Magicians of Engineering 

By on

The other day I was reading the “Night of the New Magicians”  by Mary Pope Osborn with my son.  The story is about a young boy and girl who travel back in time to the 1889 World's Fair in Paris to find four  new magicians and learn their secrets.  The new magicians turn out to be Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas  Edison, Louis Pasteur and Gustave Eiffel and their secrets inspirational advice.  A search of Google produced some quotations by these famous engineers:

Alexander Graham Bell - (1847–1922) born in Edinburgh he was an eminent scientist, inventor and  innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone.

  • "When one door closes another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."
  • "Before anything else, preparation is the key to success."

Thomas Alva Edison - (1847–1931) was an American inventor who developed many devices that greatly including the phonograph and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.

  • "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
  • "I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work."

Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist best known for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and prevention of disease and his experimental support of the germ theory of disease.

  • "In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind."

Gustave Eiffel - (1832–1927) was a French structural engineer and architect famous for designing the Eiffel Tower, e 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, France, the Basilica Minore de San Sebastian and armature for the Statue of Liberty.

  • "I ought to be jealous of the tower. She is more famous than I am." - not as inspirational as the other quotes, but a nice one anyhow.

Inspirational quotations are always good to look at.  I may even try to remember these (particularly Alexander Graham Bell's opening and closing doors).  Finally if you do if you have children of the right age then the book is pretty good.

External Links

Edited 08 March 2013 - removed links where no longer valid



Steven McFadyen's avatar Steven McFadyen

Steven has over twenty five years experience working on some of the largest construction projects. He has a deep technical understanding of electrical engineering and is keen to share this knowledge. About the author

myElectrical Engineering

comments powered by Disqus



How to Check a Circuit is Dead

If you want to check a circuit is dead (not live), you should always use the three point method. First check a known live circuit, then check the dead...

Voltage Levels – Confused?

I was having a conversation the other day about voltage levels.  While everyone was in agreement that low voltage was 1000 V and less, there was more confusion...

Copyright Infringement

myElectrical does not support or promote the use of copyrighted material without the copyright owner's consent. If you believe that material for which...

Restricted Earth Fault Protection

The windings of many medium and small sized transformers are protected by restricted earth fault (REF) systems. The illustration shows the principal of...

Tips for a better Low Voltage Protection Discrimination Study

Carrying out a protection system discrimination study is critical to ensure the correct functioning of  the electrical system in the event of faults. ...

Software Usage Guidelines

Using software in our  work is essential for most of us and we are becoming even more dependant on it's use.  While software is a great asset, many times...

1,000 kV UHV First for China

At the beginning of the year China put the world's first 1,000 kV UHV transmission system into operation. Transmitting power at over a million volts is...

Cable Trumps

Bored at work and would rather be playing trump card game with you son. The next best thing (or not) maybe the online cable trump card game from AEI Cables...

LED Replacement Light Bulb

The inventor of the first visible light-emitting diode makes history again this year as it begins to show customers a 40-watt replacement GE Energy Smart...

How to Calculate Motor Starting Time

Request to look at induction motor starting time have come up a few times on the site. Hopefully in this post, I give you guys some idea on how to calculate...

Have some knowledge to share

If you have some expert knowledge or experience, why not consider sharing this with our community.  

By writing an electrical note, you will be educating our users and at the same time promoting your expertise within the engineering community.

To get started and understand our policy, you can read our How to Write an Electrical Note