Title: Letter from Frank J. Sprague to Mattie Munroe

Identifier: 0628-b1-fa   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/36158)

Description: Letter written by Frank Sprague while aboard the U.S. Navy Training Ship Minnesota in Newport, Rhode Island, to a friend, Mattie Munroe, of Massachusetts. Sprague mentions his regrets at hearing of the death of a friend; briefly describes recent travels, particularly to New York and Washington, D.C.; and mentions the USS Portsmouth, USS Saratoga, and USS Constitution will be coming to Newport in the next month. He also mentions continuing his work on a dynamo-electric machine despite opposition from leading electricians. Sprague was an American naval officer and inventor who made significant contributions to the electric trolley system, electric elevators, and the electric motor. He is known as the "Father of Electric Traction."