Burnie Lee Benbow (04 Jul 1885 - 07 Apr 1976) was, for many years, the Manager of the Cleveland Wire Works, GE Lighting, in Cleveland, Ohio. His contributions were many and he was the first to receive a patent (U. S. 1,247,068) on the coiled-coil tungsten filament. Although technical difficulties had to be overcome before it could be used in a lamp, the coiled-coil filament was introduced in the United States in 1936 and resulted in a marked improvement in incandescent lamp efficacy.Benbow was responsible for hiring Zay Jeffries in 1914. In 1963 Jeffries said of Benbow:
"Benbow was an unusual manager. He was probably about a generation ahead of his time. He was bold enough to risk the cost of research, had the imagination to help guide the studies, and the ability to utilize research findings.""Benny" Benbow was a native of New Castle, Indiana; he was the son of James and Belle (Van Dorn) Benbow. Benbow joined the Engineering Department of the
Known U. S. patents issued to Benbow are:
1,168,050 - Wire-Drawing - 1916/01/11The first page of the double coil filament patent is shown below.
1,247,068 - Filament - 1917/11/20
1,686,063 - Packing and Process of Making Same - 1928/10/02
2,114,171 - Swaging Machine - 1938/04/12
Articles of interest regarding tungsten and molybdenum wire and the accomplishment of extracting argon from air appeared in The Magazine of Light. These achievements came under the direction of Burnie Benbow. The article on wire appeared on page 14 in February of 1925 and that on argon appeared on page 13 in January of 1924. Janet Coyne, of the News-Herald, wrote an article (May 8, 1976) about Benbow after his death.
Burnie Benbow married Geraldine Gilson on September 23, 1915 and they had a daughter, Jeanne.
Benbow passed away in his home on Ridge Road in Willoughby, Ohio.