FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Biographies of the Two Isaac Adams
The Inventor and the Inventor's Son
1 June 2007 --
Who invented the electric light bulb? Thomas
A. Edison? Not according to some
scholars. Fourteen years before
Edison patented his carbon filament bulb, Dr. Isaac Adams of
Cambridge
and
Annisquam
,
Massachusetts
had working versions of virtually the same device. Then,
why haven’t you ever heard of this inventor?
Dr. Adams has sole credit for inventing the nickel plating
process, but he never claimed to have invented the electric light bulb.
He was a man of strong character and integrity. At
the 1890 patent trial to determine the rights to the electric light bulb
technology, Dr. Adams presented his work in the most exact terms when he could
have “spun” the facts to make a strong case for his invention. As
a result,
Edison
was awarded the patent.
From the time he was a young boy, Dr. Adams character was
molded by his father, Isaac Adams, Sr. The
father was the inventor of the first powered printing press, a wealthy
entrepreneur and businessman, and a well-known resident of
Boston
and
Sandwich
,
New Hampshire
.
A new biography by local author, Anthony Marolda of Annisquam, focuses on the
lives of these two men of the nineteenth century.
It is titled “The Inventor and the Inventor’s Son.”
The lifelong bond between Isaac Adams, Sr. and his son is the focus of
this story. The very powerful,
determined father, a self-made millionaire, wants his son to be a physician and
a gentleman. While, through his
business success, the father has power and prominence in Boston Society, he
recognizes that his lack of a formal education and cultural refinement makes him
feel inferior. He needs to have his
namesake live the life that he wished for himself but could not attain because
of his poor upbringing in rural, early 19th century New Hampshire.
The son willingly carries out his father’s academic plans for him and goes to
Bowdoin
College
and
Harvard
Medical
School
. While at Harvard, he develops a
strong interest in electrochemistry and solves most of the problems that have
stopped scientists from developing a successful nickel plating process.
But, because of his father's insistence, Isaac, Jr. goes on to graduate
from Harvard and continues his medical education at L'Ecole de Medicine in
Paris
. There, he again spends a great
deal of time away from medicine, this time working with Geisller tubes, the
technology that would eventually lead him to the early invention of a carbon
filament, electric light bulb.
Upon returning from
Paris
in the middle of the Civil War, Isaac, Jr. sets up a medical practice in
South Boston
, near his father's company. Unbeknownst
to both Isaac, Jr. and his father, however, the younger
Adams
subconsciously wants to follow in his father’s footsteps as an inventor and
entrepreneur. After a short
medical practice, the younger
Adams
turns to technology for his career and capitalizes on his earlier inventions.
While the father objects strenuously to the change, Isaac, Jr., because
of his education, talent and good fortune, is able to fulfill both of their
dreams.
The evolving narrative that stretches across the entire 19th century
creates an interwoven fabric of personality, character and intellectual
achievement, the story of the inventor and the inventor’s son.
The hardcover book is available from various sources
including the Annisquam Historical Society, The Annisquam Exchange, the
Cape Ann
Historical
Museum
and the Sandwich (N.H.) Historical Society. Starting
at the end of June, it will also be available on Amazon.com.
For More Information Contact:
The Procyon Press
Internet: info@procyonpress.com,
sales@procyonpress.com
FAX: 617-576-9041
