A Town Lighted by Electricity.

from Cleveland Herald (1880)

WABASH, Ind., March 31.—As the clock struck 8 four Brush lamps of 8,000-candle power each put forth a noonday light for one mile in circumference. The lamps, suspended midway of the iron flagstaff on the Court-house, which towers 100 feet above the business part of the town, were furnished with electricity by a No.5 generator, driven by a 7-horse power engine. According to contract, the light was to equal a gas-burner 2,640 feet from the light. The Council placed men at different parts of the city to observe, and they reported satisfactorily. At Urbana, five miles north, the light was said to be beautiful. The test has given general satisfaction. Excursion trains on the Cincinnati, Wabash and Michigan had brought in hundreds from Marion and southern points, while the northern section, including Elkhart, was largely represented. Fully 10,000 people arrived by 7 o'clock, among whom were the Councils of 19 adjacent towns and the Mayors of Marion and North, who came in the interest of their people, and they declared the light to be beyond their expectations. Mr. F. C. Phillips, electrician, who superintended the construction of the apparatus, had grave doubts about the temporary engine being equal to the task, but it answered the purpose. Many who came expecting to see the lamps distributed in various parts of the town were disappointed; otherwise their expectations were realized. It may be three or four weeks before Wabash will be permanently lighted up, as it will require that time to get a stationary engine in place and the necessary arrangements completed, but, according to the report of the Council, steps will be taken to put everything in shape for its immediate use.

From a Cleveland Herald article reprinted in The New York Times (11 Apr 1880). (source)

See also:

17 Mar - short biography, births, deaths and events on date of Brush's birth.
Progress of the Brush System, article from Scientific American (1881) on industry's adoption of Brush lighting.
31 Mar - births, deaths and events on date Wabash, Indiana, became first U.S. city lighted by electricity.
Electrifying America: Social Meanings of a New Technology, 1880-1940, by David E. Nye. - book suggestion.

Nature bears long with those who wrong her. She is patient under abuse. But when abuse has gone too far, when the time of reckoning finally comes, she is equally slow to be appeased and to turn away her wrath. (1882) -- Nathaniel Egleston, who was writing then about deforestation, but speaks equally well about the danger of climate change today.

Carl Sagan: In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. (1987) ...(more by Sagan)

Albert Einstein: I used to wonder how it comes about that the electron is negative. Negative-positive—these are perfectly symmetric in physics. There is no reason whatever to prefer one to the other. Then why is the electron negative? I thought about this for a long time and at last all I could think was “It won the fight!” ...(more by Einstein)

Richard Feynman: It is the facts that matter, not the proofs. Physics can progress without the proofs, but we can't go on without the facts ... if the facts are right, then the proofs are a matter of playing around with the algebra correctly. ...(more by Feynman)