Sir Francis Ronalds
(1788-1873), Inventor of the electric telegraph and meteorologistEarly Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 4 portraits
Joined the family firm of cheesemongers at fifteen. Always interested in experimenting with electrical and scientific apparatus, by 1816 he had created a primitive electric telegraph that sent messages through eight miles of wire in his garden. He offered it to the Admiralty, but was declined. In 1818 he left England for a tour of Europe and the Mediterranean and began collecting books on electricity and magnetism. He was appointed Director of the Kew Meteorological Observatory in 1843, where he devised a system of registering meteorological data. He spent the last years of his life adding to his library on electricity, magnetism and the electric telegraph, collecting over 1500 books and 5000 pamphlets.
Men of Science Living in 1807-8
by Sir John Gilbert, and Frederick John Skill, and William Walker, and Elizabeth Walker (née Reynolds)
pencil and wash, 1858-1862
NPG 1075
Engraving after 'Men of Science Living in 1807-8'
by George Zobel, and William Walker
engraving, 1862
NPG 1075a
Key to engraving after 'Men of Science Living in 1807-8'
by William Walker
engraving, 1862
NPG 1075b
by Hugh Carter
oil on canvas, circa 1870
NPG 1095
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