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Scientific Contributions

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Expositions are the timekeepers of progress. They record the world's advancement. They stimulate the energy, enterprise, and intellect of the people; and quicken human genius. They go into the home. They broaden and brighten the daily life of the people. They open mighty storehouses of information to the student. -President William McKinley at the 1901 World's Fair

The World Fairs are known for bringing new technology, innovation, and scientific discoveries to the average person. At the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, many of the inventions displayed were precursors to items which have become an integral part of today’s culture. Novel applications of electricity and light waves for communication and medical use were displayed in the Palace of Electricity.[1] According to an article he wrote for Harper’s Weekly, W.E. Goldsborough, the Chief of the Department of Electricity for the Fair, wished to educate the public and dispel the misconceptions about electricity which many common people believed.[2] New and updated methods of transportation also showcased at the World’s Fair in the Palace of Transportation would come to revolutionize transportation for the modern day.[1][3]

Communication Contributions

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Wireless Telephone – The "wireless telephony" unit or "radiophone" installed at the St. Louis World Fair was a thing of wonder to the crowds.[1][2] Music or spoken messages were transmitted from an apparatus within the Palace of Electricity to a telephone receiver out in the courtyard. The receiver, which was attached to nothing, when placed to the ear allowed a visitor to hear the transmission. This radiophone, invented by Alexander Graham Bell, consisted of a transmitter which transformed sound waves into light waves and a receiver which converted the light waves back into sound waves.[4] This technology has since developed into the radio and early mobile phones.[5]

Early Fax Machine – The telautograph, the precursor to the modern day fax machine, was invented in 1888 by the American scientist, Elisha Gray who at one point in time contested Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone.[6] The telautograph was a device which could send electrical impulses to the receiving pen of the device, in order to be able to recreate drawings to a piece of paper while a person simultaneously wrote them longhand on the other end of the device. In 1900 Gray’s assistant, Foster Ritchie, improved upon the original design and it was this device which was displayed at the 1904 World’s Fair and marketed for the next thirty years.[7]

Medical Contributions

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Finsen Light – The Finsen light, a phototherapy unit invented by Niels Ryberg Finsen, utilized ultraviolet light to treat a form of lupus caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Finsen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1903 for his contributions and his invention pioneered the way which led to many other forms of radiation therapy in the treatment of disease.[8]

X-Ray Machine – The X-ray machine was an invention which had its public debut at the 1904 World’s Fair. X-rays were first discovered in November 1895 by a German scientist, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who at the time was studying the phenomena accompanying the passage of an electric current through a gas of extremely low pressure.[9] After Rontgen’s discovery, he took an x-ray of his wife’s hand, showing the bones and her fingers along with her wedding ring, and sent it to several of his scientist colleagues. One of the scientists that learned of the discovery was Thomas Edison and he soon began to experiment with his own x-ray machine with his assistant Clarence Dally. In 1901, Dally brought a test version of the x-ray machine to the 1901 World’s Fair, but failed to test the machine when President McKinley was assassinated.[10] For the 1904 World’s Fair, the x-ray machine was perfected and successfully shown to the public. X-rays are now commonplace in hospitals and airports.[11]

Infant Incubator – Although infant incubators were invented in the year 1888 by Drs. Alan M. Thomas and William Champion, these devices were not immediately widely used. To increase awareness of the benefits these units provided, infant incubators containing premature babies were displayed at the 1897, 1898, 1901, and 1904 World Fairs.[12] This piece of medical equipment helped neonates with compromised immune systems by providing a sanitary environment to reduce the likelihood of acquiring an infection. Each incubator was an air-tight glass box with a metal frame. Hot air was pumped into the container to keep a constant temperature. Newspapers advertised the incubators with “lives are being preserved by this wonderful method."[13] During the World Fair in 1904, E. M. Bayliss brought these devices for exhibition on The Pike where approximately ten nurses cared for twenty-four neo-natal babies while in the infant incubators.[13][11] The exhibit required an entrance fee of twenty-five cents and visitors could also purchase souvenirs and refreshments from the adjoining shop and café. These proceeds, totaling $181,632, helped to fund Bayliss’s project.[11] There were some setbacks with the infant incubator display as the sanitary conditions were not always consistent and some babies died of illness. The incubator area was then modified by installing glass walls to separate the babies from visitors, thus decreasing the exposure of the infants.[14] The science and technology behind the incubators has since been expanded upon. Now known as "isolettes," these units are a vital component to caring for neonates in modern neonatal intensive care units.[15]

Transportation Contributions

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Electric Streetcar – Although street railways had been in use in North America since the early 1800s, electric street railcars were still novel at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.[16] Outside of the Palace of Electricity, an exhibit including a working electric street car and 1400 feet of track demonstrated the speed, acceleration, and braking capacities of this new-powered model.[1] Electric railways for inner-city transport are still used in many cities today.[16][3]

Personal automobile – One of the most popular attractions of the Exposition was contained in the Palace of Transportation: automobiles and motor cars.[1] The automobile display contained 140 models including ones powered by gasoline, steam, and electricity.[3] The private automobile first made its public debut at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.[11] Four years after the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, the Ford Motor Company began producing the Ford Model T making the personal automobile more affordable.[17] Since that time, the automobile has increased in popularity, advanced in technology, and expanded the mobility of humanity.[18]

Airplane – The 1904 World’s Fair hosted the first ever “Airship Contest” as aerial navigation was still in its infancy at this time. The Exposition offered a grand prize of $100,000 to the airship or other flying machine with the best time through a course marked out by stationary air balloons while travelling at least 15 miles per hour.[1][15][3]Although none were able to earn the grand prize, the contest did witness the first public dirigible flight in America as well as numerous other flights made by various airships.[16][17] This was the first major event in a history of aviation in St. Louis leading to the city’s nickname, Flight City.[19] The science of aerial navigation continued to develop and has been mastered since the 1904 Exposition. Air travel has become a vital component in today’s global society.[20][21] 


References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Lowenstein, M. J. (1904). "The Official Guide Book to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition". Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b Goldsborough, W.E. (30 April 1904). Harvey, George (ed.). "Electricity at the Fair". Harper's Weekly. New York: Harper & Brothers. pp. 677–678 – via harpweek.com.
  3. ^ a b c d Bennitt, Mark (1905). Stockbridge, Frank Parker (ed.). History of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. St. Louis: Universal exposition publishing Company.
  4. ^ Collins, A. Frederick. "Wireless Telephony". United States Early Radio History. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  5. ^ White, Thomas H. "Personal Communication by Wireless". United States Early Radio History. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Elisha Gray". Ohio History Central. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  7. ^ Coe, Lewis (1993). The Telegraph: A History of Morse's Invention and its Predecessors in the United States. McFarland and Company, Publishers. p. 20. ISBN 0-89950-736-0 – via www.deadmedia.org.
  8. ^ "Finsen Light". faq.org. Advameg, Inc. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB. 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  10. ^ King, Gilbert (14 March 2012). "Clarence Dally — The Man Who Gave Thomas Edison X-Ray Vision". smithsonianmag.com. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d Lutz, Diana (7 April 2004). "X-rays, 'fax machines' and ice cream cones debut at 1904 World's Fair". Washington University in St. Louis: the Source.
  12. ^ Harvey, George, ed. (6 August 1904). "Incubator Graduates". Harper's Weekly. New York: Harper & Brothers. p. 1225 – via harpweek.com. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  13. ^ a b Gaskins, Lee (2008). "Baby Incubators". At The Fair: The 1904 St Louis World Fair. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  14. ^ Truax, Mike (October 2009). "Infant Incubators". Mike's 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  15. ^ "Neonatal intensive care unit". Wikipedia. 2016-11-22.
  16. ^ a b "History of trams". Wikipedia. 2016-11-10.
  17. ^ "Ford Motor Company". Wikipedia. 2016-11-26.
  18. ^ "Car". Wikipedia. 2016-11-29.
  19. ^ "Flight City: St. Louis Takes to the Air". mohistory.org. Missouri History Museum. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  20. ^ "The economic & social benefits of air transport" (PDF). www.atag.org. Air Transport Action Group. September 2005. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  21. ^ Button, Ken (November 2008). "The impacts of globalisation on international air transport activity: past trends and future perspectives" (PDF). www.oecd.org. School of George Mason University, USA. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
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