W. James (William James) King

W. James King, listed by Project Gutenberg as W. James (William James) King, is the author of The Natural Philosophy of William Gilbert and His Predecessors. That work examines the scientific background to William Gilbert's studies of magnetism and electricity, showing King's interest in the roots of modern science.

Library and catalog records also credit him with The Development of Electrical Technology in the 19th Century, a Smithsonian publication issued in three parts on the electrochemical cell and electromagnet, the telegraph and telephone, and the early arc light and generator. Together, these books suggest a writer focused on the history of electricity, invention, and the way scientific ideas develop over time.

Reliable biographical details about his personal life were scarce in the sources I could confirm, so it is best to treat him primarily as a mid-20th-century writer on the history of science and technology.