Frank J. Sprague
✓ Source-basedrisingAmerican naval officer and railroad pioneer (1857-1934)
Frank Julian Sprague was an American inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators.
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Photos 6
Notes on seamanship, with drawings of sailboat parts, and electrical equipment, by Frank J. Sprague, 1878-1880
Postcard of electric trolley-powered streetcars of the Richmond Union Passenger Railway in Richmond, Virginia, in 1923, two generations after Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888. The intersection shown is at 8th & Broad Streets.
Sprague Electric Company, 1898
Presentation of the first Franklin Medal in Philadelphia in 1915; Sprague stands immediately behind Thomas Edison
Grave at Arlington National CemeteryAwards 5
Connected to Frank 6
About this person
Frank Julian Sprague was an American inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. His contributions were especially important in promoting urban development by increasing the size cities could reasonably attain and by allowing greater concentration of business in commercial sections. He became known as the "father of electric traction". Demonstrating an aptitude for science and mathematics, Sprague secured an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1874 and, after graduation in 1878 and 2 years at sea, resigned to pursue his career in electrical engineering.
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