PREFACE.
Since the Life and Works of Søren Hjorth, the Dane was published in the Danish technical journal the »Elektroteknikeren«, in 1907, a statement concerning Hjorth’s rights of priority to the invention of the dynamo-electric principle has been sent to the leading foreign technical periodicals, viz. »Elektrotechnische Zeitschrift«, »L’éclairage électrique«, and »Electrical Engineering«. As this statement still stands uncontradicted, it seems reasonable to consider Hjorth’s priority rights to this principle to be generally acknowledged, even in the great centres of civilization. Therefore I highly appreciated the courtesy of Mr. Hjorth’s heirs, after the death of his step-daughter, Miss D. Ancker, in the autumn of 1908, in offering me an opportunity to peruse the large collection of letters, rough-copies, drawings, and sketch-books left by Hjorth, which threw new light on his interesting life and work. Where it was previously necessary to resort to guesswork alone, we are now able to base our statements on established facts and to follow Hjorth’s train of ideas almost from his first, to his last invention, and to see where he has right and where he failed.
In the following pages, an account will be given of the results of these recent researches in connection with what was previously known about Hjorth.
Charlottenlund 1911.
Sigurd Smith.