author

Arthur S. C. Wurtele

1826–1886

Best known for a compact 1882 study comparing systems of measurement in the United States, Great Britain, and France, this 19th-century writer brought an engineer’s eye to a subject that shaped science, trade, and everyday life. Surviving records also point to work in surveying, giving the book a practical, hands-on foundation.

1 Audiobook

Standard Measures of United States, Great Britain and France History and actual comparisons. With appendix on introduction of the mètre

Standard Measures of United States, Great Britain and France History and actual comparisons. With appendix on introduction of the mètre

by Arthur S. C. Wurtele

About the author

Arthur S. C. Wurtele (1826–1886) is remembered today chiefly for Standard Measures of United States, Great Britain, and France, first published in 1882. The book examines how different measurement systems developed, how they compared in practice, and what the growing use of the metric system might mean.

Records available online suggest that he was also active in surveying. An archival description for Arthur Sheppard C. Wurtele preserves survey-related documents from 1861–1862 in Quebec, which fits the practical, technical cast of his published work.

Although little easy-to-find biographical detail survives, his writing still stands out for making a specialized subject clear and useful. Rather than treating weights and measures as dry theory, he approached them as working tools that mattered in engineering, commerce, and daily life.