Elmer Ambrose Sperry Sr. (October 12, 1860 – June 16, 1930) was an American inventor and entrepreneur, most famous for construction, two years after Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe, of the gyrocompass and as founder of the Sperry Gyroscope Company.

Sperry's compasses and stabilizers were adopted by the United States Navy and used in both world wars. He also worked closely with Japanese companies and the Japanese government and was honored after his death with a volume of reminiscences published in Japan.

Early life

Sperry was born in Cincinnatus, New York, on October 12, 1860, to Stephen Decatur Sperry and Mary Burst. His mother died the next day, from complications from his birth.

He was of English ancestry. His family had been in what is now the Northeastern United States since the 1600s, and his earliest American ancestor was an English colonist named Richard Sperry (born 1606). In 1894, General Electric bought the railway company and its associated patents. In 1911, Sperry worked with the US Navy to incorporate his gyroscopic stabilizer, which greatly reduced major roll of the ship, into Navy ships. During World War I he worked to create a "flying bomb", and on March 6, 1918, he guided an aerial torpedo for more than half a mile using radio control.

thumb|Elmer Ambrose Sperry demonstrating the operation of a searchlightWorking with the US Navy, Sperry developed a system to control the entire battery of a battleship from an interior room of the ship.

Starting in 1914, Sperry began working with the US Navy to develop higher-power lighting for use with naval turrets.

Memberships

Sperry was a member of the following groups:

  • Founder and charter member of the American Electro-Chemical Society
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • American Physical Society
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  • Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
  • New York Electrical Society
  • American Petroleum Institute
  • Edison Pioneers
  • National Aeronautical Association
  • Aero Club of America
  • Engineers' Club
  • National Electric Light Association
  • Franklin Institute
  • Japan Society
  • National Academy of Sciences
  • Director of the Museum of the Peaceful Arts

Awards

  • Aero Club of France (1914) for his airplane stabilizer
  • Collier Trophy (1914) for gyroscopic control
  • Collier Trophy (1916) for his drift indicator
  • John Fritz Medal (1927)
  • Albert Gary Medal (1927)
  • Two decorations from the last Czar of Russia; two decorations from the Emperor of Japan, the Order of the Rising Sun and the Order of the Sacred Treasure; and the grand prize of the Panama Exposition.

References

Further reading

  • Fahrney, Delmer S. (RAdm ret): History of Radio-Controlled Aircraft and Guided Missiles
  • Elmer A. Sperry case file at the Franklin Institute contains records concerning his 1914 Franklin Award for the gyroscopic compass
  • for the gyroscopic compass, filed June 1911; issued September 1918
  • US patent search page, search for Elmer and Sperry in Inventor name, 1790–present, yields about 160 results—some recent ones are by EA Sperry Jr, earliest ones not found
  • Finding aids for the Elmer Ambrose Sperry papers and the Elmer Sperry photograph collection are available at Hagley Museum and Library.