Ayrton, William Edward |
| PHYSICIST (ENGLAND) |
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BORN 14 Sep 1847, London - DIED 8 Nov 1908, London GRAVE LOCATION London: Brompton Cemetery, Old Brompton Road, West Brompton (1E 130 x 6) |
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William Edward Ayrton was the son of the barrister Edward Nugent Ayrton. He was educated in London and in Glasgow, where Lord Kelvin was his teacher. In 1868 he started working for the Indian Government Telegraph department. He married his cousin Matilda Chaplin (b.1846) when he was on home leave from India. Matilda campaigned in Edinburgh for the right for women to medical education. Their daughter Edith Ayrton was a feminist. In 1873 he moved to Japan where he probably introduced electric arc light in 1878. In 1881 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. Matilda died in 1883. He returned to London where he became a professor. He married his second wife Hertha Marks in 1885. She assisted him in his research. In 1899 she became the first female member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. In 1892 he became the president of the Institute of Electrical Engineers. He died in London in 1908. |
| Images |
 The grave of William Edward Ayrton at Brompton Cemetery, London. Picture by Androom (19 Aug 2017) |
Sources • William Edward Ayrton - Wikipedia (EN) |
