John Forrest Kelly (1859–1922) was an electrical engineer,inventor, and nationalist whose work significantly advanced electrical technology. Born near Carrick-on-Suir, to Fenian school teachers Jeremiah and Kate Kelly, he emigrated to the United States in 1873. Kelly studied at Stevens Institute of Technology, earning a Ph.D. by age 22.
His early career included assisting Thomas Edison, focusing on rare earth chemistry. By 1879, Kelly became electrical engineer at Western Electric during the dawn of telephone technology. Later, as chief electrician at the United States Electric Lighting Company, he pioneered high-resistance alloys with low or negative temperature coefficients, crucial for electrical systems.
In 1892, Kelly co-founded the Stanley Electrical Manufacturing Company. His innovations in alternating current systems and polyphase motors revolutionised power transmission, enabling the first long-distance electrical transmission plants.
Beyond engineering, Kelly was prolific as an inventor, securing over seventy patents, including an electric player piano and a food dehydration system. His innovations earned him the prestigious John Scott Medal from the Franklin Institute, a science education and development centre in Philadelphia, in 1909.
Later in life, Kelly championed Irish nationalism, writing for the Irish World and leading the Massachusetts State Council of Friends of Irish Freedom (1916–1918). He organized a U.S. boycott of British goods in 1921. Kelly and his wife Helen Fischer had two children. He died in Pittsfield,Massachusetts, in 1922 at age 63.
His obituary in the Berkshire Eagle, a Massachusettsnewspaper, on 16 October 1922 was titled ‘John F. Kelly, Electrical Genius andInventor, Dead’ and went on to call Kelly ‘one of the leading electricalengineers and inventors in this country’.
Sources:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/259589295/john-forrest-kelly
https://www.dib.ie/biography/kelly-john-forrest-a4452
https://kellyclanireland.com/kellys-from-around-the-country/ned-kelly/john-forrest-kelly
