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William Arnold Anthony
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William Arnold Anthony

American physicist
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Quick Facts
Born:
Nov. 17, 1835, Coventry, R.I., U.S.
Died:
May 29, 1908, New York, N.Y. (aged 72)
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William Arnold Anthony (born Nov. 17, 1835, Coventry, R.I., U.S.—died May 29, 1908, New York, N.Y.) was a physicist and pioneer in the teaching of electrical engineering in the United States.

After studying at Brown (Providence, R.I.) and Yale universities, Anthony taught physics and chemistry at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio (1867–69); Iowa State Agricultural College, Ames (1869–72); Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. (1872–87); and Cooper Union, New York City (1894–1908). While at Cornell he originated and developed one of the first courses in electrical engineering in the United States (1883).

Anthony also designed and built improved dynamos, including the one used for the first underground distributing system for electricity and for the first outdoor-lighting system in the United States. He also contributed to the development of the gas-filled electric lamp.

Michael Faraday (L) English physicist and chemist (electromagnetism) and John Frederic Daniell (R) British chemist and meteorologist who invented the Daniell cell.
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