German-American mathematician and engineer
1865 - 1923
Introduced the phasor method of ac analysis, developed the theory of magnetic hysteresis.
Originally named Karl August Rudolf Steinmetz, he was born in Breslau, Prussia (now the city of Wroclaw, Poland). At birth Steinmetz was afflicted with a physical deformity, hunchback. Steinmetz studied mathematics at the University of Breslau from 1883 to 1888 nearly completing his doctorate. Some articles he wrote for a socialist paper were considered inflammatory by the government, so he was forced to leave Germany so quickly that he did not have time to even notify his family. He spent a year in Switzerland, but the Swiss did not treat student radicals kindly, and when his friend Oscar Asmussen suggested going to America, Steinmetz agreed. Asmussen had a rich uncle in America, and this wealth supplied their tickets. A custom official doubted Charles's qualifications to be a valued citizen, based on his inability to speak English, being a cripple, and having no money. Asmussen interceded, offering to take care of Steinmetz until he was on his own, and by this slim chance, America acquired one of its most brilliant electrical engineers.
In Yonkers, New York, Charles met a fellow German who had also fled to America (from repression of those who participated in the reform movement of 1848), an inventor and electrical engineer -- Rudolph Eickemeyer, who had invented hat-making machinery and had a factory in Yonkers. Eickemeyer wanted to expand into electrical motors and generators, a brand new field in 1889. Eickemeyer gave Steinmetz his start in electrical engineering research. It was here that Steinmetz determined the appropriate mathematical relationships about hysteresis.
During this time, Steinmetz Americanized his first name to Charles and substituted Proteus, a nickname from his student days, for his two middle names. (His middle name Proteus, was named after the Greek god who could take on any shape or size.)
Thomas Edison founded the General Electric Company in 1886 and wanted to hire Steinmetz. In 1893 the newly formed General Electric Company purchased Eickemeyer's company, primarily for his patents, but Steinmetz was considered one of its major assets. So Steinmetz went to Lynn, Mass, to work as a consulting engineer for the new owners. In 1894 Steinmetz was transferred to the main General Electric plant at Schenectady, New York.
In 1901 Steinmetz served as President of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (which merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers in the 1960's to become the IEEE). In 1902 he also became professor of electrophysics at Union College and University, Schenectady, N.Y., thereafter serving in this position and as a GE consulting engineer until his death.
Here's an anecdote about Steinmetz, as told by Charles M. Vest, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, during MIT's commencement on June 4th, 1999.
In the early years of this century, Steinmetz was brought to General Electric's facilities in Schenectady, New York. GE had encountered a performance problem with one of their huge electrical generators and had been absolutely unable to correct it. Steinmetz, a genius in his understanding of electromagnetic phenomena, was brought in as a consultant -- not a very common occurrence in those days, as it would be now.
Steinmetz also found the problem difficult to diagnose, but for some days he closeted himself with the generator, its engineering drawings, paper and pencil. At the end of this period, he emerged, confident that he knew how to correct the problem.
After he departed, GE's engineers found a large "X" marked with chalk on the side of the generator casing. There also was a note instructing them to cut the casing open at that location and remove so many turns of wire from the stator. The generator would then function properly.
And indeed it did.
Steinmetz was asked what his fee would be. Having no idea in the world what was appropriate, he replied with the absolutely unheard of answer that his fee was $1,000.
Stunned, the GE bureaucracy then required him to submit a formally itemized invoice.
They soon received it. It included two items:
- Marking chalk "X" on side of generator: $1.
- Knowing where to mark chalk "X": $999.
By the end of his life, Steinmetz had some 200 patents in his name, most related to improvements in electrical generators and equipment. Steinmetz also authored textbooks and many scientific papers. He himself considered his three most important accomplishments to be:
Steinmetz also invented the three-phase electrical circuit.