Thomas Armat facts for kids

Thomas J. Armat (born October 25, 1866, died September 30, 1948) was an American inventor. He was a very important person in the early days of movies. He is best known for helping to invent the Edison Vitascope. This machine helped show movies to many people.

The Start of Movie Magic

Thomas Armat went to school to study mechanics in Richmond, Virginia. Later, in 1894, he studied at the Bliss Electrical School in Washington, D.C. There, he met another student named Charles Francis Jenkins.

The two classmates decided to work together. They wanted to create a better movie projector. Their projector used a new way to move the film. It was called an "intermittent motion mechanism." This means the film would stop briefly for each picture.

The Phantoscope Projector

Their projector also used something called the Latham loop. This was an extra loop of film. It helped to reduce stress on the film. This meant the film was less likely to break during a showing.

Armat and Jenkins called their invention the Phantoscope. They showed it to the public for the first time in September 1895. This special event happened at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta.

Working with Thomas Edison

After their first success, Armat and Jenkins had a disagreement. They argued about who truly invented the Phantoscope. Jenkins tried to say he was the only inventor. However, his claim was not accepted.

Jenkins then sold his share of the invention to Armat. Later, Armat joined forces with the famous inventor Thomas Edison. Edison bought the patent for the projector. He then started to sell the machine. He renamed it the 'Vitascope'.

The Vitascope was first shown to the public in New York City. This historic screening began on April 23, 1896. It was a big success and lasted for more than a week.

Improving the Projector

While working for Edison, Thomas Armat made the projector even better. In 1897, he changed the way the film moved. He replaced the old "beater mechanism" with a more precise Geneva drive. This new part helped the film move very smoothly.

Other inventors in Germany and England had also created similar improvements around the same time.

Awards and Recognition

In 1947, Thomas Armat received a special honor. He was given an Academy Award. This award recognized him as one of the pioneers of the movie business. He shared this award with other important figures like William Nicholas Selig, Albert E. Smith, and George Kirke Spoor.

Thomas Armat passed away on September 30, 1948.

In 2011, he was honored again. He was added to the National Inventors Hall of Fame. This happened after his death. It recognized his important contributions to invention.