They were young
(mostly mid-twenties when they came the lab),
upwardly-mobile professionals. The Machine and Lamp Works provided the training
grounds the basic engineering skills which were then
.-* Reginald
Fessenden and Marshall were typical the American
experimenters— they were well educated, with some experience
working industry higher education.
A large proportion the formally trained employees at
the lab were foreign-born and educated, yet there were a
growing number American college graduates working there. was considered the most gifted mathematician
at the lab and went enjoy distinguished career a
professional engineer and academic.
Many the experimenters the lab served their
apprenticeship the Edison electrical companies.Ill- 6
Orange. The factories Britain
supplied many skilled machinists the Edison enterprise, but
of more importance were the managers and accountants who ran
"the workshop the world.
Rutgers College New Brunswick provided many lab workers:
four the early days according David Trumbull Marshall, a
chemist who worked the laboratory that time. The Edison
electric light empire naturally provided ideal pool of
talent drawn upon, not only for experimenters but also
for the experienced administrators Edison needed West
Orange." Edison used several managers of
English descent, including Samuel Insull, Alfred Tate, Hamilton
Miller, and Charles Batchelor
