Sigismund Mohr
Born(1827-10-21)October 21, 1827
Breslau, Kingdom of Prussia
DiedDecember 15, 1893(1893-12-15) (aged 66)
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Resting placeCypress Hills Cemetery, New York
EducationCollege of Breslau
Spouse
Blume Levi
​
(m. 1856)​
[1]

Sigismund Mohr (October 21, 1827 – December 15, 1893) was a Canadian engineer. He is best known for pioneering the use of hydro-electric power in Canada, and the installation of electric light and telephone systems in Quebec.[2][3]

Early life and education

Sigismund Mohr was born to a Jewish family in Breslau, Kingdom of Prussia, in 1827. He received a degree in electrical engineering from the College of Breslau in 1849. After living in London for a time, Mohr settled in Quebec City around 1871.[4]

Career

In 1876, Mohr obtained exclusive rights to establish a telegraph company in Quebec City, which he did under the name City District Telegraph Company.[5] He also introduced telephones to the city, and his company eventually won the province-wide rights to Alexander Graham Bell's invention.[4] Mohr became an agent for the newly created Bell Telephone Company of Canada and worked to integrate the city's telephone and telegraph systems. He also laid a telephone cable between Quebec City and Levis in 1882.[4]

In the 1880s, Mohr turned his attention to the development of electrical power in the region. He became the manager of the Quebec & Levis Electric Lighting Company and worked to harness the power of the Montmorency Falls to generate electricity.[5] In 1885, he successfully lit the first electric street lamps in Quebec City, on the Terrasse Dufferin, to a crowd of 20,000 people,[6] which sparked widespread demand for electrification in the city.[7]

Death

Mohr continued to develop the electric lighting network in Quebec City until his death from influenza in 1893.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Hart, Arthur Daniel (1926). The Jew in Canada: A Complete Record of Canadian Jewry from the Days of the French Régime to the Present Time. Toronto and Montreal: Jewish Publications Limited. p. 427.
  2. ↑ Abella, Irving (1990). A Coat of Many Colours: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Canada. Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys. p. 104. ISBN 9780886192518.
  3. ↑ Zaruba, Antonin (2015). "Sigismund Mohr: Un pionnier de l'électricité à Québec". In Anctil, Pierre; Jacobs, Simon (eds.). Les juifs de Québec: Quatre cents ans d'histoire (in French). Quebec City: Presses de l’Université du Québec. pp. 55–66. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1f1hd3p.9.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Vaugeois, Denis (1990). "Mohr, Sigismund". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XII (1891–1900) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  5. 1 2 Zaruba, Antonin (September–October 2008). Translated by Donovan, Patrick. "A Current Affair: Sigismund Mohr pioneered Quebec City's hydro-electric power" (PDF). Quebec Heritage. 4 (11): 8–9.
  6. ↑ Blair, Louisa (2005). The Anglos: The Hidden Face of Quebec City. Québec: Editions Sylvain Harvey.
  7. ↑ Gindin, Matthew (August 4, 2017). "Sigismund Mohr: The man who helped electrify Quebec". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
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