Finding aid for the Charles F. Brush Photographs

Biography of Charles F. Brush

Biographical sketch courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Charles Francis Brush (1849-1929) was one of America's most distinguished inventors. He was born in Euclid Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, to Isaac Elbert and Delia Williams Phillips Brush. He received his mining engineering degree from the University of Michigan in 1869. He worked 4 years in Cleveland, Ohio, as a chemist, then formed an iron dealing partnership with Charles E. Bingham. In 1875, Brush married Mary Ellen Morris, and had 3 children, Edna Brush Perkins, Helene, and Charles.

In 1876, Brush received one of his 50 career patents, for the "perfect" open coil-type dynamo, a predecessor of the modern generator. His arc light (1878), demonstrated in Cleveland's Public Square in 1879, made Brush world-famous, and by 1882 "Brush Lights" were used throughout the world. In 1880 Brush formed the Brush Electric Company which was bought by Thomson Houston Electric Company in 1889, merging with Edison General Electric Company in 1891 to form General Electric Company. Brush spent the rest of his life pursuing interests in gravitation and heat, writing articles published by the American Philosophical Society and the Royal Society.

Brush maintain various business interests. He was founder and president of the Linde Air Prods. Company, helped form the Sandusky Portland Cement Company (later Medusa), and was president of the Cleveland Arcade Company, the Euclid National Bank, and the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. He was a trustee of Adelbert College, the Cleveland School of Art, and Lake View Cemetery. Brush received many honorary degrees; was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honor of France (1881); and received medals from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1899), the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (1913), and the Franklin Institute (1928). He founded the Brush Foundation following the deaths of his son and 6-year old grandson in 1927. Brush died in Cleveland was was buried in Lake View Cemetery.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Charles F. Brush

Scope and Content

The Charles F. Brush Photographs, ca. 1870-1975, consist of individual and group portraits of Charles F. Brush, his friends and associates, and views of his inventions, including the arc lamp and wind powered dynamo. Also included is a view of an arc lamp on Cleveland, Ohio's Public Square, ca. 1896. The collection includes 57 black and white photographs that measure 8 x 10 inches and smaller.

This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of science, technology, business, and entrepreneurship in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Brush family in the late nineteenth century and the twentieth century.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] PG 201 Charles F. Brush Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

This collection was assembled from multiple donations to the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Detailed Description of The Collection