Obituary
International Year Book, 1898 - John Ernst Worrell Keely, inventor of the famous Keely motor, died in Philadelphia, November 18, 1898. He was born in that city September 3, 1837. His early education was meagre. When engaged in the carpenter's trade in 1872 he announced the discovery of a new force, by which he asserted motive power would be revolutionized. He asserted that by musical vibrations air and water could be disintegrated and a powerful "etheric force" be released; he made the most extravangant assertions, saying in 1875: "I propose in about six months to run a train of cars from here (Philadelphia) to New York at the rate of a mile a minute, with one small engine, and I will draw the power all out of as much water as you can hold in the palm of your hand." Experiments were performed with his motors and scientists were unable to find any fraud; all classes became interested and finally $5,170,000 had been invested in the enterprise. It cannot be said that Mr. Keely diverted to personal use the large sums invested, for he worked steadily, constructing and discarding between 1874 and 1891, 129 different models. His secret has never been satisfactorily disclosed and the report that after his death hidden apparatus of a suspicious appearance was found in his laboratory tended to confirm the opinion that Keely was the most daring and successful charlatan of his time.
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