Sir Francis Ronalds and the Electric Telegraph

摘要

Two hundred years ago, Francis Ronalds brought vision, theoretical understanding and practical ingenuity to the first large-scale demonstration of the electric telegraph, but the technology was rejected by Government in 1816 as being 'wholly unnecessary'. He halted his work in electrical science and engineering at that time. The telegraph was commercialised by others 20 years later (using several elements of his system) and he followed progress closely. His renown gradually grew as the network spread around the globe and, at the end of his long life, he formally joined the new telegraph engineering profession and made a further offering to it in the form of the Ronalds Library. He was regarded by his colleagues as the first electrical engineer and this view can also be argued today. Ronalds' story is an example of the consequences of unthinking criticism in delaying deployment of new ideas and technologies.