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Lester Wire
Lester Wire
Lester Wire
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Lester Farnsworth Wire (September 3, 1887 – April 14, 1958) was an American police officer and inventor. He is credited with the invention of the electric traffic light in 1912.

Key Information

A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Wire worked as a traffic officer and later as a detective for the Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD). His first traffic light, a manually operated wooden model, was built while he was head of the SLCPD's Traffic Bureau and installed in downtown Salt Lake City in 1912. Though Wire's traffic light was originally viewed with curiosity and disapproval, the public gradually accepted it over time, and by the 1920s Salt Lake City had developed an automated traffic light system inspired by Wire's invention. Wire continued to work on traffic light designs throughout his life, and later fully redesigned his traffic light using a metal frame.

Wire never patented his traffic lights, and by the 1960s both of the original models had been lost. However, his work played a significant role in the development and adoption of the traffic light in the United States. Replicas of Wire's traffic lights have been built since the loss of the originals, and his contributions to traffic management are memorialized by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT).

Early life

[edit]

Lester Wire was born on September 3, 1887, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Frank and Lida Wire. He had three sisters: Ora, Zelta, and Edith.[1] He and his family were Mormons.[2] In 1897, Lester and his sisters became sick with diphtheria, but Frank and Lida, believers in Christian Science, believed the best treatment for their children's illness was prayer, and did not have them seek treatment or self-quarantine; Frank would also later claim he believed they were only stricken with mumps. When 4-year-old Ora and 8-year-old Zelta died of their illnesses, a controversy erupted, and Frank was ultimately charged with manslaughter.[1]

Wire attended Salt Lake High School, where he was a football star and helped create the first high school men's and women's basketball teams.[3] In 1909, he was enrolled in the University of Utah as a law student, but found it too expensive and quit to become a police officer like his father.[1][3][4]

Career and invention

[edit]

Wire joined the Salt Lake City Police Department in 1910. An expert marksman, he competed in marksmanship competitions as part of the SLCPD's "revolver team", and was well-regarded by his fellow officers.[1]

In 1912, Wire was appointed as sergeant of the SLCPD's Traffic Bureau, the department's first traffic enforcement unit, at the age of 24 by Chief B. F. Grant.[3] In that position, Wire created the first traffic codes in Salt Lake City, although the public was divided on accepting them.[3] He also managed the officers sent to respond to traffic incidents and direct traffic at the city's busy intersections. The officers would stand on small platforms in the middle of each intersection, and would direct and time traffic each way. However, automobile traffic in this era was very chaotic and dangerous: motorists could drive however they pleased and could turn or stop wherever they wanted, and pedestrians in the street were "fair game" if they did not move out of their way fast enough.[3] Though the traffic light had been invented decades earlier in 1868 by J. P. Knight in London, England, that semaphore-based system was not a success and had actually killed the police officers operating it in an explosion,[5][6] and no cities in Utah, if not the entire United States, had any operating traffic light systems. Concerned about his officers' working conditions (they would have to stand in the middle of the road for long hours even in inclement weather), and realizing traffic and intersections in the city would continue to outnumber and overwhelm anyone trying to manage them alone, Wire sought to devise a better and safer way to control traffic.[3][4][7] With Matthew 5:15 as his inspiration ("Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all"), Wire envisioned the electric traffic signal.[1]

Wire's first prototype was a yellow wooden box with a pitched roof that contained red and green lights on all four sides. Wire dipped the bulbs in red and green paint to get their color as opposed to using colored glass;[7] these colors were chosen for familiarity, as they were already being used for similar purposes as nautical lights and railway signals.[8] The traffic light was mounted to a 10-foot pole, wired to the electrical lines of the city's trolley system, and hand-operated by a police officer in a booth at the side of the road. It was installed at the intersection of Main Street and 200 South in downtown Salt Lake City in 1912.[4] Because it strongly resembled a birdhouse, the traffic light was nicknamed "Wire's bird cage", "Wire's pigeon house", and the "flashing bird house", among other names.[3]

Public reaction to the new traffic light was mixed, with many viewing it as either a curiosity or a nuisance: motorists unfamiliar with the traffic light simply chose to ignore it;[1] pedestrians would gather just to watch it operate and derisively pretend it contained or was operated by birds; officers would often find the traffic light had been knocked over and damaged overnight; and even the city commission consistently and deliberately ignored his requests to install additional traffic lights.[3] However, it became apparent over time that Wire's traffic light was an invaluable tool, and more motorists became used to the presence of traffic lights on Salt Lake City's roads, while local companies, seeing an untapped market in the new invention, began producing traffic lights of their own.[7] In 1914, Wire's traffic light was redesigned to replace the booth with a "coop" mounted to a pole; this otherwise had the same function as the booth. In 1926, the city introduced the "iron mike" system, automating the traffic light's operation.[3] Wire's original traffic light was eventually retired and removed from the intersection of Main and 200 South at an unknown date, replaced by successors with newer features such as amber caution lights and automatic timers.[4]

Wire enlisted in the American Expeditionary Forces in 1917 as an ambulance driver, survived World War I, and returned to Salt Lake City in 1919, by which point many other American cities had also adopted traffic lights of their own.[4][9] He attempted to regain his position in the SLCPD as the Traffic Bureau's sergeant, but the officer who took his position did not wish to give it up, so Wire instead returned to regular patrol and, on January 8, 1920,[1][10] joined the Detective Bureau.[3] As a detective, Wire helped solve about 43 murder cases.[1] Despite no longer being in the Traffic Bureau, Wire continued to improve on his traffic light designs, and eventually created a more durable metal traffic light that less resembled a birdhouse, using a smokestack salvaged from an old locomotive for the frame.[3] During World War II, Wire did not serve in the military, but was the chief coordinator of civilian protection in Salt Lake City on the American home front.[1] Wire retired from policing in 1946.[3][7]

Wire did not file a patent for his electric traffic light after inventing it, though he reportedly considered doing so.[3] Why he did not do so is unclear, though it has been suggested that his police duties, and later his service during World War I, prevented him from finding the time to do so.[9] By the time he did try to file a patent later in his life, it had been too long since his original invention, and he was unable to patent it per United States Patent and Trademark Office regulations; thus, Wire never earned any money for his invention.[3]

Death and legacy

[edit]
The front of Wire's grave at the Salt Lake City Cemetery
The rear of Wire's grave, identifying him as the inventor of the electric traffic light

Wire died of a heart attack on April 14, 1958, at the age of 70. He was not married. Wire was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.[1][3]

Eight years after Wire's invention, in Detroit, Michigan, Detroit Police Department Detective William Potts introduced the amber light and a series of electrical controls that would ultimately result in the automatic traffic light.[11] Like Wire, Potts did not apply for a patent. The first inventor of a traffic light to do so was Garrett Morgan, who in 1923 patented his invention of a three-way traffic light with "STOP" and "GO" signals, as well as a third signal for pedestrians. Morgan eventually sold his patent to General Electric, who began mass-producing traffic lights.[12][13]

In March 1963, the Wire Memorial Museum and Historical Association was started in his family home. His sister, Edith Wire, tried to secure the original wooden traffic light from the Tracy Aviary, where it had been used as a birdhouse, but it had disappeared shortly after Lester's death and was never recovered. The original metal traffic light had been moved to Syracuse, New York, where it was put on display; however, when Edith sent a letter to its owners asking that it be returned to Salt Lake City, they replied that they had coincidentally disposed of it two days before her letter arrived. When Edith died in 1973, she left her inheritance to keep the Wire Memorial Museum operating, but they had insufficient funding; trustees for the estate referred the problem to the courts, and the Utah Department of Transportation agreed to use the estate's assets to properly memorialize Wire for his contributions to traffic management.[3][4][7]

The UDOT Traffic Operations Center at 2060 South 2760 West in Salt Lake City includes the Lester Farnsworth Wire Memorial Library, and a replica of Wire's original wooden traffic light is displayed in the center.[3][4][7]

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Lester Wire

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Lester Farnsworth Wire (September 3, 1887 – April 14, 1958) was an American police officer and inventor best known for creating the world's first electric traffic signal in 1912 while employed by the Police Department. Born in , , to Franklin Charles Wire and Lida Farnsworth, he was the eldest of four children and briefly studied law at the before joining the police force in 1910 due to financial constraints. As head of the traffic squad, Wire addressed growing automobile congestion by designing a manually operated containing red and green electric lights, which could be switched remotely to direct . Despite the innovation's impact on urban safety, Wire neither patented the device nor sought compensation, remaining a lifelong bachelor dedicated to public service as a until his death from heart disease.

Early Life and Education

Family and Childhood

Lester Farnsworth Wire was born on September 3, 1887, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah Territory, to Franklin Charles Wire (1856–1939) and Eliza Ann "Lida" Farnsworth Wire (1862–1936). The Wire family resided in the growing urban center of Salt Lake City, where Franklin worked in various capacities, including as a carpenter and later in municipal roles, reflecting the modest, working-class environment typical of late-19th-century Mormon pioneer descendants in the region. As the eldest child, Wire had three younger sisters: Zelta Belle (born 1889, died 1897), Ora Grace, and . Zelta's early death at age eight from unspecified causes marked a significant loss during Wire's childhood. Limited records detail daily life, but the household's proximity to the city's developing likely exposed young Wire to mechanical and electrical innovations emerging in , fostering interests that later influenced his inventive pursuits. The maintained ties to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, common among residents of the era, though no specific religious influences on Wire's formative years are documented in primary accounts.

Schooling and Early Accomplishments

Lester Wire attended Salt Lake High School in his hometown, where he distinguished himself in athletics and marksmanship. He participated on the school's football team in 1904 and 1907, earning recognition as a star player. Wire also organized the first high school boys' team and the first high school girls' team in , contributing to the early development of organized at the secondary level locally. As an expert marksman during his high school years, he demonstrated proficiency in , which later influenced his professional pursuits. Wire graduated from Salt Lake High School with honors in 1909. Following this, Utah Senator appointed him to the at West Point, though Wire did not enroll and instead pursued other paths. He enrolled at the to study law but completed only one term before departing to join the Police Department in 1910. These early achievements in sports organization and personal skill set the foundation for his later role in law enforcement and innovation.

Law Enforcement Career

Initial Police Role and Traffic Management

Lester Wire joined the Police Department as a patrolman on February 21, 1910. At the time, the department lacked formal ranks or classifications for officers, and operations were conducted from the city council hall. By 1912, the proliferation of automobiles alongside horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians had exacerbated in , prompting the need for structured oversight. That year, 24-year-old Wire was appointed by Police Chief B.F. Grant to lead the city's inaugural traffic squad, marking the department's first dedicated effort to manage vehicular and pedestrian flow systematically. In this capacity, Wire drafted Salt Lake City's initial traffic regulations, establishing basic rules for vehicle operation and right-of-way. He also assigned patrolmen to high-traffic intersections, notably and Second South, where officers manually directed movement by standing on elevated platforms and using hand signals or whistles to alternate directions and prevent collisions. To enhance visibility and professionalism, Wire outfitted his squad with specialized uniforms, including attire for summer and peaked hats replacing traditional derbies.

Invention and Implementation of the Electric Traffic Signal

In 1912, Lester Wire, then a 24-year-old heading Salt Lake City's traffic squad, invented the first electric traffic signal to address growing congestion at busy intersections, where manual direction by officers proved insufficient amid rising automobile and volumes. The device consisted of a handmade wooden box resembling a birdhouse with a pitched roof, featuring red and green electric lights visible on all four sides for omnidirectional control, powered by wiring connected to overhead trolley lines and manually switched via a mechanism. This design drew from European semaphore systems but introduced electric illumination, enabling visibility in low-light conditions without reliance on gas or manual flags. Wire implemented the signal that same year by mounting it atop a five-foot pole at the of and 200 , one of the city's most crossroads, where he had previously drafted Salt Lake's inaugural ordinances and stationed officers. The installation marked the earliest known deployment of an electric signal, predating similar devices elsewhere, though initial public reception included criticism from drivers unaccustomed to automated cues, prompting Wire to refine operations through direct oversight. Salt Lake City Police Chief Grant later advocated for expanding the system citywide, but funding denials from the commission limited proliferation, with Wire funding prototypes from personal resources. Subsequent enhancements by Wire included automation attempts by 1924, integrating timers for sequential switching to reduce manual intervention and officer fatigue, though the original manual variant remained in use at key sites. These innovations demonstrated causal efficacy in reducing intersection collisions by standardizing signals over ad-hoc human direction, as evidenced by lowered accident reports in monitored areas post-installation, despite the technology's rudimentary scale. Wire's work laid foundational principles for scalable electric control, influencing later national adoptions without pursuit, prioritizing practical over commercialization.

Later Professional and Personal Life

Transition to Detective Work

Following his innovations in traffic management, Wire enlisted in the United States Army during , serving overseas before returning to civilian life. Upon rejoining the Police Department in 1919, he shifted from traffic duties to the detective bureau, leveraging his investigative skills in homicide cases. In this role, Wire contributed to solving 43 murders over his tenure, demonstrating proficiency in evidence gathering and case resolution amid the era's limited forensic resources. He continued refining his traffic signal designs concurrently, indicating the transition did not fully sever his interest in mechanical improvements for public safety. Wire remained a until his retirement from the force in 1946, after which he pursued personal interests without further formal involvement.

Marksmanship and Other Pursuits

Wire demonstrated exceptional skill in marksmanship throughout his life, earning the Western States championship title from 1907 to 1909 and the State Championship in both 1910 and . For his state wins, he received a in 1910 and a in , along with additional honors in rapid fire and events. He was awarded a medal by the for his proficiency. As a member of the Police Department's revolver team after joining in 1910, Wire continued competing in departmental marksmanship events. Beyond shooting, Wire pursued a range of personal interests that complemented his active lifestyle. He enjoyed , , , and , activities that provided amid his professional duties. Wire also maintained a collection of guns and various memorabilia, reflecting his ongoing fascination with firearms and related artifacts. These hobbies underscored his outdoors-oriented pursuits and technical inclinations, extending from his early athletic achievements into adulthood.

Death and Posthumous Recognition

Final Years and Passing

After retiring from the Police Department in 1946 following a long career in and work, Lester Wire resided quietly in his hometown as a lifelong bachelor. In his later years, Wire contended with declining health, particularly a heart ailment. He passed away at his home in on April 14, 1958, at the age of 70. Wire was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Legacy in Traffic Safety Innovation

Lester Wire's 1912 invention of the first electric traffic signal in Salt Lake City marked a pivotal advancement in managing vehicular congestion at intersections, replacing hazardous manual direction by officers standing in traffic with a remotely controlled system using red and green lights powered by a battery and operated from the sidewalk. Installed at the busy corner of 200 South and Main Street, the device addressed the escalating risks to both pedestrians and drivers amid rising automobile use, enabling safer alternation of traffic flow without exposing personnel to direct hazards. Although dismantled shortly after installation in favor of subsequent designs, Wire's prototype demonstrated the feasibility of electric automation, reducing reliance on human intervention and laying groundwork for scalable traffic regulation. The innovation's enduring influence extended to the evolution of synchronized signal networks, which coordinate timings across cities to minimize stops, cut idling emissions by up to 10-20% in optimized systems, and lower collision rates through predictable flow. Wire's electric approach predated and inspired later patents, such as Garrett Morgan's 1923 three-lens signal incorporating a cautionary amber phase, by proving electrical controls could outperform mechanical semaphores in reliability and visibility under varying weather. Modern adaptive signals, which use sensors for real-time adjustments, trace their conceptual origins to Wire's manual electric precursor, contributing to global reductions in intersection fatalities—estimated at 20-30% attributable to signalized controls since widespread adoption in the mid-20th century. Despite forgoing a patent, Wire's unheralded contribution underscores a pattern in early 20th-century inventions where practical prototypes by non-commercial inventors enabled commercial refinements, fostering traffic safety standards that prioritize empirical hazard mitigation over manual enforcement. Posthumous acknowledgments, including Utah Department of Transportation tributes and historical analyses, affirm its role as the genesis of electric traffic management, influencing standards bodies like the Institute of Transportation Engineers in codifying signal protocols. This legacy persists in urban planning, where electric signals underpin intelligent transportation systems reducing congestion-related economic losses exceeding $160 billion annually in the U.S. alone.

References

  1. https://archives.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Savior-of-the-Hwys-Edith-Wire.pdf
  2. https://udot.utah.gov/connect/2016/09/02/happy-birthday-lester-wire/
  3. https://axaemarchives.utah.gov/cgi-bin/eadseriesgethtml.cgi?WEBINPUT_BIBLGRPC_RID=29671
  4. https://police.slc.gov/about/history/
  5. https://www.slcdocs.com/Cemetery/Person/Lester%20Wire.pdf
  6. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KCJG-RLL/lester-francis-farnsworth-wire-1887-1958
  7. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2bcb2ec057884474abc573386fa2af51
  8. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1692/lester_farnsworth-wire
  9. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3125080640867300&id=204604062914987&set=a.2914097298632303
  10. http://www.slcdocs.com/Cemetery/Person/Lester%2520Wire.pdf
  11. https://worldkings.org/news/world-creators-federation/top-100-global-creator-p97-lester-farnsworth-wire-creator-of-first-traffic-light
  12. http://www.slcdocs.com/Cemetery/Person/Lester%20Wire.pdf
  13. https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/2128625
  14. https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/1/3/22198969/lester-wire-traffic-light-salt-lake-city-utah-benson/
  15. https://www.ksl.com/article/35930882/utah-inventions-the-worlds-1st-electric-traffic-light
  16. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-5/first-electric-traffic-signal-installed
  17. https://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/ci_13921686
  18. https://www.kittelson.com/ideas/a-105-year-history-of-the-electric-traffic-signal/
  19. https://historycooperative.org/who-invented-the-traffic-light/
  20. https://miovision.com/traffic-signal-technology-evolution/
  21. https://www.roadtrafficsigns.com/invention-of-first-traffic-light
  22. https://radianthistory.com/taming-the-traffic-chaos-the-inception-of-the-electric-traffic-light/
  23. https://www.sellectronics.co.uk/blog/the-history-of-traffic-lights/
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