William Stanley Jr. (November 28, 1858 – May 14, 1916) was an American physicist born in Brooklyn, New York. During his career, he obtained 129 patents covering a variety of electric devices.

Career

Stanley was as an electrician working with tele keys and fire alarms of an early manufacturer. In Philadelphia, Stanley designed one of the first electrical installations (at a Fifth Avenue store). Shortly thereafter, George Westinghouse hired Stanley as his chief engineer at his Pittsburgh factory.

In 1885, Stanley built the first practical alternating current transformer based on Lucien Gaulard and John Dixon Gibbs' prototype of 1881. This device was the precursor to the modern transformer. In December, under a new contract with Westinghouse, Stanley moved his operations to Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Agreeing that the AC system had arrived, Westinghouse further tested the system in summer 1886 in Pittsburgh; it transmitted over a distance of 3 miles, and used an alternator designed by Stanley to replace the Siemens model, which regulated voltage poorly. Satisfied with the pilot system, Westinghouse began commercial production and shipped his company's first commercial alternator to Buffalo, New York, where a local utility placed it in service. Orders for 25 alternating-current plants followed within months.

In 1890, Stanley founded the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In 1903 the General Electric Corporation purchased a controlling interest in the firm. The land on which the company once stood is now the site of the William Stanley Business Park of the Berkshires in Pittsfield.

Patents

thumb|right|The practical coil circuits were the prototypes for the modern transformers. ()

William Stanley Jr. was granted 129 patents for a range of products and electrical devices. A selection of patents follow. Significant patents are in bold.

thumb|right|Stanley (second row, second from right) in [[Philadelphia on May 19, 1915, during the awarding of the Franklin Medal with Thomas Alva Edison]]

  • , Circuit-closer for incandescent lamps
  • , Electric lamp
  • , Filament for incandescent electric lamps
  • , Multiple incandescent electric lamp
  • , Carbon for incandescent lamps
  • , Socket for incandescent electric lamp
  • , Holder for incandescent electric lamp
  • , Globe for incandescent electric lamp
  • , Induction coil
  • , Automatic cut-out for electric-lighting circuits
  • , Automatic cut-out for electric-lighting circuit
  • , Incandescent electric lamp
  • , System of electric lighting

Personal life

William married to Lila Courtney (Wetmore) Stanley in 1884. In 1935, their son, Harold Stanley, went on to found the modern day financial firm of Morgan Stanley with J. P. Morgan's grandson, Henry Sturgis Morgan.

William Stanley Jr. died at his home in Great Barrington on May 14, 1916.