Many electricians are not aware of the origin story behind their profession and are missing out on the historical influences that shaped their essential field. This brings us to the following questions, who were the first electricians? How was the electrical industry shaped? What is the history of electricians?
The history of electricians is difficult to pinpoint and arises from a variety of different historical figures. Efforts to understand, replicate, and control electricity began in the 1700s. Originally electricity was studied in nature, however, many scientists saw its potential and sought to bring it to use in daily life. For nearly a decade and a half, strenuous research was conducted. The research and development progressed quickly and was competitive. Some of the most prominent names of contributors are discussed below.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) is one of the most well-known researchers and is considered a forefather of electricity. It was Benjamin Franklin that proved that lightning and electricity were one and the same. Another contributor, Italian physicist Luigi Galvani (1737-1798), is credited for the discoveries that led to the invention of the voltaic pile. His successor, yet another Italian physicist by the name of Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta (1745-1827), invented the electric battery. Fun fact - The electrical unit "volt" is named for Volta! Englishman Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) is alleged to have designed the experiments that German physicist Georg Simon Ohm (1789-1854) later went on to use the discover Ohm's Law, which states that resistance equals the ratio of the potential difference to current - an important and still relevant model to this day. Finally, we arrive at American Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931) the famed inventor of the electric light bulb and many other electrical products as well as his competition, Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), a who discovered rotating magnetic fields, invented the use of alternating currents, and refined several of Thomas A. Edison's products. Last but not least, we have Thomas Doolittle, a Connecticut mill worker who devised a way to make hard-drawn copper wire strong enough for use by the telegraphy and electrical industries in 1876, effectively replacing the use of iron wire. Copper wire is something still in use to this day by electricians and Thomas Doolittle deserves all the credit!
So when did being an electrician become a profession? Other than lighting streets and occasional homes, electricians were originally primarily needed to safely and intelligently build and display the work of inventors such as Edison, Westinghouse, and more. It was in 1881 that Lucien Gaulard of France and John Gibbs of England arranged the first successful alternating-current electrical demonstration in London. The first exposition demonstration occurred in 1889 at the Paris Exposition. Next, came the Chicago Fair that brought electrical demonstrations, lighting, and electricians to a whole other level.
Thomas Edison's General Electric Company received an invitation to bid the Chicago fair, his offer to provide grand scale lighting and demonstrations came in at $1.8 million. Keep in mind that this $1.8 million number occurred back in 1893 and the number is roughly projected to equal $52 million in today's day and age. Wow! The architects heading up the Chicago fair were insulted and denied the bid. Edison came back in at a significantly lower $554,000. Tesla swooped in with an offer of $399,000 for the installation and use of his AC polyphase system and won the Chicago Fair bid. This is extremely notable for a variety of reasons. First, the bidding process established business norms for electrical contractors that are still used today. Electrical contractors provide an educated bid for a project, often receiving the option to revise the bid to fit the client's needs just as Edison and Tesla did in their competition to win the Chicago Fair. The second notable historical change that this interaction offered stemmed from Edison's loss and Tesla's win. Since Edison was both a contractor and a vendor, Tesla approached him in an attempt to purchase bulbs and equipment for the project. Edison was displeased about his loss and refused to work with Tesla. This forced Tesla to search for alternative solutions. Instead of using the GE bulb, Tesla made his own more efficient double-stopper bulb that ultimately operated more efficiently and spurred further development of the electrical industry.
The fair was a huge success. It is estimated that the electricians at the Chicago fair installed nearly 100,000 bulbs (almost 1/9 of all lightbulbs within the United States at the time) with alternating current and 5,000 more arc lights. People began to learn more about electricity and electricians became highly sought after. Annual expositions around the United States and the globe continued, even resulting in an electricity themed Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1901. The profession grew greatly, and more and more electricians were trained and employed.
Not only does the history of electricians have an interesting background, but it also marks the foundation of an industry that changed the world. Today, people and organizations rely on electricians for their skills, knowledge, and services. Access to safe electricity is sometimes even used to measure quality of life. Life as we know it would cease to exist without electricians. All in all, as an electrician you should take pride in your work. Many people worked very hard to develop the devices and installation techniques that you use today. Your work on projects effectively makes the world a higher functioning place and your skillsets are highly technical. You should be proud to follow in the history of the first electricians and continue to improve on their work.
