5 October 1874 – 15 October 1940
Known as the "Grid King", he was influential in the creation of the National Grid. He is thought of as one of the finest engineers of his generation.
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Charles Merz
Eras:
Location:
54 High Street, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Charles Merz , known affectionately as the "Grid King", was a pioneering electrical engineer who built a system in the North East in the early 20th century that became the model for the country's National Grid.
He was born in Gateshead, to John Theodore Merz, an industrial chemist, and and Alice Mary Richardson, the sister of John Wigham Richardson, the Tyneside ship builder, and grew up in Elswick. He studied at Armstrong College, Newcastle, before joining the Newcastle Electric Supply Company as an apprentice. He later became Chief Engineer at the Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company.
Returning to Tyneside, he set up a consultancy with William McLelland. Their first major project was setting up the Neptune Bank Power Station in Wallsend, which was the first three-phase electricity supply system in Britain. He went on to advise Parliament on setting up a national electrical network to unify the variety of voltages and frequencies used in the country's electricity supply industry. This culminated in the Electricity Supply Act of 1926 which led to the setting up of the National Grid.
He was killed in an air raid on his London home in 1940. In the field of electricity supply Charles Merz is considered to be the premier electrical engineer in the first half of the twentieth century.
Charles Merz
Portrait of Charles Merz. Image courtesy of Institution of Engineering and Technology Archives
Portrait of Charles Merz. Image courtesy of Institution of Engineering and Technology Archives
Blue Plaque dedicated to Charles Merz.
Children from Farne Primary School in Newcastle used the Our Past Your Future map to learn about influential scientists from the North East and the region’s innovative science and engineering heritage for British Science Week. They investigated the important part the region played in the development of science and engineering through its coal mining and ship building industries and through its pioneering railways. Children further investigated some of the trailblazing scientists from the North East, including John Snow (a doctor to Queen Victoria who carried out work to discover the importance of hygiene), Marie Lebour (a marine biologist), Ethel Williams (the first female doctor from Newcastle), Angela Milner (a palaeontologist who found the fossil of a previously undiscovered dinosaur), Rachel Parsons (an engineer), George Airy (an astronomer who worked on establishing the Greenwich Meridian) and Charles Merz (a scientist who helped set up the national electricity grid). Children had a better understanding of the region's industrial and scientific heritage as a result. Finding out about local scientists and engineers whose innovations had an influence on our lives today, helped inspire and engage the children as it gave the work a local context and made it more relevant to them. Susan Bennison - Teacher, Science Subject lead, Farne Primary School.
