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telegraph was invented. David rigged the telegraph between his house and his barn. He was interviewed about the discovery going unobserved by other inventors and said: "I may say that there is no connection at all between the telegraph of Morse and others and that of myself...Professor Morse most
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Dr. David Alter (1807–1881) was a doctor, scientist, and famous
American inventor, son of John Alter and Eleanor Sheetz. "David began as a physician and scientist in Elderton, Pennsylvania in the 1830s. David Alter married (1st) Laura Rowley, and they settled in Elderton."
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about 1837. David's first wife Laura died in 1842, and several years later he married her sister, Amanda Rowley. He had a total of eleven children. He manufactured bromine near his home, manned a weather station, worked as a physician, and was one of the first
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Fire of 1845, he found a shard of melted glass that gave him the idea of the light spectrum. He went on to discover
Spectral Analysis in 1853. He also invented and patented a method of manufacturing
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from salt wells in 1845, that was highly useful in the iron industry and was put on display in the World's fair." Alter resided in
Freeport until his death in 1881, aged 73.
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Wiley, Samuel T., editor. Biographical and
Historical Cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong Counties. Philadelphia PA: John M. Gresham and Co., 1891, pages 475–476.
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David Alter obtained medical schooling at the
Reformed Medical College in New York City (debated on the dates), and at the Cincinnati Medical School (1841–1842).
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430:"On certain physical properties of light, produced by the combustion of different metals, in the electric spark, refracted by a prism"
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On
Certain Physical Properties of Light Produced by the Combustion of Different Metals in an Electric Spark Refracted by a Prism
103:(December 3, 1807 – September 18, 1881) was a prominent American inventor and scientist of the 19th century. He was born in
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214:, along with a partner Samuel Hill. Their invention sped manufacturing, but was replaced by technology in a few years.
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to include the optical properties of gas. These discoveries were later implemented and included by
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In 1836 Elderton, David Alter invented the electric telegraph, one year before the popular
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1840 - his electric buggy - the forerunner of the automobile.
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probably never heard of me or my
Elderton telegraph."
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A short range type of telephone - forerunner of the
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145:1845 - a patented method to manufacture and purify
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107:and graduated from the Reformed Medical School in
38:Portrait of Dr. David Alter, printed in the book
412:. Westpoint CT: Greenwood Press, 1979, page 16.
410:Biographical Dictionary of American Scientists
293:Kelly, Howard A.; Burrage, Walter L. (eds.).
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268:Inventions while in Freeport: "In the great
308:. Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Company.
16:American inventor and scientist (1807–1881)
168:, the idea that every element has its own
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159:Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations
451:The American Journal of Science and Arts
434:The American Journal of Science and Arts
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127:Alter is credited with having invented:
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387:History of the County of Westmoreland
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548:19th-century American businesspeople
202:1858 - a patented method to extract
528:People from Freeport, Pennsylvania
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518:American people of German descent
105:Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
61:Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
523:American people of Swiss descent
403:Dictionary of American Biography
172:: a breakthrough development in
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508:19th-century American inventors
419:. Chicago IL: 1968, p. 39.
385:Albert, George Dallas, editor.
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261:photographers of the town of
176:. The published article was:
303:American Medical Biographies
553:Inventors from Pennsylvania
408:Elliott, Clark E., editor.
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197:Three Laws of Spectroscopy
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401:Johnson, Allen, editor.
398:, Volume 1, pages 97–98.
381:Published Biographies:
252:David Alter settled in
183:1855 - an expansion of
481:pdf Cornell University
254:Freeport, Pennsylvania
77:Freeport, Pennsylvania
428:Alter, David (1854).
417:Who's Who in Science
296:"Alter, David"
513:American physicists
491:2007-03-27 at the
474:2014-08-26 at the
445:Alter, D. (1855).
423:Other References:
161:in New York City).
139:telegraph in 1837.
133:electric telegraph
70:September 18, 1881
405:, 1964, page 230.
185:spectrum analysis
170:emission spectrum
166:spectrum analysis
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131:1836 - the
101:David Alter
83:Citizenship
26:David Alter
502:Categories
457:: 213–214.
415:Allen, G.
377:References
270:Pittsburgh
228:telephone.
151:salt wells
123:Inventions
119:ancestry.
94:Inventions
54:1807-12-03
469:AKVHS.org
233:Biography
111:. He had
489:Archived
472:Archived
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263:Freeport
164:1854 -
86:American
274:Bromine
195:in the
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42:(1882)
280:Notes
243:Morse
212:shale
206:from
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137:Morse
117:Swiss
210:and
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115:and
67:Died
48:Born
486:JCE
217:An
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