author
A. E. (Amos Emerson) Dolbear
1837–1910
A restless 19th-century inventor and physics professor, he worked on early telephones and wireless communication long before those technologies became everyday reality. His career mixed classroom teaching, bold experimentation, and a knack for turning scientific ideas into practical devices.
2 Audiobooks
The Machinery of the Universe: Mechanical Conceptions of Physical Phenomena
by A. E. (Amos Emerson) Dolbear
The Telephone An Account of the Phenomena of Electricity, Magnetism, and Sound, as Involved in Its Action
by A. E. (Amos Emerson) Dolbear
About the author
Born in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1837, Amos Emerson Dolbear became an American physicist and inventor whose work ranged across acoustics, electricity, and communication. He taught at the University of Kentucky before joining Tufts College in 1874, where he went on to lead physics and astronomy and became a memorable figure to generations of students.
Dolbear is best known for his experiments with sound and electrical signals. He developed an early telephone system and also carried out pioneering wireless telegraphy experiments in the 1880s, exploring ways to send signals without wires. His wide scientific curiosity led him to many other inventions and demonstrations as well, reflecting a mind that liked to test big ideas in practical form.
He died in 1910, but his reputation endured through his teaching, patents, and scientific writing. For readers interested in the early age of invention, Dolbear offers a fascinating glimpse of a period when the modern world of communication was still being imagined.