James Edward Henry Gordon

{{Short description|British electrical engineer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}

{{Use British English|date=April 2018}}

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Gordon, James Edward Henry

| birth_date = {{birth date|1852|6|26|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Dorking, UK

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1893|2|3|1852|6|26|df=yes}}

| death_place = Croydon, UK

| field = Electrical engineering

| alma_mater = Cambridge

| known_for = Electric lighting

}}

James Edward Henry Gordon (26 June 1852 – 3 February 1893) was a British electrical engineer, the son of James Alexander Gordon (1793–1872). He took his B.A. at Caius College, Cambridge in 1876.

Gordon designed large electrical machines, such as an early 350 kilowatt alternator, and wrote extensively on practical electrical problems such as lighting. In 1875, he published results of experiments on electrical constants done at the Cavendish Laboratory under the supervision of James Clerk Maxwell.A history of the Cavendish laboratory {{ISBN|5878726807}} pp. 19-20 In 1878 he was assistant secretary to the British Association. In 1879, he published "Electrostatic Induction" based on lectures and in 1880 released "Physical Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism."[http://www.unav.es/gep/Gordon.pdf James Edward Henry Gordon Obituary] After 1882 he turned to consulting engineering and construction of central station power plants. He was manager of the electric lighting department at the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company in 1883. In 1884 he released

"Practical Treatise on Electric Lighting." He was engineer for the Metropolitan Electric Supply Company in 1888-9,Albert Gieseler [http://www.albert-gieseler.de/dampf_de/firmen10/firmadet109340.shtml Metropolitan Electric Supply Co., Whitehall Court Power Station] then in 1889 he started practice with W. J. Rivington, forming "J. E. H. Gordon and Company".

His wife Alice Mary Gordon (née Brandreth, later Lady Danesfort on her second marriage) was an author and domestic electrical pioneer. She wrote a popular book on application of electricity to household lighting in 1891.{{Cite book|last=Gooday|first=Graeme|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d9s5CgAAQBAJ&q=alice+gordon+graeme+gooday&pg=PA255|title=Domesticating Electricity: Technology, Uncertainty and Gender, 1880-1914|date=2015-07-22|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-31402-8|language=en}} The couple had three children, Dorothy Frances, Peter Christian and James Geoffrey Gordon (1881-1938) who became Bishop of Jarrow. Gordon died from injuries sustained from a fall from his horse on 3 February 1893.English Mechanic and World of Science, Volume 56 page 567 February 1893The Electrical Engineer, 10 February 1893, p. 157