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Elmer Ambrose Sperry

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Elmer Ambrose Sperry

Birth
Cortland, Cortland County, New York, USA
Death
16 Jun 1930 (aged 69)
Brooklyn, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, USA
Burial
Brooklyn, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, USA
Plot
Section 130, Lot 35491
Memorial ID
967 View Source
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Inventor. Born in Cortland, New York, he was an electrical engineer entrepreneur, who founded 8 companies and earned more than 350 patents, most notably for the gyroscopic compass. In 1908, he was issued a patent for the first workable gyrocompass system. The unit was adopted by the US Navy in 1911 and played a major role in World War I. In the following decades, his Sperry compass was adopted by steamships such as the Queen Mary, airplanes and the warships of World War II. He also invented a wide range of devices, including electric trolley cars, high-intensity searchlights, dynamos and railroad safety devices. In 1930, the US Navy named the USS Sperry in his honor.

Inventor. Born in Cortland, New York, he was an electrical engineer entrepreneur, who founded 8 companies and earned more than 350 patents, most notably for the gyroscopic compass. In 1908, he was issued a patent for the first workable gyrocompass system. The unit was adopted by the US Navy in 1911 and played a major role in World War I. In the following decades, his Sperry compass was adopted by steamships such as the Queen Mary, airplanes and the warships of World War II. He also invented a wide range of devices, including electric trolley cars, high-intensity searchlights, dynamos and railroad safety devices. In 1930, the US Navy named the USS Sperry in his honor.

Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith

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  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Added: 25 Apr 1998
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID: 967
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/967/elmer-ambrose-sperry: accessed ), memorial page for Elmer Ambrose Sperry (12 Oct 1860–16 Jun 1930), Find a Grave Memorial ID 967, citing Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.