Richard Lovell EdgeworthBorn 31 May 1744; died 13 Jun 1817 at age 73.English-Irish inventor of mechanical innovations including an attempt at telegraphic communication (possibly the first), the creation of various sailing carriages, a velocipede (cycle), a “perambulator”(landmeasuring machine), a turnip cutter, improved agricultural machinery, and made discoveries in the field of electricity. In the late 1790s, he proposed the tellograph for “conveying secret and swift intelligence”using 30 tall towers spaced between Dublin and Galway (130 miles). Relayed from tower to tower using large triangular pointers, encoded messages could reach Dublin in just eight minutes. Unfortunately, poor visibility due to the weather doomed the idea. Edgeworth was also an educationalist. |
