Patrick Bernard Delany


Patrick Bernard Delany was an American electrician and inventor.

Biography

He was born in King's County, Ireland. He came early to the United States and learned telegraphy at Hartford, Conn.; gradually he worked up from office boy to be superintendent of lines. Later he was also a newspaper correspondent, editor, and writer. His inventions include more than 150 patents, covering anti-induction cables, synchronous multiplex telegraphy by means of which six messages may be sent simultaneously over one wire, automatic ocean-cable systems, and rapid-machine telegraphy for land lines. His automatic telegraph system was capable of transmitting and recording 3000 words a minute over a single wire. He was awarded gold medals at the International Inventions Exhibition in London, at the Pan-American Exposition, and at the St. Louis Exposition, the Elliott Cresson Medal twice, and the John Scott medal of the Franklin Institute. From 1893 to 1895 he was a vice president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.