Obituary

Mr. William R. Brixey, of the Kerite Insulated Wire and Cable Company, New York City, died suddenly at Milford, Conn., on June 9. Mr. Brixey was born in Southampton, England, on May 11, 1851. After leaving school he entered the British Mercantile Service, commanding his own ship, and visiting all the leading ports of the world. He came to this country in 1878 and went into business with his brother-in-law, Mr. A. G. Day, a pioneer in the American rubber industry and the inventor of kerite. In 1879 Mr. Brixey married Miss Francis N. De Wolfe, daughter of Alva G. DeWolfe, a co-worker of Mr. Day´s and also an inventor of some note. The Day plant was at Seymour, Conn., and there Mr. Brixey developed the business with remarkable energy and intelligence, mastering it in every detail and becoming general manager on the death of Mr. Day, and sole proprietor on the death of his sister, Mrs. Day. Mr. Brixey was not satisfied with the use of his cables in the telegraph and telephone field or with the early endorsement of such men as Morse, but pushed out into larger developments in other fields. Noteworthy among these were the supplying and laying of the Alaskan cable, the furnishing of the Canal Zone cable, and the furnishing of the wires and cables for the Pennsylvania tunnel and terminal connecting the two shores of the Hudson and East Rivers. In 1908 Mr. Brixey incorporated the business as a company, and soon after retired, leaving it to the management of his eldest son, Mr. Richard D. Brixey, president of the Kerite Insulated Wire and Cable Company. Mr. Brixey left two other sons, Mr. Reginald W. Brixey, vice-president, and Mr. Austin D. Brixey, secretary of the company. Mr. Brixey was quite active in public life. Besides being an Associate of the Institute, he was a member of the Old Guard of New York City with the rank of captain, a member of the Brooklyn Club, and a highdegree Mason. Mr. Brixey´s wife died in 1909, and he is survived only by the three sons mentioned- He became associated with the Institute on September 20, 1893.