Deprez was born in Aillant-sur-Milleron in rural France and attended the School of Mines in Paris. He was not able to complete the course; however, he must have made a good impression, as he was employed as a secretary to the director of the school, Charles Combes.[1]
At Creil, from 1876 to 1886, Deprez conducted the first experiments to transmit electrical power over long distances. At the International Exposition of Electricity, Paris, in 1881, Deprez undertook the task of presenting an electricity distribution system based on the long-distance transmission of direct current. The first successful attempt took place in 1882 from Miesbach to Munich at the occasion of the Exposition of Electricity in the Glaspalast organised by Oskar von Miller. There he transmitted 1.5kW at 2 kV over a distance of 35 miles.[2]
Deprez conducted experiments in La Chapelle, Grenoble, Vizille, Paris, and Creil. He eventually attained transmission over thirty-five miles for industrial purposes. In 1889, René Thury continued his approach of arranging generators in series, eventually developing commercial systems delivering 20 megawatts at 125 kV over 230 kilometers.[2]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marcel Deprez.
Girolamo Ramunni. "Machines électriques". La Revue n°23 - Juin 1998 (in French). Musée des arts et métiers. Archived from the original on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
"Marcel Deprez". Les grands noms de la houille blanche (in French). Les grands noms de la houille blanche. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
"Image of Marcel Deprez". print sales website of the Science Museum, National Railway Museum and National Media Museum, incorporating the Royal Photographic Society Collection. Archived from the original on 2012-03-03. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
