Wallace, William

Wallace, William (1825–1904) inventor, manufacturer; born in Manchester, England. He emigrated to America with his parents as a boy and eventually they settled in Derby, Conn. There the elder Wallace went into the wire-drawing business. His son became president upon his death and built a large and flourishing copper, brass, and wire enterprise. In 1874 Wallace introduced dynamo-electric machinery into his factory. Eventually his dynamos could copper-plate 100 miles of steel wire at a time. He later designed the first commercial arc light. He sold his business and retired to Washington, D.C., in 1896.

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Wallace, William 

Born circa 1270; died Aug. 23, 1305, in London. Hero of the struggle of the Scottish people for independence from England.

An army of Scottish rebels led by Wallace routed English troops in the battle of Stirling in September 1297. For several months, Wallace was the de facto ruler of Scotland. In July 1298, Wallace’s army suffered defeat at the hands of the superior forces of the English king Edward I. Nonetheless, resistance to the English conquerors continued. In August 1305, Wallace was betrayed into captivity and was executed. His memory has been preserved in numerous songs and ballads of the Scottish people.