Inventing Heroics: Frank Julian Sprague

At a short interval, we have two new biographies of Frank Julian Sprague. The first is jointly authored by William D. Middleton and William D. Middleton III (Frank Julian Sprague: Electrical Inventor and Engineer. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009. Pp. xviii+314. $39.95), the second is by Frederick Dalzell (Engineering Invention: Frank J. Sprague and the U.S. Electrical Industry. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2010. Pp. xii+288. $30). Both books draw extensively from Sprague’s own correspondence and family collections held by the New York Public Library as well as from John Sprague, descendant of the inventor. John Sprague also penned an introduction to the Middleton volume and an afterword to Dalzell’s book. Where the two works diverge is that Dalzell’s is more academic in organization and scope, while the Middletons’ (a name instantly recognized by transportation historians and enthusiasts) book is aimed at a broader readership.

Given their common primary source heritage, the books generally parallel each other in the description of Sprague’s life and accomplishments. Sprague was born in 1857, attended the United States Naval Academy, was something of an Edison apprentice, and subsequently became an inventor in the burgeoning electric industry. He mostly worked as an entrepreneurial inventor, with most success prior to World War I. For his major endeavors, including electric traction, elevators, and multiple unit control, Sprague founded a company to develop and possibly manufacture the products. Within several years he sold it to larger manufacturers. Both biographies depict Sprague possessing drive, meticulousness, discipline and self-confidence, and a vigorous penchant for promotion of his products. He repeatedly bet his slim resources on his inventive abilities, taking commissions to build a system before having tackled much of the invention and development work, and then working under intense pressure to meet deadlines.

In 1888 at Richmond, Virginia, Sprague constructed a successful electric streetcar operation. Others had developed electric streetcars, but Sprague’s scheme thereafter supplied widespread electric traction operation. Equally important for railways, Sprague developed multiple unit or “MU” control, enabling trains of powered railway cars to be operated from a single controller, allowing more efficient and versatile rapid transit. He also developed electric-powered elevators, and systems for electrically powering heavier railroads. During World War I, Sprague joined the Naval Advisory Board, created by navy secretary Josephus Daniels in order to harness America’s cadre of professional inventors as well as inventive spirit and ability among the general population. Between 1914 and 1930, Sprague developed a system of automatic train control for preventing railroad accidents, but then engaged in a long and bitter struggle to obtain a patent for it. Frank Sprague died in 1934, still active as an inventor to the end.

The Middletons explicitly regard Sprague as a hero. Their narrative is a comprehensive and well-illustrated chronicle of his accomplishments. Of particular value is their elaboration of Sprague’s doings in World War I and the 1920s, periods that Dalzell summarizes (too) briefly. The Middletons detail meticulously the technical aspects of Sprague’s (and his rivals’) work, and they include a list of Sprague’s patents in an appendix. They describe Sprague’s “system” of invention as a combination of daring, spontaneous creativity, meticulous experimentation, teamwork with colleagues and employees, and public promotion. They note that through a comprehensive patent, Sprague forced General Electric to deal with him for his MU enterprise. But in the 1920s, his tortuously long efforts to secure a big patent for an Automatic Train Control (ATC) system meant that he effectively lost out to corporate rivals. Sprague conceded much to get the ATC patent in 1930, but by then the Interstate Commerce Commission no longer required extensive installation of ATC systems.

The Middletons’ project might have better employed, and contributed to, recent scholarship on invention, business, and technology development more generally. Their chapter on Sprague’s inventive process is a good idea, but could have been stronger with more explicit comparison with other inventors besides Edison. They occasionally offer tantalizing political or financial details or briefly...