Sketch of "Telegraph" Joseph Henry Showed his Classes at the Albany Academy

Summary

Sketch of "telegraph" Joseph Henry showed his classes at the Albany Academy. Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was the first to construct an electromagnet formed by tightly wrapping multiple coils of an insulated conducting wire around an iron bar. He applied this new technology to create the telegraph apparatus. Henry sent an electrical signal through a length of wire to stimulate a horseshoe magnet, which then attracted a steel bar that struck a bell when moved.

Subject

• Albany Academy
• Smithsonian Year

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Notes

This image was scanned from page 105 of the Smithsonian Annual Report for 1857.

Contained within

Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution Showing the Operations, Expenditures, and Condition of the Institution for the Year 1857, (Washington, DC: William A. Harris, Printer, 1858), 105

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

1857

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Telegraph
• Scientific apparatus and instruments
• Secretaries
• Inventions
• Science
• Electromagnets
• Electromagnetism

Place

United States

Form/Genre

• Drawing
• Paper

ID Number

SIA2012-7651

Physical description

Number of Images: 1 ; Color: Black and White ; Size: 5.5w x 9h ; Type of Image: Drawing ; Medium: Paper

Full Record

View Full Record