Peter Sosnoski Demonstrates His Electrical Lifesaver

Peter A. Sosnoski staged a public demonstration in Shamokin on May 5, 1954, to promote a device he called an electrical lifesaver. The Associated Press reported that representatives of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Mines, mining companies, and industrial concerns had been invited.

Sosnoski said his device would interrupt a dangerous electrical condition automatically. He proposed uses in homes, mines, factories, and ships. A wire-service photograph helped carry his demonstration beyond the local audience.

The report documents his demonstration and the claims he made for the device; it was not an independent safety certification. The publicity belonged to a particular day in Sosnoski's work as an electrician and inventor, when he tried to persuade observers that his idea deserved wider use.