Charles Wheatstone was born in Gloucester where his father William had
musical instrument making business in 52/54 Westgate Street. In 1806 the
family moved to London where Charles conducted experiments on musical
instruments. In 1822 he set up the acouryptophone or 'enchanted lyre'.
In 1844 he patented his concertina
and set up a firm to make them which still exists today.
He took an
interest in electricity from an early age, invented the instrument called
'Wheatstone's bridge' and worked on the development of the
telegraph with Frederick William Cooke. He also invented paper tape
which used 2 holes to represent the Morse codes dots and dashes and enabled
the telegraph to transmit 100 words per minute.
He had no formal education but taught himself to read and write in French,
German, Italian and Greek. He was the first appointed Professor of Experimental Philosophy at King's College London. His collection of books, scientific
papers and instruments was left to the college when he died in 1875. His papers are in the Archives department and his instruments in the Physics Department.
To refer to any items in the Wheatstone Collection contact the Special
Collections Librarian at King's College London
Click on the name
wheatstone
for further detailed biography on the IEE website.
Page last updated 18 Sept 2014