View source for Charles Todd (pioneer)

{{short description|Australian civil servant and astronomer (1826–1910)}}
{{other people||Charles Todd (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix          = Sir
| name                      = Charles Todd
| honorific_suffix          = {{postnominals|country=GBR|KCMG|FRS|FRAS|FRMS|FIEE}}
| image                     = Charles Todd.jpeg
| alt                       =
| caption                   =
| birth_date                = {{Birth date|df=yes|1826|07|07}}
| birth_place               = [[Islington]], London
| death_date                = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1910|01|29|1826|07|07}} <!-- (death date then birth date) -->
| death_place               = [[Semaphore, South Australia]]
| resting_place             = [[North Road Cemetery|North Road Cemetery, Adelaide]]
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} -->
| monuments                 = The Sir Charles Todd Observatory, the Sir Charles Todd Building
| nationality               = Australian
| education                 = [[Greenwich]]
| alma_mater                =
| occupation                = Astronomical and meteorological observer, and head of the electric telegraph department.
| years_active              =
| employer                  =
| organization              =
| known_for                 =
| notable_works             = Building the first telegraph line across Australia
| spouse                    = Alice Gillam Bell
| partner                   =
| children                  = Elizabeth, Charles, Hedley, Gwendoline, Maude, Lorna
| parents                   =
| relatives                 =
| awards                    =
| website                   = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}} -->
| footnotes                 =
}}
[[File:Charles Todd 2.jpeg|thumb|right]]
[[File:Sir Charles Todd.jpg|thumb|right]]
'''Sir Charles Todd''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|KCMG|FRS|FRAS|FRMS|FIEE}}<ref name="Hall of Fame">{{cite web|last1=Engineers Australia South Australia|title=Hall of Fame Inductees|url=https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/system/files/engineering-heritage-australia/nomination-title/Overland_Telegraph_Nomination.pdf|website=Engineers Australia|accessdate=16 August 2015}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> (7 July 1826 – 29 January 1910) worked at the [[Royal Greenwich Observatory]] 1841–1847 and the [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] observatory from 1847 to 1854. He then worked on [[telegraphy]] and undersea cables until engaged by the government of [[South Australia]] as astronomical and meteorological observer, and head of the electric telegraph department.
==Early life and career==
Todd was the son of grocer Griffith Todd<ref name=DNB>H. P. Hollis, 'Todd, Sir Charles (1826–1910)', rev. K. T. Livingston, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004</ref> and Mary Parker;<ref>Source Citation: Place: Islington, London, Eng; Collection: Dr. William's Library; Nonconformist Registers; Date Range:  1815 – 1832; Film Number: 815926</ref> he was born at [[Islington]], London, the second of five children. Shortly after Charles's birth the family moved to [[Greenwich]], where his father set up as a wine and tea merchant. Charles was educated and spent most of his life in Greenwich before moving to Australia.
In December 1841, he entered the service of the [[Royal Observatory, Greenwich]], under Sir [[George Biddell Airy]]. He was fortunate that his school leaving coincided with the Astronomer Royal being granted special funding to employ an additional four young men as [[computer (job description)|computers]] to analyse, calibrate and publish a backlog of 80 years of data. While at the Royal Observatory he was, in 1846, one of the earliest observers of the planet [[Neptune]].
He was promoted to Assistant Astronomer at the [[Cambridge Observatory]] in November 1847, and officially confirmed in the position the following February. While here he used the recently built Northumberland telescope, and he was the first person to take [[daguerreotype]] photographs of the moon through it. While at Cambridge he also gained experience in using the [[Electrical telegraph|telegraph]].
In May 1854, shortly before his appointment to South Australia, he was placed in charge of the newly-formed [[Geomagnetically induced current|Galvanic]] Department at Greenwich. This was to be an extension of work he had done using the electric telegraph at Cambridge.
In February 1855, he accepted the position of Astronomical and Meteorological Observer, and Head of Electric Telegraph Department in South Australia.<ref name=adb>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography
|last=Symes
|first=G. W.
|year=1976
|id=A060301b
|title= Todd, Sir Charles (1826–1910)
|accessdate=7 October 2008 }}</ref><ref name=dab>{{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Charles|Last=Todd|shortlink=0-dict-biogT-V.html#todd1|accessdate=7 October 2008}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|last=SLSA: PRG 630/1|title=Letter of appointment, Sir Charles Todd, 1826–1910|url=https://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au:443/record=b2188793~S1|accessdate=24 July 2013}}</ref> Meteorology was work done by astronomers; it was the recording of data so that the climate in different regions was known. The Royal Observatory was run by the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]]. Accurate calculation of time was an important part of the Royal Observatory's responsibilities. Greenwich Time had long been used at sea; ship's navigators relied on its accuracy to calculate their [[longitude]].
During Todd's time at the Greenwich and Cambridge observatories the railway system was expanding, and the electric telegraph was invented.  Faster railway travel, and the need for timetables and signalling systems, necessitated a change from using solar time in different regions to a standardised railway or London time (later [[Greenwich Mean Time]]).  The electric telegraph made it possible to transmit information, including time signals, almost instantaneously. So the development of the [[electric telegraph]] was driven by the requirements of the railways.
At about the time Charles Todd moved to Cambridge, George Airy arranged the connection of the Greenwich Observatory to the nearby telegraph line that was being built by the [[South Eastern Railway, UK|South Eastern Railway]]. This gave the observatories access to the electric telegraph, and the railway company access to accurate time.
Once the electric telegraph was in place, the observatory was able to control clocks and [[time ball]]s at any place there was telegraphic connection. It was also possible to perform a number of astronomical and other experiments. While at Cambridge, Charles Todd was a member of a team that determined the exact degrees of longitude at Greenwich and Cambridge using the electric telegraph.
Todd's work as head of the Galvanic Department at Greenwich was to be an extension of his work using the electric telegraph.  In particular, it was to transmit electric time signals to slave clocks and [[time ball]]s, and to co-ordinate simultaneous astronomical or meteorological observations at multiple distant locations.
==Arrival in Adelaide==
Todd, along with his 19-year-old wife Alice Gillam Todd, née Bell,<ref name="DNB"/><ref>The Singing Line, Alice Thompson, Doubleday 1999, {{ISBN|978-0-385-49059-7}} Written by his wife's Great Great Granddaughter who retraced his route across Australia in the 1990s</ref> (after whom [[Alice Springs]] is named), arrived in [[Adelaide]] on 5 November 1855. They were accompanied by Todd's assistant, 24-year-old [[Edward Cracknell]] and his wife. (Cracknell subsequently became superintendent of telegraphs in [[New South Wales]]). On his arrival Todd found that his department was a very small one without a single telegraph line.
His first commission was to erect a telegraph line between [[Adelaide city centre]] and [[Semaphore, South Australia|Port Adelaide]]. Such a line had been mooted some years before and, impatient with the lack of action and seeing its commercial possibilities, [[James Macgeorge]] installed one privately, running his line down council streets since the Government refused him permission to run it along main roads or the railway easement, on the grounds of unnecessary duplication.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49294994 |title=The Electric Telegraph |newspaper=[[South Australian Register]] |location=Adelaide |date=28 August 1855 |accessdate=21 February 2015 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> His line was working on 26 November 1855<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49745808 |title=Public Works |newspaper=[[South Australian Register]] |volume=XX |issue=2889 |location=South Australia |date=2 January 1856 |accessdate=19 November 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and began commercial operation on 10 December.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158101126 |title=The Electric Telegraph |newspaper=[[Adelaide Observer]] |volume=XIII |issue=650 |location=South Australia |date=8 December 1855 |access-date=19 November 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
Todd's line, more direct and technically superior (and far more expensive) was opened in February 1856. To begin, the posts were of uniform size and material — Singapore cedar or Swan River mahogany, 18 feet long or 24 feet where crossing roads, 4 feet into the ground, and uniform appearance — 6 or 7 inches square at the bottom and 5 inches at the top, painted white. Rather than a single wire with earth return, four wires were run, four insulators on each post. Where sandhills had to be crossed, a hardwood crosspiece was bolted to each base so they were impervious to sand drift. A submarine cable was used to cross the Port River, buried in iron pipe where it crossed the shifting sands of the peninsula. Additional equipment included an astronomical observatory in the west Park Lands and a [[time ball]] at the Port. The telegraph instruments used were the [[British and Irish Magnetic Telegraph Company|Henley's magnetic indicator]], 1848 patent.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49745562 |title=The Telegraph in South Australia |newspaper=[[South Australian Register]] |volume=XX |issue=2902 |location=South Australia |date=18 January 1856 |access-date=19 November 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}} This article contains much information on the (then) superiority of the Henley patent.</ref> In February 1857 Todd's telegraph office was relocated to [[Green's Exchange]], where Macgeorge's instrument had been installed, as a more convenient location.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49764157 |title=Magnetic and Electric Telegraph |newspaper=[[South Australian Register]] |volume=XXI |issue=3222 |location=South Australia |date=2 February 1857 |access-date=20 November 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
Later that year, the Government purchased Macgeorge's line and pulled it down.
In June 1856 he recommended that a line between Adelaide and [[Melbourne]] should be constructed. Todd personally rode over much of the country through which the line would have to pass. Todd and [[Samuel McGowan (engineer)|Samuel Walker McGowan]], his counterpart in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], proceeded to link the two colonies' telegraph systems near [[Mount Gambier, South Australia|Mount Gambier]] in July 1858.<ref name=dab/> It was through McGowan, that Todd met [[Joseph Oppenheimer]], a German-born, British businessman and inventor, who would provide assistance to Todd in his future projects, and with whom he would maintain a life-long friendship.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cryle |first=Denis |title=Behind the Legend: the many worlds of Charles Todd. |publisher=Australian Scholarly |year=2017 |pages=59–60, 132}}</ref>
==Overland Telegraph Line==
In 1857<ref name=obit>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6420898 |title=Death of Mr. R. R. Knuckey. |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |volume=LVI |issue=17,368 |location=South Australia |date=16 June 1914 |accessdate=19 July 2019 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> or 1859 Todd conceived the idea of the transcontinental [[telegraph line]] from Adelaide to [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]]. Most of the country in between except for the explorations of [[Charles Sturt]] and others was unknown, and it was many years before Todd could convince the South Australian government of the practicability of the scheme.<ref>Todd's proposal of routes and estimated costs of building segments of the telegraph line in Australia's far north held by [[State Records of South Australia]] GRG 154/5 Rough notes by Charles Todd outlining a plan for construction of the Overland Telegraph Line to Port Darwin</ref><ref>Outgoing letter books and a notebook of Charles Todd as Post Master General and Superintendent of Telegraphs during the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line in 1872 are held by [[State Records of South Australia]] GRG 154/19, GRG 154/16, GRG 154/23, and GRG 154/15</ref>
In January 1863 Todd addressed the [[Adelaide Philosophical Society]] about the possibility of building telegraph routes that would link to an overseas cable. In 1868 the direct line between Adelaide and Sydney was completed and was used to determine the 141st meridian, the boundary line between South Australia and Victoria. Todd's calculations showed it to be 2¼ miles farther east than had previously been determined. This led to the long-drawn-out [[South Australia–Victoria border dispute|dispute between the two colonies]].{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}
By 1870 it had been decided that the [[Australian Overland Telegraph Line]] should be constructed from [[Port Augusta, South Australia|Port Augusta]] in the south to [[Port Darwin]] in the north, though the other colonies declined to share in the cost.  The southern and northern sections of the line were let by contract, and the 1000 miles in between was constructed by the department.<ref name=dab/><ref>A diary kept by Todd while he was Superintendent of Telegraphs and supervising the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line is held by [[State Records of South Australia]], GRG 154/4</ref>
The contractor at the northern fell badly behind and was sacked by overseer [[William McMinn]] and Todd had to go to the north himself and finish it, with engineer [[Robert C. Patterson (engineer)|Patterson]]. The [[Australian Overland Telegraph Line|line]] was completed on 22 August 1872,<ref name=obit/> but the undersea cable to Darwin had broken and communication with England was not effected until 21 October.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} After the first messages had been exchanged over the new line, Todd was accompanied by surveyor [[Richard Randall Knuckey]] on the return journey from [[Central Mount Stuart]] to Adelaide, to be met by an enthusiastic crowd.<ref name=obit/>
His next great work was a line from [[Port Augusta, South Australia]] to [[Eucla]] in [[Western Australia]] – a distance of {{convert|759|mi|km}} – in 1876, again surveyed by Knuckey.<ref name=obit/>
in the 1880s, Todd's department would replace the rotting poles along the OTL with Oppenheimer's [[Oppenheimer pole|patent telescoping poles]].
==Postmaster General of South Australia==
In 1870 the Post Office and the Telegraph Department were amalgamated, and Charles Todd was appointed Postmaster General.<ref name="South Australian Government Astronomer 1880">Outgoing letter books from Charles Todd as South Australian Government Astronomer (Astronomical Observer), Superintendent of Telegraphs and, later, Post Master General, 1866 – 1880, are held by [[State Records of South Australia]], GRG 154/26</ref> At this time Todd was busy with the construction of the Overland Telegraph. There were problems with the running of the Post Office culminating in two robberies. Consequently, in 1874 a Government Inquiry was held into the workings of the Post Office.  The outcome of the inquiry was positive; Todd was able to implement reforms that improved both the working conditions of Post Office employees and the services provided by them.
He was held in high esteem by his staff, and he continued to control his department with ability.<ref name="PO">{{cite journal|last1=Walker|first1=Martin|title=Charles Todd- Postmaster General of South Australia|journal=Philately from Australia|date=June 2013|volume=LXV|issue=2–3|pages=49–53}}</ref>
When the colonies were federated in 1901 it was found that, in spite of its large area and sparse population, South Australia was the only one whose post and telegraphic department was carried on at a profit. Todd continued in office as deputy-postmaster-general until 1905.<ref name=dab/>
==Meteorological work==
Charles Todd was one of the pioneers of meteorology in Australasia. As the Government Meteorological Observer for the Colony of South Australia, he worked with his counterparts in the other British colonies and established the Australia-New Zealand weather observation network. His work in meteorology started with his arrival in South Australia, as he had brought with him a number of meteorological instruments that had been calibrated to instruments at Greenwich.
However, his main contribution to meteorology began with the completion of the Australian and New Zealand telegraph systems in the mid to late 1870s. Being at the centre of the network, Todd used weather observations from all the Colonies to create extensive synoptic charts. In the early 1880s Todd and his staff at the West Terrace Observatory in Adelaide were drawing inter-continental weather charts that had greater geographical reach than any other jurisdiction in the world.<ref name=CTweb>{{cite web|title=Sir Charles Todd|url=http://charlestodd.net/Todd_Hi-Res/|publisher=Australian Meteorological Assn|accessdate=23 July 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901084156/http://charlestodd.net/Todd_Hi-Res/|archivedate=1 September 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
Todd's ability to pull together the individual threads of technology, weather science, and a widely dispersed group of weather observers put him in the forefront of the profession. His chief mentor in this field was [[James Glaisher]], one of the founders of the science of meteorology.
Todd is believed to be one of the first meteorologists to suggest that local climate was affected by global phenomena. Todd noted that abnormally high atmospheric pressure in India was matched with similar extremes in Australia, typically resulting in parallel droughts thousands of kilometres apart.  This particular phenomenon is now recognised as part of the Southern Oscillation which in turn is part of the [[El Niño-Southern Oscillation]] (ENSO). These globally linked meteorological phenomena are termed teleconnections and Todd was one of the first to recognise their effect.<ref name=abc >{{cite web|title=El Nino – Of Droughts and Flooding Rain|url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/elnino/story.htm|work=Dr Neville Nicholls|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|accessdate=21 August 2015}}</ref>
One of Todd's legacies is the 63-volume [[Todd Weather Journals|Weather Folio collection]] covering the period 1879–1909. These volumes have been digitally imaged by volunteers of the Australian Meteorological Society in conjunction with the South Australian Regional Office of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Atmospheric pressure data from these journals has been digitised and sent to the [[National Weather Service|NOAA]] for inclusion in the International Surface Pressure Databank as part of the [[Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth|ACRE]] project.
==Government Electrician==
Charles Todd had many responsibilities, but during his lifetime he referred to himself as "Government Electrician". He promoted the use of electric light in the colony by giving demonstrations of the [[Arc lamp|electric arc lamp]], the first in 1860. In 1867 he demonstrated the arc lamp in King William St, lighting up from the Town Hall to North Terrace (about 500m). He was instrumental in having electric lighting installed at the 1887 [[Adelaide Jubilee International Exhibition]], the first in Australia to do so.<ref name="Electrical">{{cite web|title=Sir Charles Todd- Electrical Engineering|url=http://charlestodd.net/Todd_Portal/electricity.htm|website=Sir Charles Todd an Australian Science and Technology Pioneer|publisher=Sir Charles Todd Research Group|accessdate=16 August 2015}}</ref>
Also in 1887, the South Australian Electrical Society was established with Charles Todd as president.  He was influential in setting up the first electrical engineering course in SA.
Todd was appointed to a commission to add electric lighting to Parliament House in 1890; he supervised the installation the following year. Two years later the GPO finally had electric light.<ref name="Electrical"/>
In 1899 Todd, with his son-in-law [[William Henry Bragg]], demonstrated a wireless system that could be used over a distance of 4&nbsp;km; but at this time was too expensive to be put into practice.
Finally, Todd was responsible for drawing up the draft document which would regulate electricity supply in the newly federated Australian states.<ref name="Electrical"/>
==Astronomical work==
Though so much of his time was taken up by the duties of the postal department, Todd did not neglect his work as government astronomer.<ref name="South Australian Government Astronomer 1880"/> Using the [[Adelaide Observatory]] (completed in 1860), which was thoroughly equipped with astronomical and meteorological instruments, he contributed valuable observations to the scientific world on the [[transit of Venus|transits of Venus]] in 1874 and 1882, the cloudy haze over [[Jupiter]] in 1876, the parallax of [[Mars]] in 1878, and on other occasions.
He selected the site of the new [[Perth Observatory|observatory for Perth]] in 1895 and advised on the building and instruments to be obtained. He was the author of numerous papers on scientific subjects, many of which were printed in the ''Monthly Notices of the [[Royal Astronomical Society]]''.<ref name=dab/>
==Surveying==
As "Astronomical Observer" Todd was responsible for accurate setting of the position and the time at the colony, these were part of his initial tasks on his appointment.
The precise position of the Adelaide Observatory was calculated by astronomical observations, enabling a standard point for [[Geodesy|geodetic surveys]] to be set.
In 1882 the South Australian Institute of Surveyors was established with Charles Todd as its inaugural president.
From 1886 until his retirement in 1905, Todd set and marked the astronomy paper that formed part of the exams for candidates aiming to become licensed surveyors. His best known work in surveying was his participation in setting the boundary line between South Australia and New South Wales that resulted in a call for a change in the existing boundary between [[South Australia–Victoria border dispute|South Australia and Victoria]].  This call led to a lengthy dispute between the two colonies which was finally settled in Victoria's favour.
==Other achievements==
The accurate determination of time was achieved by astronomical observations using a [[Meridian circle|transit telescope]]. The Adelaide Post Office clock was installed in 1875 and it became a key timekeeper for Adelaide.<ref name="Time Ball">{{cite journal|last1=Abell|first1=Lesley|last2=Kinns|first2=Roger|title='Telegraph' Todd and the Semaphore Time Ball|journal=Journal of the Historical Society of South Australia|year=2010|issue=38|pages=42–57}}</ref>
In his official report to Parliament in 1862 Todd pressed the Government for a time ball to be installed near the port. An accurate signal would be sent by telegraph from the Adelaide Observatory to the port. Time balls were dropped daily at ports so that ship navigators could set their chronometers accurately, a small inaccuracy in a chronometer resulted in large inaccuracies in navigation.<ref name="Time Ball"/>
Todd and the Harbour Master made repeated requests for a time ball in the following years.  Port Adelaide was visited by more ships after the completion of the Overland Telegraph, and approval by Parliament was eventually given in 1874 to build the time ball at [[Semaphore, South Australia|Semaphore]].  It was completed in 1875, and is believed to have been designed by Todd and manufactured locally.<ref name="Time Ball"/>
==Later career==
In 1885 he attended the international telegraphic conference at Berlin, the following year Todd travelled to Great Britain, where he was made an honorary M.A. of the University of Cambridge.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50185023 |title=STOCK REPORT - MR. TODD AT CAMBRIDGE.|newspaper=[[South Australian Register]] |location=[[Adelaide]] |date=13 March 1886 |page=5 |accessdate=4 October 2018 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In 1889 he was elected as a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]], London. He was also a fellow of the [[Royal Astronomical Society]], the [[Royal Meteorological Society]] and of the Society of Electrical Engineers.<ref name=adb/> Todd continued in his duties to posts and telegraphs in South Australia, until the newly federated [[Commonwealth of Australia]] took over all such services on 1 March 1901 and Todd became a federal public servant at the age of 74. He retired in December 1906, having been over 51 years in the service of the South Australian and Commonwealth governments.<ref name=dab/>
==Death and legacy==
Todd died at his summer home in [[Semaphore, South Australia|Semaphore]], near Adelaide, on 29 January 1910, and was buried at [[North Road Cemetery]], Adelaide, on 31 January. The Sir Charles Todd Building at the [[University of South Australia]], Mawson Lakes Campus is named after him.<ref>{{cite web
| title = 25th Anniversary of the Sir Charles Todd Building (SCT)
| publisher = [[University of South Australia]]
| date = 27 October 2004
| url = http://www.unisa.edu.au/eie/About/SCT.asp
| accessdate = 30 December 2006
| url-status = dead
| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060826160328/http://www.unisa.edu.au/eie/About/SCT.asp
| archivedate = 26 August 2006
| df = dmy-all
}}</ref> The Astronomical Society of South Australia have also named the observatory that houses their 20-inch Jubilee Telescope, the Sir Charles Todd Observatory.<ref name=dab/> Each year the [[Telecommunications Society of Australia]] invites a prominent member of the telecommunications industry to present the Charles Todd Oration and awards a medal to the industry high achiever best embodying the pioneer spirit. He has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Institute of Engineers Australia.<ref name="Hall of Fame" />
The ephemeral [[Todd River]]<ref>[https://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/placenames/view.jsp?id=19020 Todd River] Northern Territory Government Place Names Register Retrieved 9 June 2020.</ref> and its tributary, the Charles River,<ref>[https://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/placenames/view.jsp?id=11704 Charles River] Northern Territory Government Place Names Register Retrieved 9 June 2020.</ref> in the Northern Territory were named after Todd, and a waterhole in the bed of the Todd River was named Alice Springs<ref>[https://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/placenames/view.jsp?id=23882 Alice Springs (waterhole)] Northern Territory Government Place Names Register Retrieved 9 June 2020.</ref> for his wife, Alice, and subsequently used for the [[Alice Springs Telegraph Station|telegraph station]],<ref>[https://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/placenames/view.jsp?id=10221 Alice Springs Telegraph Station] Northern Territory Government Place Names Register Retrieved 9 June 2020.</ref> and later [[Alice Springs|the town]].<ref>[https://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/placenames/view.jsp?id=10219 Alice Springs (town)] Northern Territory Government Place Names Register Retrieved 9 June 2020.</ref>
==Family==
Todd married Alice Gillam Bell (7 August 1836 – 9 August 1898) on 5 April 1855.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article165611575 |title=Prominent S.A. Family |newspaper=[[The Observer (Adelaide)]] |volume=LXXXVI |issue=4,504 |location=South Australia |date=19 October 1929 |accessdate=22 August 2018 |page=51 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Their children were:
*Charlotte Elizabeth Todd (1856– ) married Henry Charles Squires ( – 12 December 1930) of [[Clement's Inn]], London on 25 May 1887. They lived in [[Cambridge]], England.
*Dr Charles Edward Todd  (1858 – 23 May 1917) married Elsie Beatrice Backhouse (sister of Judge Backhouse<ref name=obitson>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5589123 |title=Death of Dr. C. E. Todd. |newspaper=[[The Adelaide Advertiser|The Advertiser]] |volume=LIX |issue=18,288 |location=South Australia |date=25 May 1917 |access-date=13 May 2021 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> of Sydney on 1 May 1889 (no children<ref name=obitson/>). Honorary Assistant Surgeon at [[Royal Adelaide Hospital|Adelaide Hospital]];<ref name=ama/> practised also at the [[Private Hospital, Wakefield Street]] in [[Adelaide]];<ref>{{cite book|title=Nursing in South Australia: First Hundred Years 1837-1937| publisher= South Australian Trained Nurses’ Centenary Committee| location=Adelaide|date= February 1938}}</ref> President of the [[South Australia]]n branch of the [[British Medical Association]] 1901–1902.<ref name=ama>{{cite web| url=https://amasahistoricalcommittee.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/ppgp_2020_07_06.pdf | title=Past Presidents of South Australian Branch of the BMA and AMA (SA) 1879-| publisher=[[Australian Medical Association]]| author=AMA Historical Committee|access-date=13 May 2021 }}</ref>
*Hedley Lawrence <!-- not Laurence --> Todd (1860 – 4 August 1907) married <!--not June --> Jessie Scott ( –1945) on 17 August 1892. Hedley was a member of the Adelaide Stock Exchange.
*(Alice) Maude Mary Todd (1865 – 4 February 1929) married Rev. Frederick G. Masters ( – ) on 1 May 1900. Masters was rector of All Souls' (Anglican) church, St Peter's, Adelaide, then Holy Trinity Church, [[Balaklava, South Australia|Balaklava]] and later vicar of St Luke's, [[Bath, Somerset]], and Dean of [[Sion College]] in 1937.
*Gwendoline Todd (1869 – 29 September 1929) married the physicist [[William Henry Bragg]] on 1 June 1889. He and their elder son [[William Lawrence Bragg]] shared the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] in 1915.<ref name=adb/>
*Lorna Gillam Todd (1877–1963) wrote a series of articles on her father for the Adelaide ''[[The Chronicle (Adelaide)|Chronicle]]''<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93929249 |title="Telegraph Todd" And The Overland Line |newspaper=The Chronicle |volume=95 |issue=5,372 |location=South Australia |date=4 December 1952 |accessdate=22 August 2018 |page=24 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Charles}}
[[Category:1826 births]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian astronomers]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Microscopical Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Settlers of South Australia]]
[[Category:Burials at North Road Cemetery]]