author
b. 1894
Best known for a compact 1919 guide to selenium cells, this early 20th-century technical writer helped explain a then-important light-sensitive technology in practical, readable terms.
by Thomas William Benson
Thomas William Benson was an American technical writer born in 1894. The clearest record tied to his name today is Selenium Cells, a 1919 book published as a practical guide to the construction, care, and use of selenium cells, with special attention to the Fritts cell.
Modern library and ebook records consistently link him with that work, but they offer very little confirmed biographical detail beyond his birth year and authorship. Because reliable sources are sparse, it is safest to remember him chiefly through this specialized book, which reflects the hands-on, instructional style of early electrical and scientific publishing.
His work survives through public-domain and library collections, where it remains of interest to readers curious about the history of photoelectric devices and early experimental electronics.