilhelm conducting the affairs of "Siemens Brothers" in England, whilst Verner, also an able electrician, for the most part resided in Prussia. Wilhelm's genius received ample recognition, and in 1882 he was President of the British Association. Among his more important inventions were the regenerative furnace, the selenium eye, and various electric railways. He also devised the steamer Faraday for laying the Direct United States Cable in 1874.