User:JRBC1/John Henry Holmes

New article name is John Henry Holmes 1857-1935 - Engineer, Inventor and Quaker

John Henry Holmes is best known as the inventor of the modern day quick break electric light switch  now found in millions of buildings throughout the world. Prior to his invention, light switches were notorious for arcing and burning out due to the frequent slow "breaking" action of the switch contacts. Holmes overcame this problem by inventing a switch which would always make a "quick break" between the contacts, however quickly or slowly the user turned off the switch.

Holmes is also famous for installing electric lighting at 'Wellburn', his father's house at Jesmond, one of the first private houses in Newcastle to be electrically lit. As well as the quick-break switch, J H Holmes and Co was famous for its "Castle" Dynamo.





The company also developed electrical lighting systems for trains and electrical systems for the Suez Canal.

Holmes' numerous other inventions and products include:

Devices for Detecting Gas in Coal Mines

Improvements in the Control of Electic Motors and Related Equipment

Improvements in Electrical Switches and Automatic Circuit Breakers

Multi-Position Switches

Custom Lamp Holders