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The Sprengnethers and their Seismographs
Deborah Jean Warner
National Museum of American History
[email protected]
William Francis Sprengnether (1884-1954) was a machinist in St. Louis, Missouri, who began
his career repairing transits and other surveying instruments. He came to public attention in
1910 when a newspaper reported that he raised spiders in his cellar. (Ref. 1) A letter to the editor
on the “Future of Aviation” suggests his progressive attitude. (Ref. 2) So too do his several
patents, most of which pertained to automobiles. Sprengnether’s wife, Crescentia, patented a
hair-bobbing gauge. (Ref. 3)
William Francis Sprengnether Jr. (1909-1951) began working with his father when he was yet in
high school. While working for a B.S. and an M.S. in physics at St. Louis University, the young
man came also under the influence of James B. Macelwane, S.J., an energetic and charismatic
scientist who understood the benefits of a local instrument enterprise on which he could rely. In
due course the Sprengnether Instrument Co. was working on a magnetic dip compass, a grating
spectrometer, and a microphotometer. (Ref. 4) Father Macelwane and William Jr. later worked
together, designing instruments and writing articles. Recollections of Macelwane visiting the
Sprengnether home, often with graduate students in tow, suggest that the connection went well
beyond business (Ref. 5).
When Sprengnether Jr. died in a river accident in 1951, Macelwane mourned this “great loss to
science.” (Ref. 6) The Sprengnether family then sold their firm to Rudolph Frank Hautly, a
Swiss-born machinist who had worked with them several years, and whose father had prospered
in the cheese business. (Ref. 7) The firm became the W. F. Sprengnether Instrument Co., Inc.,
soon thereafter, and advertised that it had been manufacturing engineering instruments since
1904. (Ref. 8) Hautly, in turn, sold the firm to Dyneer Corp. (formerly Aspro, Inc.) in 1978. At
the time it was said that Sprengnether had had sales of $2 million a year. (Ref. 9)
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Seismology
As a student at St. Louis University in 1909, Macelwane had seen the establishment of the Jesuit
Seismological Society, an organization that, in the words of one historian, aimed to bring
“widespread publicity and general acclaim in a culture that celebrated science.” (Ref. 10) When
he went to Berkeley for doctoral work in physics, he chose a topic in seismology, earning the
first PhD in that subject granted in the United States. Returning to St. Louis in 1925, Macelwane
organized a department of geophysics, and remained an active member of the seismological
community in the United States and abroad. He was elected to membership in the National
Academy of Sciences, the first American Jesuit so honored. He reorganized the Jesuit
Seismological Society as the Jesuit Seismological Association, and encouraged the member
institutions to update their equipment, much of it made by the Sprengnethers. (Ref. 11)
In 1934, in a move undoubtedly engineered by Macelwane, the Eastern Section of the
Seismological Society of America passed a resolution stating that, being “cognizant of the
importance of increasing our knowledge of the nature and causes of microseisms,” it urged “the
development of suitable recording instruments, and the continuances of studies of this
phenomenon.” And it further urged “the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Jesuit
Seismological Society to set up necessary instruments for recording microseisms at the Hawaiian
Islands and at St. Louis University, respectively.” (Ref. 12)
In 1937, when money for this project was to be had, the Sprengnethers made four horizontal
seismographs. These were used by Jesus Emilio Ramirez, S.J., a graduate student at St. Louis
University who, after receiving his PhD, returned to his native Bogota and established a
geophysical institute there. Seeking a connection between microseisms and meteorology,
Ramirez found that microseisms were a good predictor of hurricanes. His seismographs were of
the garden-gate form. They were, moreover, equipped with an induction transducer and
electromagnetic damping of the sort that had been introduced in 1906 by the Russian prince,
Boris Galitzin. The electromagnetic barograph that the Sprengnethers made for this project was
designed by Macelwane and graduate students Donald Bradford and Vincent M. O’Flaherty, S.J.
(Ref. 13)
The U.S. Navy purchased several Sprengnether seismographs and barographs suitable for its new
hurricane tracking program in 1944. According to Sprengnether Jr., these instruments had simple
controls and adjustments, and could be operated by people with little technical training. (Ref.
14). During the next several years, the Sprengnethers sent instruments of this sort to Venezuela,
Santa Domingo, Cuba, Hawaii, and Bolivia. When the firm made a tripartite microseismic
station for the University of Brisbane—James Duhig, the Archbishop of Brisbane, ordered these
instruments while on a trip to the United States, and let it be known that they were worth
between £5000 and £6000—Sprengnether Jr. travelled to Australia for their installation. (Ref 15)
The Sprengnether firm also published the Operating Manual for Microseismic Research (1954)
written by Marion Gilmore, a geophysicist affiliated with the Navy program.
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Fig. 1 W. F. Sprengnether Sr. and W. F. Sprengnether Jr. with one of their
horizontal seismographs around 1947.
Joseph A. Volk was an engineer from Germany who devised an electronic seismograph while
earning a PhD in geophysics at St. Louis University. The first example, made by the
Sprengnethers and installed at the University by 1948, was said to be “entirely unlike the
Galitizin instruments in design, yet embodying their basic principle.” Volk’s photoelectric
seismograph, developed on a contract with the Office of Naval Research, was described as a
visual recording Sprengnether instrument with a Volk-type photoelectric cell. (Ref. 16) Volk
would later obtain several patents, sell them to the Navy, and go into industry. (Ref. 17)
The Sprengnethers worked with at least two other seismologists who earned their degrees at St.
Louis University.
Ross Heinrich wrote the Sprengnether brochure, Interpretation of
Seismograph Records (1951). Florence Robertson, celebrated as the first American woman to
receive a PhD in seismology, wrote the Sprengnether brochure, On the Selection of a
Seismograph (1948, Ref. 18).
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Amateur Seismology
Macelwane introduced Sprengnether’s low-cost vertical seismograph at the 1941 meeting of the
American Physical Society, noting that several examples were being tested by members of the
Jesuit Seismological Association. Macelwane also showed the instrument to the Eastern Section
of the Seismological Society of America later that year, acknowledging that it had been designed
“to supply the apparent demand for a simple low-priced, short-period, vertical-component
seismograph of fairly high sensitivity.” (Ref. 19) John J. Lynch, S.J., a professor at Fordham
University who, like Macelwane, was supportive of amateurs, noted that Sprengnether’s
instrument could be had for $160. (Ref. 20)
Obviously pleased with this instrument, the Eastern Section of the Seismological Society of
America passed a resolution stating that: “Whereas amateur seismologists can make important
contributions if equipped with suitable instruments; and Whereas such instruments have been
made available at very slight cost by the William F. Sprengnether Instrument Company of Saint
Louis, be it Resolved, that the Eastern Section of the Seismological Society of America and its
individual members give every encouragement possible of such amateurs.” (Ref. 21) But with
Pearl Harbor on the horizon, few of these instruments were produced at this time.
Sprengnether returned to the subject in the immediate post-war period, offering horizontal and
vertical seismographs of short and long periods that were “designed to meet the demand for
lower priced instruments of high magnification and flexibility of application.” (Ref. 22) Going a
step further, Sprengnether announced his intention to offer “an unassembled kit consisting of a
horizontal component Wood-Anderson seismometer and a drum recorder, complete in every
detail,” with instructions for assembly, operation and interpretation. Apparently quoting a press
release or interview, newspapers reported that Sprengnether hoped to create “a new corps” of
amateur seismologists, that he had applied for a patent on this device “which he believes will
develop a lot of interest among hobby-minded Americans,” and that the seismograph was
expected to cost about $75. Science Digest described this instrument as “a baby-sized
seismograph that Joe Citizen can use to detect and record earth shaking events.” A verticalcomponent seismometer was to follow soon thereafter. (Ref. 23) Harry Larkin, Jr., an enthusiast
in Elmira, N.Y., published a diagram of his Sprengnether torsion seismograph in Scientific
American in 1952, noting that Sprengnether was “an advanced amateur astronomer and telescope
maker, [who] wished to encourage amateur interest in seismology and in placing this equipment
on the market ignored the conventional profit motive.” (Ref. 24)
World Wide Standard Seismological Network
One especially important Sprengnether contract came from the World Wide Standard
Seismological Network. Established in 1961, the WWSSN was a key component of VELA
Uniform, a Cold War project that was funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency
(ARPA), a branch of the Department of Defense, and managed by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic
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Survey. The WWSSN was designed to detect underground nuclear tests, but also generated
valuable information about the Earth’s interior and its dynamic processes.
The WWSSN comprised 120 stations, each provided with identical apparatus. Each station had
two sets of seismometers. Each set had one vertical seismometer (to capture the vertical
component of the Earth’s motion), and two horizontal seismometers (one to capture the east-west
component of the Earth’s motions, and one to capture the north-south component). The Benioff
set captured short period quakes. The Press-Ewing set, produced by Sprengnether, captured long
period quakes. (Ref. 25)
Practical and Portable Seismographs
Although primarily interested in seismology as a science, the Sprengnethers were aware of its
uses for prospecting and other engineering purposes. Under Hautly’s leadership, practical work
became increasingly important to the business. Here I would just mention a few highlights. The
firm published the Bibliography of Engineering Seismology (first edition, 1954).
The
Sprengnether Autocorder, available by 1963, was advertised as “a 60-day automatic
photographic light-beam recorder, specifically designed for long-term unattended
recording.” (Ref. 26) The Sprengnether S-7000 seismometer was based on patent 3,158,833 *
issued to Hautly in 1964. The firm also made digital event recorders that were suitable for
vibration monitoring and earthquake recording with cassettes.
* [NB: not all browsers are enabled to view US Patents.]
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References:
1.
“Spider Important To Science,” Washington Post (Oct. 16, 1910), p. 36. Sprengnether ads
for “slightly used transits” in Popular Mechanics (Oct. 1915), ads p. 27; also (Feb. 1914). 2.
W.F. Sprengnether, “Future of Aviation,” St. Louis Post Dispatch (Jan. 14, 1911), p. 4.
3.
W.F. Sprengnether, “Tread Band for Pneumatic Tires,” U.S. Patent 1,271,957 (1918);
“Spark-Plug,” U.S. Patent 1,310,847 (1919); “Sun Shield for Automobiles,” U.S. Patent
1,427,332 (1922). Crescentia Sprengnether, “Hair-Bobbing Gauge,” U.S. Patent
1,544,868 (1925).
4.
W.F. Sprengnether, “Miner’s Compass or Dip Needle,” U.S. Patent 1,947,809 (1934).
Directions for Using Sprengnether Magnetic Dip Compass; this is a 1 page sheet headed
“W.F. Sprengnether, 14 North St., St. Louis. [1935].
5.
Telephone conversations with Robert L. Sprengnether. J.B. Macelwane and W.F.
Sprengnether, Jr., “The Machelwane-Sprengnether Magnetometer,” Transactions of the
American Geophysical Union 29 (1948): 638-639.
6.
“Seismograph Manufacturer Dies in River,” Dixon [Illinois] Evening Telegraph (Aug.
31, 1951), p. 11. J.A. Macelwane, “William Francis Sprengnether, Jr.,” Earthquake Notes,
22 (1951), 30.
7.
U.S.A. Oilfield Service, Supply and Manufacturers Directory (1988).
8.
Sprengnether ad in Seismological Research Letters, 37/4 (1966).
9.
“Stockholder Meeting Briefs,” Wall Street Journal (Nov. 29, 1978), p. 31.
10. Carl-Henry Geschwind, “Embracing Science and Research: Early Twentieth-Century
Jesuits and Seismology in the United States,” Isis, 89 (1998): 27-49. Augustin Udias,
Searching the Heavens and the Earth: The History of Jesuit Observatories (Dordrecht
and Boston, 2003). Udias, “Jesuits’ Studies of Earthquakes and Seismological Stations,”
in Geology and Religion: A History of Harmony and Hostility (London, 2009), 135-143.
11. Perry Byerly and William Stauder, “James B. Macelwane, S.J.,” in National Academy of
Sciences, Biographical Memoirs, 31 (1958), 254-286. “Personalities in Science,”
Scientific American, 164 (Jan. 1941), 5.
12. Notice in Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 19 (193?), 125. Notice in
Earthquake Notes, 5/1-2 (1933), 6.
13. J.B. Macelwane and W.F. Sprengnether, Jr., “A Seismogram for Microseisms,”
Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 19 (1938), 128-129. J. E. Ramirez,
S.J., “An Experimental Investigation of the Nature and Origin of Microseisms at St.
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Louis, Missouri,” Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 30 (1940), 35-84,
139-178. Macelwane and Ramirez, “The Electromagnetic Barograph and its
Performance,” Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 19 (1938), 125-128.
14. W.F. Sprengnether, Jr., “A Description of the Instruments use to Record Microseisms for
the Purpose of Detecting and Recording Hurricanes,” Bulletin of the Seismological
Society of America, 36 (1946), 83-87.
15. William F. Sprengnether, Jr., “Tripartite Seismograph Station at Brisbane, Australia,”
Earthquake News, 22/1 (1951), 7. Owen A. Jones, “The New University of Queensland
Seismological Station,” Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 43 (1853),
247-254.
16. “Sprengnether Seismographs,” Earthquake News, 19/1-2 (1947), 10-11. Note in
Science, 108 (1948), 433. Joseph A. Volk and Florence Robertson, “The Electronic
Seismograph,” Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 40 (1950), 81-93. Joseph A. Volk, “The Photoelectric Seismograph,” Bulletin of the Seismological Society
of America, 40 (1950), 169-173. For photos of the Volk-Sprengnether Impulse-Magnetic
Vertical Component Seismograph, the Volk-Sprengnether Impulse-Magnetic Horizontal
Component Seismograph, the Volk-Sprengnether Electronic Seismograph, Horizontal
Component, and the Volk-Sprengnether Electronic Seismograph, Vertical Component, see
www.eas.slu.edu/eqc/eqc_history/SprengnetherInstruments/eqc_SprengInst.html,
accessed Dec. 17, 2012.
17. “Joseph A. Volk” in St. Louis University, Universitas (Fall, 1988), 6. Obituary in St.
Louis Post Dispatch (Nov. 20, 1993).
18. “Ross R. Heinrich,” Seismological Research Letters, 69 (1998), 298. J. B. Macelwane,
“Memorial of Doctor Florence Robertson,” Earthquake Notes, 25 (1954), 42-43.
19. “Device Raises Sum of Heavy Oxygen,” New York Times (May 2, 1941), p. 22. “LowCost Seismograph,” Science News Letter, 39 (May 10, 1941), 294. J.B. Macelwane and
W.F. Sprengnether, Jr., “The Sprengnether Vertical Seismograph,” Earthquake Notes,
13/1-2 (1941), 372-374, illus.
20. John J. Lynch, S.J., Our Trembling Earth (New York, 1940), pp. 169-175. Lynch,
“Amateur Seismology,” Earthquake Notes, 13/1-2 (1941), 400.
21. Note in Earthquake News, 21/1-2 (1950), 3.
22. W.F. Sprengnether, Jr., “Horizontal Seismometers (Short and Long Periods) and Vertical
Component Seismographs,” Earthquake News, 17/4 (1946). Sprengnether, “Horizontaland Vertical-Component Seismographs,” Bulletin of the Seismological Society of
America, 37 (1947), 101-105.
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23. “Seismology Student Invents Device to Induce Hobby-Minded to Record Own
Earthquakes,” Oakland Tribune (May 11, 1950), p. 20-M (and several other papers). W.F.
Sprengnether, Jr., “A Professional Kit for the Amateur Seismologist,” Earthquake News,
21/1-2 (1950), 10, and Engineering News, 21 (1950), 10. “Seismographs for Amateur
Earthquake Hunters,” Science Digest, 28 (Oct. 1950), 33. J.B. Macelwane, S.J., “William
Francis Sprengnether, Jr.,” Earthquake Notes, 22 (1951), 30. Sprengnether,
Seismographs Series AR. Sprengnether, Instructions for Assembly and Installation of
Sprengnether Series AR Seismograph. Ross R. Heinrich, The Interpretation of
Seismograph Records (St. Louis, 1951). http://www.eas.slu.edu/eqc/eqc_history/
SprengnetherInstruments/eqc_SprengInst.html accessed Dec. 12, 2012.
24. Harry H. Larkin, Jr., “An Amateur Installation of the Sprengnether Series AR
Seismograph,” Earthquake News, 22/2 (1951), 18. Albert Ingalls, “The Amateur
Scientist,” Scientific American, 186 (April 1952), 94-97. Memos in Albert Ingalls papers,
Record Group 175, Box 7, Folder 21, Archives Center, National Museum of American
History. Clair L. Stong, The Scientific American Book of Projects for the Amateur
Scientist (1962), snippet.
25. United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, Instrumentation of the World-Wide
Seismograph System, Model 10700 (Washington, D.C., 1962). W.F. Sprengnether
Instrument Co., Inc., General Discription (sic) Long Period Horizontal Seismometer ([St.
Louis], n.d.). W.F. Sprengnether Instrument Co., Inc., Parts List. Long Period Horizontal
Seismometer ([St. Louis], n.d.).
26. Sprengnether ad in Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 44 (1963).
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