Canadian Inventions –The Steam Fog-horn (Robert Foulis)

Robert Foulis, a transplanted Scot intending to travel to Ohio, was diverted to the Canadian Maritime provinces by poor weather in 1818, prompting him to settle first in Halifax and then in Saint John. Although Foulis invented the steam fog-horn in 1853, said to be one of the most important navigational aids ever invented, unfortunately for Foulis and his heirs (a warning to all neophyte inventors!), he failed to patent his invention, and an American later did so, profiting from Foulis’ neglect. Foulis initially studied surgery at the University of Glasgow but abandoned that because of ill health, turning to engineering. Deciding to relocate to North America after the death of his first wife, Foulis was on his way to Ohio when rough weather forced his boat to find safe harbour on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. Finding that Nova Scotia was to his liking, for several years Foulis earned his living as a portrait painter and teacher in Halifax. Moving to Saint John NB, he took up the post of Deputy Land Surveyor and worked as a civil engineer. His interests and abilities ranged from starting New Brunswick’s first iron foundry, to establishing a school of fine arts, to building several early steamboats and the first Saint John harbour ferry. Also credited with inventing an apparatus to transform coal to an illuminating gas, he was even said to have invented an electric dynamo. One night, while walking home in a dense fog, as he approached his house, Foulis heard his daughter playing the piano but noticed that it was the very lowest notes which he could hear most clearly. Although lighthouses were of great benefit to mariners, they were naturally of no help whatever during bad weather conditions, whereas coded sound signals from the deep notes of a fog-horn could warn of the presence of rocks, even from a great distance. In 1853, Foulis presented his plans to the Lighthouse Commissioners of the New Brunswick Provincial Assembly for a steam fog-horn in Saint John Harbour. Delays ensued, but finally, in 1859 Foulis’ fog-horn was installed – the first such installation anywhere in the world. [caption id="attachment_3814" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image of the foghorn with permission via a Creative Common license"][/caption] Confirming this claim in 1864, the New Brunswick legislature passed a resolution endorsing Foulis as first inventor. However, the invention had been patented by an American named Daboll who realized its financial potential. Foulis, on the other hand, died in poverty in Saint John in 1866. Described by the Dictionary of Canadian Biography as “truly a man of great genius”, perhaps if he had been in a more supportive environment, Foulis would have achieved greater success. In retrospect, it seems that Foulis would likely have benefited from an early consultation with a patent attorney. Summary by: Richard Potter