弗朗西斯·布莱克出生于马萨诸塞州尼德姆., in 1850, the youngest of five children born to Caroline Burling (Trumbull) 和 Francis Blake, Sr. With his family’s finances precarious 和 two years at Brookline High School under his belt, Blake began working for the United States Coast Survey at the age of 16, thanks to the recommendation of his uncle George Smith Blake, 海军军官. In 1874, 他娶了伊丽莎白·利弗莫尔·哈伯德, the daughter of Louisa Bowman (Sewall) 和 Charles Townsend Hubbard.

伊丽莎白的父亲, 一个富有的纺织品制造商, 在韦斯顿拥有数百英亩的土地, 麻萨诸塞州, 和 gave each of his four children l和 upon which to build a house. 在他和伊丽莎白结婚之后, Francis Blake began the construction of a shingle-style home designed by architect Charles Follen McKim. 1875年竣工, 这座宏伟的房子被命名为“基维丁”,” a Massachuset language term for the northwest wind that occasionally swept over the hillside.

多年来, the Blakes lived off the largesse of Elizabeth’s family, 但在他们结婚五年后, Francis invented what became known as the “Blake Transmitter,这是现代电话技术的一个重要发展. Further improvements to the technology 和 shrewd investments in the telephone companies that utilized his inventions made Francis Blake independently wealthy 和 enabled him to pursue his passions without the necessity of regular employment. He also began a massive expansion 和 redesign of Keewaydin headed by the Boston architectural firm of Colt & 钱德勒. 到项目完成的时候, Blake had created a lavish home for his family that included stables, 保龄球馆, 船屋, 90座剧场, 和 more; the family rarely had occasion (or need) to leave Weston.

摄影实验

Francis Blake had first become familiar with photography during his service with the Coast Survey, 但直到1884年才买到他的第一台相机. 照片graphy quickly became an all-consuming interest 和 he built an extensive photographic laboratory on the grounds of Keewaydin. Blake honed his talents taking 照片 of family members 和 his gr和 estate, 但鉴于他的机械天赋, soon became fascinated with improving the technological aspects of photography. In 1885, 购买“瞬时快门”后,布莱克开始尝试快门设计, eventually designing a focal-plane shutter that allowed one to take 照片 with exposure times of 1/1000 to 1/2000 of a second, a vast improvement over the 1/300 of a second afforded by the “instantaneous shutter.他拍摄的火车定格图像, 鸟, 马, 骑自行车, 和运动员在波士顿展出, 费城, 1891年至1893年在伦敦, 获得了评论界的一致好评. By 1893, 然而, 他对摄影的兴趣正在减退, 和 he turned his attention once again to family matters 和 improving the house 和 grounds of Keewaydin, as well as serving on several boards 和 in town government. Francis died at Keewaydin on 19 January 1913 at the age of 62.

本杰明·休厄尔·布莱克是谁?

本杰明出生于1877年的情人节, one of two children born to Francis 和 Elizabeth Blake; his sister Agnes had been born in 1876. He was raised in the luxurious confines of Keewaydin, where he 和 his sister were educated (along with other family members 和 friends) by a succession of private instructors. In 1889, Benjamin began attending the Williams School in Newton, Mass. 他努力进入哈佛大学, 第一次尝试就失败了, but found a place in the class of 1901 thanks to his father’s intercession. 虽然不是学者, Benjamin graduated with his class 和 was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club 和 Institute of 1770. 他参与了第一军团学员，M.V.M. for several years 和 served in the 麻萨诸塞州 State Guard during World War I. In a report to his Harvard classmates written in 1916, Blake wrote of an unusual interest:

I have been interested for a long time in English spelling 和 its reform 和 hav kept in touch with the Simplified Spelling Board of New York 和 Simplified spelling Society of Engl和. I am a thoro believer in a more national orthografy. 我的特别爱好是农业和林业, 和, 对后者有了不同寻常的了解, it was only natural that I was selected as one of the committee to plant the class tree.

In 1908, Benjamin married Ruth Amelia Field 和 had five children. 他们一生都住在韦斯顿, 麻萨诸塞州, where Blake served as chair of the Weston Park Commission. 他于1959年去世，享年82岁. Blake’s obituary noted his interests in forestry 和 arboriculture 和 his memberships in clubs including the Somerset Club, 波士顿体育协会, 网球 & Racquet Club, Longwood Cricket Club, 和 Weston Golf Club.