Charles William (William) Siemens (1823–83)

German-born electrical engineer and metallurgist. Born Karl Wilhelm, in Hanover. Studied at Göttingen University. In 1843, moved to England, where he sold a process he and his brother, Karl Heinrich Siemens, had developed to use electricity for gilding and silvering. Ran an engineering firm with his brother in England. Became a naturalised British subject in 1859. Elected first president, Society of Telegraph Engineers, 1871. One of the first to suggest transmission of power by electricity. Knighted, 1883. FRS 1862.