NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Harry Grindell Matthews

Harry Grindell Matthews (March 17, 1880 – September 11, 1941) was a British inventor who claimed to have invented a death ray in the 1920s. ^[1] is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Inventor (disambiguation). ... The death ray or death beam was a theoretical particle beam or electromagnetic weapon of the 1920s through the 1930s that was claimed to have been invented independently by Nikola Tesla, Edwin R. Scott, Harry Grindell Matthews, Graichen [1], as well as others. ...

Earlier life and inventions

Harry Grindell Matthews was born in 1880 at Winterbourne in Gloucestershire. He studied at the Merchant Venturer's School in Bristol and became an electronic engineer. During the Second Boer War he served in the South African Constabulary and was twice wounded. ^[2] Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Winterbourne may refer to: Winterbourne, a stream or river that is dry through the summer months. ... Gloucestershire (pronounced ; GLOSS-ter-sher) is a county in South West England. ... This article is about the English city. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Combatants British Empire Orange Free State South African Republic Commanders Sir Redvers Buller Lord Kitchener Lord Roberts Paul Kruger Louis Botha Koos de la Rey Martinus Steyn Christiaan de Wet Casualties 6,000 - 7,000 (A further ~14,000 from disease) 6,000 - 8,000 (Unknown number from disease) Civilians... Constabulary may have several definitions. ...

In 1911 Matthews said he had invented an Aerophone device, a radiotelephone, and transmitted messages between a ground station and an aeroplane from a distance of two miles. His experiments attracted government attention and in July 4, 1912 he visited Buckingham Palace. However, when the British Admiralty requested a demonstration of the Aerophone, Matthews demanded that no experts be present at the scene. When four of the observers dismantled part of the apparatus before the demonstration began and took notes, Matthews canceled the demonstration and drove observers away. Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Look up radiophone, radiotelephone in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial. ... For the international law of the sea, see Admiralty law. ...

Newspapers rushed to Matthews's defense. The War Office denied any tampering and claimed that the demonstration was a failure. Matthews backpedaled and stated that the affair was just a misunderstanding.

In 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War, the British government announced an award of £25,000 to anyone who could create a weapon against zeppelins or remotely control unmanned vehicles. Matthews claimed that he had created a remote control system that used selenium cells. He successfully demonstrated it with a remotely controlled boat to representatives of the Admiralty at Richmond Park's Penn Pond. He received his £25,000 but the admiralty never used the invention. Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... This is an article about Zeppelin airships. ... A television remote control A DVD Player remote control A remote control is an electronic device used for the remote operation of a machine. ... For other uses, see Selenium (disambiguation). ... Flag of the Lord High Admiral The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... It has been suggested that King Henry VIIIs Mound be merged into this article or section. ...

Next, Matthews appeared in public in 1921 and claimed to have invented the world's first talking picture, an interview of Ernest Shackleton. It was not commercially successful. (Other talking-picture processes had been developed before that of Matthews, notably one by William K.L. Dickson: these also were not successful, but they are thoroughly documented. Even if Matthews's process actually worked, it was certainly not the "first".) Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO, OBE (15 February 1874 â€“ 5 January 1922) was an Irish explorer who was knighted for the success of the 1907-09 British Antarctic Expedition under his command. ... William Kennedy Laurie Dickson (August 3, 1860 â€“ September 28, 1935) was a Franco-Scottish[1][2][3] inventor who is credited with the invention of the motion picture camera under the employ of Thomas Edison. ...

Death Ray

In 1923 Matthews claimed that he had invented an electric ray that would put magnetos out of action. ^[3] In a demonstration to some select journalist he stopped a motorcycle engine from a distance. He also claimed that with enough power he could shoot down aeroplanes, explode gunpowder, stop ships and incapacitate infantry from the distance of four miles. Newspapers obliged by publishing sensational accounts of his invention. Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Smokeless powder Gunpowder is a pyrotechnic composition, an explosive mixture that burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot gas which can be used as a propellant in firearms and fireworks. ...

The War Office contacted Matthews in February 1924 to request a demonstration of his ray. Matthews did not answer to them but spoke to journalists and demonstrated the ray to a Star reporter by igniting gunpowder from a distance. He still refused to say how the ray actually worked, just insisted that it did. When the British government still refused to rush to buy his ideas, he announced that he had an offer from France. ^[4] Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Air Ministry was wary, partially because of previous bad experiences with would-be inventors. Matthews was invited back to London to demonstrate his ray on April 26 to the armed forces. In Matthews's laboratory they saw how his ray switched on a light bulb and cut off a motor. He failed to convince the officials, who also suspected trickery or a confidence game. When the admiralty requested further demonstration, Matthews refused to give it. The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the United Kingdom Government, established in 1918 with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the (then newly formed) Royal Air Force. ... The light bulb is one of the most significant inventions in the history of the human race, illuminating the darkness of the evening and bringing light indoors at all times in order focus on the task at hand. ... A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short, (also known as a scam) is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. ...

In May 27, 1924, the High Court in London granted an injunction to Matthew's investors that forbade him from selling the rights to the death ray. When Major Wimperis arrived at Matthews's laboratory to negotiate a new deal, Matthews had already flown to Paris. Matthews's backers appeared on the scene as well and then rushed to Croydon airport to stop him, but were too late. is the 147th day of the year (148th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up Injunction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Croydon (disambiguation). ...

Public furor attracted interest of various other would-be inventors who wanted to demonstrate their own death rays to the War Office. None of them were convincing. On May 28 Commander Kenworthy asked in the House of Commons what the government intended to do to stop Matthews from selling the ray to a foreign power. The Undersecretary for Air answered that Matthews was not willing to let them investigate the ray to their satisfaction. A government representative also stated that one ministry official had stood before the ray and survived. Newspapers continued to root for Matthews. Old War Office Building, seen from Whitehall, London - the former location of the War Office The War Office was a former department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1963, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence. ...

The government required that Matthews would use the ray to stop a petrol motorcycle engine in the conditions that would satisfy the Air Ministry. He would receive £1000 and further consideration. From France, Matthews answered that he was not willing to give any proof of that kind and that he already had eight bids to choose from. He also claimed that he had lost sight in his left eye because of his experiments. His involvement with his French backer Eugene Royer aroused further suspicions in Britain.

Sir Samuel Instone and his brother Theodore offered Matthews a huge salary if he would keep the ray in Britain and demonstrate that it actually worked. Matthews refused again - he did not want to give any proof that the ray worked as he claimed it would. Sir Samuel Instone (1878 â€“ 1937) was a shipping and aviation entrepreneur and the founder of the Instone Air Line. ...

Matthews returned to London June 1, 1924 and gave an interview to the Sunday Express. He claimed that he had a deal with Royer. The press again took his side. The only demonstration Matthews was willing to give was to make a Pathe film The Death Ray to propagate his ideas to his own satisfaction. The device in the movie bore no resemblance to the one government officials had seen. ^[5] ^[6] is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Daily Express is a British newspaper, currently tabloid, and it is owned by Richard Desmond. ... Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France. ...

In July 1924, Matthews left for the USA to market his invention. When he was offered $25,000 to demonstrate his beam to the Radio World Fair at Madison Square Garden, he again refused and claimed, without foundation, that he was not permitted to demonstrate it outside England. US scientists were not impressed. One Professor Woods offered to stand in front of the death ray device to demonstrate his disbelief. Regardless, when Matthews returned to Britain, he claimed that the USA had bought his ray but refused to say who had done it and for how much. Matthews moved to the USA and began to work for Warner Bros. Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, known colloquially simply as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City, United States. ... â€œWBâ€ redirects here. ...

Further inventions

On December 24, 1930 Matthews was back in England with his new creation - a Sky Projector that projected pictures onto clouds. He demonstrated it in Hampstead by projecting an angel, the message 'Happy Christmas' and a reportedly 'accurate' clock face. He demonstrated it again in New York. This invention was not successful either, and by 1931 he faced bankruptcy. He had used most of his investors' money for living in expensive hotels. is the 358th day of the year (359th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Projectors are used for displaying an image on a projection screen or similar surface for the view of an audience. ... This article is about clouds in meteorology. ... For other places with the same name, see Hampstead (disambiguation). ... This article is about the state. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Notice of closure stuck on the door of a computer store the day after its parent company, Granville Technology Group Ltd, declared bankruptcy (strictly, put into administrationâ€”see text) in the United Kingdom. ...

In 1934 Matthews had a new set of investors and relocated to Tor Cloud, Betws, South Wales. He built a fortified laboratory and his own airfield. In 1935 he claimed that he worked on aerial mines and in 1937 that he had invented a system for detecting submarines. In 1938 he married Ganna Walska d'Eighnhorn Fraenkel Cochran McCormick, a Polish-American opera singer, perfumer, and feminist, whose four previous husbands had owned fortunes totaling $125,000,000. ^[8] Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An investor is any party that makes an investment. ... Betws in Carmarthenshire is not to be confused with Betws-y-Coed in Caernarvonshire. ... This article is about the country. ... For other uses, see Submarine (disambiguation). ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Later he propagated the idea of the "stratoplane" and joined the British Interplanetary Society. His reputation preceded him and the British Government was no more interested about his ideas. The British Interplanetary Society (BIS) founded in 1933 by Mr. ...

Death

Harry Grindell Matthews died of a heart attack on September 11, 1941. ^[9] Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ...

External links

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...

References

^ Harry Grindell Matthews of Winterbourne. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
^ "Grindell 'Death Ray' Matthews", Fortean Times, October 2003. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. “By any standards Harry Grindell Matthews led a remarkable life. Born in 1880 at Winterbourne in Gloucestershire, he was educated at the Merchant Venturer’s School in Bristol before training as an electrical engineer. During the Boer War he enlisted in the Baden-Powell South African Constabulary and was wounded twice. On his return to Britain he pursued his interest in the burgeoning electrical sciences on the estate of Lord de la Warr at Bexhill-on-Sea. There he displayed a natural aptitude for ‘thinking outside the box’ and began to first visualise and later produce a remarkable series of inventions.”
^ "Denies British Invented 'Death Ray'. E.R. Scott Asserts He and Other Americans Preceded Grindell-Matthews.", New York Times, September 5, 1924, Friday. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. “Washington, DC, September 4, 1924 Edwin R. Scott an inventor of San Francisco, today challenged the assertion of Mr. Grindell-Matthews, who sailed for London on the Homeric last week, that the latter was the first to develop a "death-ray" that would destroy human life and bring down planes at a distance.”
^ "Invisible Death", Time (magazine), Monday, April 21, 1924. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. “H. Grindell-Matthews, inventor of a method of controlling motorboats at sea by wireless, for which the British Government awarded him $125,000, has perfected a principle by which airplane or other engines can be stopped in full operation through an invisible ray. He has demonstrated its efficacy with but a quarter kilowatt of power on engines in the laboratory, and needs only to strengthen its current for operation at a greater distance to bring airplanes in flight to a full stop and send them crashing to earth. No insulation is proof against this weapon, for if the carburetor were sufficiently protected, the ray could be so intensified as to set the wing fabric afire. Said he: "I believe that in the near future machine guns will be found only in museums."”
^ "Diabolical Rays", Time (magazine), Monday, June 9, 1924. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. “Harry Grindell Matthews plunged deeper into an orgy of mysterious dickering with prospective purchasers of his invisible "death ray." Refusing an offer of £1,000 from the British Air Ministry for a two-weeks option, provided he would test his machine on a government motor instead of on a motorcycle engine in his own laboratory, Matthews melodramatically seized an airplane and hopped off for Paris just as process servers reached the field to serve a writ of injunction on him from Edgar Grubbins, A. H. Daley, and J. S. P. Sanborne, English capitalists who claim to hold the majority rights in Matthews' invention. According to Grubbins, Matthews was penniless when he met him, and the entire expenses of the experiments were paid by the business men.”
^ "Grindell-Mathews", Time (magazine), Monday, August 25, 1924. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. “A beam of light shoots from a projector. It seeks out a mouse in its cage. The mouse blinks, surprised, into the glow. A switch is turned. Terrible energy flies along the beam. The mouse jumps into the air, quivers, is dead. So, in the future, Prof. Grindell-film such prophetic visions—the death ray will sweep whole armies into oblivion, whole cities into bleak, smoldering ruins, explode bombs in midair, blow up ammunition dumps from great distances; in a word, make existence for those who do not possess its mysterious secret impossible, and, so he says, end war.”
^ "Luminaphone", Time (magazine), Monday, November 23, 1925. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. “Last week Harry Grindell-Matthews, British inventor of the "death-ray" demonstrated certain devices with which he had turned theoretical flippancies of the dilettanti into mechanical realism. It is of course an impossibility to rearrange the human nervous system so that one kind of sense impression is substituted for another, but it is quite within the scope of science to turn light into music, sound into color. His instrument, called the "luminaphone," releases light from a series of searchlights to strike through a pattern of holes on revolving disks. Each hole is the equivalent of a note of music. The light, interrupted so as to form the pattern of a tune, passes through the holes to strike selenium plates, setting up vibrations which are "amplified" as on a radio. When Inventor Grindell-Matthews placed his hand over one of the lights, a note was deadened; when all the lights were covered, all sounds ceased. The instrument has a tone like that of a little pipe-organ.”
^ "Married", Time (magazine), Monday, February 7, 1938. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. “Ganna Walska d'Eighnhorn Fraenkel Cochran McCormick, 45, Polish-American opera singer, perfumer, feminist, whose four previous husbands had owned fortunes totaling $125,000,000; to Harry Grindell-Matthews, 57, inventor of the "death ray," which knocked out a cow 200 yards distant at its first British War Office tests; in London. The bride went on her honeymoon alone, while the investor rushed to his Clydach, Wales laboratory (fenced with electrified wire) to perfect an aerial torpedo.”
^ "Died", Time (magazine), Monday, September 22, 1941. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. “Harry Grindell-Matthews, 61, inventor of a highly publicized "death ray," fifth husband of Singer Ganna Walska; in his lonely, electrically guarded bungalow laboratory near Swansea, Wales. An electrical researcher, he developed submarine detectors, "aerial mines," remote-control devices, sound-film synchronization, in 1911 established wireless communication with a plane in flight.”

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