Alexander Bain Biography

Alexander Bain was a renowned inventor and clockmaker, who invented many instruments including the electric clock, chemical telegraph receivers, punch-tapes and the facsimile machine, commonly known as the ‘fax machine’. His other inventions include an earth battery, insulation for electric cables, an electric fire alarm, inkstands, ink holders and a ship’s log. He owned the patents of all of his inventions. This inventor from Scotland also installed the railway telegraph lines between Glasgow and Edinburgh. His invention of electric clocks can be observed in the National Maritime Museum of London, the London Science Museum, the Royal Scottish Museum and the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum. His improved version of fax service was opened between Paris and Lyon. This service was called pantelegraph. During his work on chemical telegraph, he developed two types of chemical recorders. One of these methods was the tape method which was used for general purpose. He developed the other method for major terminals. By 1859 his chemical telegraph was used only on the Boston-Montreal line in America. The credit of inventing an automatic method of playing on wind instruments by moving a band of perforated paper that controls the supply of air to the pipes goes to him.