William Symes Andrews
(Saltford, England: 10th September 1847 - New York, Schenectady: 1st July 1929)
Started working at Edison's Menlo Park as an electric engineer as one of the first employees of the General Electric Company. He was the son of Bailey and Selina (Chesterton) Andrews. Attended Cuzner's Collegiate Academy at Beckington, near Bath. Upon graduating he became an instructor there and at the age of 18 became the headmaster of the school, a position he held for 10 years. In 1875 he went to Toronto to enter the firm of Raybon & Co. manufacturers of firearms.
In November 1879 he became an employee of Edison at Menlo Park, N.J. He assisted in winding the armature of Edison's first dynamo, constructed the first Edison chemical electric meter, molds for carbonizing the filaments of the lamps and finally small and delicate mechanisms for picking up the hair-like filament and placing it between platinum clamps for mounting. On October 8, 1881, Mr. Andrews was made superintendent of the testing department at the Edison Machine Works in New York. On June 1, 1883, he became chief electrical engineer of the central station construction department.
In 1894 he entered General Electric's employ. From 1897 to 1903, he engaged in X-ray testing, taking out a number of patents on methods of regulating X-ray tubes. He was also interested in illumination by phosphorescence and fluorescence.
Some consider him the author of The Expert at the Card Table.
