Gramme, Zénobe

ENGINEER (BELGIUM)
BORN 4 Apr 1826, Jehay-Bodignée (near Liège) - DIED 20 Jan 1901, Bois-Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine
BIRTH NAME Gramme, Zénobe Théophile
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Père Lachaise, Rue du Repos 16 (division 94, ligne 01, F, 26)

Z.T. Gramme was not an intellectual and he had no advanced knowledge of mathematics, when in 1869 he invented the Gramme machine, a direct current dynamo that was much more powerful than its predecessor, effectively enabling electric motors to be used in the industry.

He was born near Liège in Belgium and moved to Paris in 1856 where he worked for "l'Alliance", a society that was constructing electric devices. His Gramme machine was shown at the Exposition of Electric Light in 1881 in Paris. In 1888 he received the Volta Prize and he was made an officer of the légion d'honneur.

Images

The grave of Théophile Gramme at Père Lachaise, Paris.
Picture by Androom (19 Nov 2006)

 

Sources
• Culbertson, Judi & Tom Randall, Permanent Parisians, Robson Books, London, 1991
Zénobe Gramme - Wikipédia (FR)
Cimetière du Père Lachaise - APPL - GRAMME Zénobie Théophile (1826-1901)


Grancher, Marcel E.

Published: 08 Feb 2008
Last update: 30 Oct 2025