Thaddeus Cahill

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thaddeus Cahill (born June 18, 1867 in Iowa , † April 12, 1934 in Manhattan , New York ) was an American inventor and businessman. He was best known for an almost 200-ton organ machine, patented in Washington, DC in 1897 . This invention, known as the telharmonium or dynamophone , was first demonstrated to a larger audience in 1906. The first electric typewriter can also be traced back to Cahill, as well as the idea of ​​sprinkling music in public places, for which the term muzak was later coined.

Life

Thaddeus Cahill was born in a small town in Iowa and grew up in Oberlin , Ohio . He did not attend school until the age of 16. He studied law at Columbian University but never worked as a lawyer. He founded several companies to market the dynamophone, but could not establish himself economically, which was due, among other things, to legal problems with the music transmission over the telephone, which he favored. He later founded another company with his two brothers that specialized in the manufacture of floodlights for football stadiums. This technique was invented by his brother George Cahill , who was two years his junior . Thaddeus Cahill died in New York in 1934.

Cahill as a businessman

Over time, Cahill's interest shifted from music production to music marketing . Since no electrical amplification was possible at that time , music was partially transmitted over the telephone. This idea was developed considerably by Cahill. He founded the New York Electric Music Company , the aim of which was to initiate music broadcasts over the phone to large audiences, with fees being billed individually for each listener. He can therefore be regarded as one of the pioneers in the economic use of cable networks. The primary purpose of the first broadcasts was to attract investors , which was initially successful as they received a great deal of public attention. In 1906, Cahill's society had 900 members. Ultimately, however, his concept did not catch on. After his transmissions had overloaded the New York City telephone network several times due to their high signal strength and led to the interruption of important calls, he was not able to continue. The audience quickly lost interest in the sound character of his dynamophone.

literature

  • André Ruschkowski: Electronic sounds and musical discoveries , Reclam: Stuttgart (1998). ISBN 3-15-009663-4
  • Reynold Weidenaar: Magic Music from the Telharmonium , The Scarecrow Press Inc .: London (1995).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Weidenaar, Magic Music from the Telharmonium, S. 263 f. Google Books
personal data
SURNAME Cahill, Thaddeus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American inventor and businessman
DATE OF BIRTH June 18, 1867
PLACE OF BIRTH Iowa
DATE OF DEATH April 12, 1934
Place of death Manhattan , New York