Magnus W. Alexander

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Magnus W. Alexander (February 1870 – September 10, 1932) was a German-born US electrical engineer and designer for GE and Westinghouse who also became a social reformer.

Alexander was born to Alexander M. and M. (Jelenkiewicz) A. Alexander. He studied mechanics, metallurgy and electrical engineering at Austrian universities in Vienna, 1889, Leoben, 1891, and Gratz, 1892.

Following his education he was employed with Austria's largest steel company. In 1893 he joined Weston Electrical Instrument Co. as an engineer and designer. The next year he was recruited by Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co., and he emigrated to the US. After five years with Westinghouse, he joined Siemens and Halske Electric Co. In 1900, General Electric made him chief engineer in charge of design, a position he held until 1918. Thereafter, he served as GE's consulting engineer on economic issues until 1922.

While with GE, Alexander began turning his attention to industrial education. He created and directed GE's Education and Personnel Department in Lynn, Massachusetts. In 1907, he initiated a partnership between GE and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology whereby GE provided apprenticeships and in-house technical courses for newly graduated MIT engineers.

He served on Massachusetts old-age pension commission and the Massachusetts Workman's compensation commission. He was a charter member of the National Association of Corporation Schools, the American Management Association, the National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education, and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.

He also was an early participant (with Malcolm Rorty and Wesley Mitchell) in National Bureau of Economic Research. He also created the National Industrial Conference Board (now known as The Conference Board) with Loyall Osborne (Westinghouse), Frederick P. Fish, and Frank A. Vanderlip.

[edit] References

• Noble, David F. America by Design: Science, Technology, and the Rise of Corporate Capitalism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977.
• Who's Who on the Web, s.v. "Magnus W. Alexander" (n.p.: Marquis Who's Who, 2005)