Alan Gordon-Finlay (8 June 1890 – 6 June 1959) was a British engineer and inventor of Scottish descent born in Australia.4. Most Important Persons in the Early History of Simultaneous translation http://interstartranslations.com/interpretation/4-most-important-persons-in-the-early-history-of-simultaneous-interpretation/ He is best known for having co-created the Filene-Finlay (incorrectly spelled Findlay) simultaneous interpretation system at the League of Nations in Geneva after the First World War,Cyril FLEROV. "Alan Gordon Finlay and the Telephonic Interpretation System". aiic.net. 5 July 2016. Accessed 15 October 2016. <http://aiic.net/p/7706 >.Cyril FLEROV. "On Comintern and Hush-a-Phone: Early history of simultaneous interpretation equipment". aiic.net. 30 October 2013. Accessed 15 October 2016. <http://aiic.net/p/6625 >. the first of its kind and the fore-runner to modern interpretation systems in use throughout the world today. A patent was purchased by IBM in 1930, taking it to global production.
Early life Alan Gordon-Finlay was born on 8 June 1890 at Blytheswood in Turramurra in Sydney, Australia. In 1896, the family moved to London, where Finlay attended a number of private schools to nurture a young prodigious talent. In 1898, at the age of 8, Finlay announced that he would like to be an inventor and to earn money by publishing patents. He then proved his point by presenting his first patent: an electrical device for lighting a gas flame. Two years later, Finlay contracted meningitis and stayed with his Aunt (Adeline Finlay) in Geneva, to take advantage of its healthier air. He remained in his aunt's care in Switzerland for the rest of his formative years, learning both French and German fluently and attending Lausanne University in 1906/07,"Finlay letters 1886–1935", envelope 1, Deed Box 1805, private collectionAlan Finlay, Attendance records at the University of Lausanne, Auditeur, Winter Semester 1906/07, in Chemistry; source UNIL archives ACV K XIII 371/115 before attending an English boarding school in Montreux from January 1908 – 1911.Alan Gordon Finlay, Attendance records at Marlboria Boys School, under R. Hawkins; source Archives cantonales vaudoises DR_2020_0962
With his formal education over, Finlay wanted to fly aeroplanes, no doubt encouraged by his life-long friend Philip Joubert. After his father had died in 1906, Finlay's future was set by his mother, who determined that he would never fly. A reticent Finlay entered the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in England in 1910. Though exemplary in conduct, he never responded well to authority and was distracted,Cameron, AR, 1910 – "RMC report for term ending 21/7/191", Finlay A.G. narrowly graduating in 1911.Forces War Records. " Seniority Date 25/03/1911 for 2nd Lieutenant Finlay AG ". Accessed 1 June 2020. < https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/records/6591609/2nd-lieutenant-a-g-finlay-british-army-gordon-highlanders/>. Finlay was awarded a commission with the Gordon Highlanders and was transferred to Delhi initially, serving as a second lieutenant along the Northwest Frontier with Afghanistan. By 1913, he is missing from the Army Lists and may have returned to England having decided to change his career by entering the Diplomatic Service.Captain Alan Gordon-Finlay, Curriculum Vitae, reporting education, June 1926; source ILO personnel archives S768-73-1232
First World War The outbreak of War in Europe in 1914 interrupted Finlay's diplomatic service training and in April, we see him restored to the Army lists as a second lieutenant in the 2nd King Edward's Horse "on probation",Forces War Records. "Seniority Date 09/04/1914 for 2nd Lieutenant Finlay AG". Accessed 1 June 2020. https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/records/5859630/2nd-lieutenant-a-g-finlay-british-army-king-edwards-horse/. promoted to full lieutenant by November of the same year. By the end of 1914, Finlay had been promoted to CaptainForces War Records. "Temporary Captain 29/12/1914". Accessed 1 June 2020. https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/records/8891022/temporary-captain-a-g-finlay-british-army-devonshire-regiment/?isSaved=1 and in 1915 having been badly gassed at the Second Battle of Ypres, he was returned to England to recover from chlorine inhalation. In the same year, we find Finlay assigned to work on the development of Tanks with William Foster & Co. out of Lincoln before reporting to Battalion and Brigade staff.Captain Alan Gordon-Finlay, Curriculum Vitae, June 1926; source ILO personnel archives S768-73-1232 Finlay was twice recommended for promotion to Major in November and December in France "in connection with Trench Warfare inventions".
On 26 June 1916, Finlay married Florence Mary Gallagher in London. The couple were immediately transferred to Paris to work with the French on continued tank development, making frequent trips to Foster's at Lincoln in an effort to coordinate between parallel English and French initiatives. In 1917, Finlay was "invalided out" of the Army and was appointed "Chief of Service" to Inter-Allied and Anglo-American Commissions in Paris from 1918 to 1919.Captain Alan Gordon-Finlay, Curriculum Vitae, June 1926; source ILO personnel archives S768-73-1232
League of Nations After the war was over, Finlay was assigned to work in Geneva with the language interpretation unit for the League of Nations in 1919 as a bilingual précis-writer at the newly formed International Labour OrganizationCaptain Finlay – Establishment of Staff to the League of Nations Section 34; ILO personnel archives S768-73-1232 (ILO). Not content with translation alone, he left the commission in the same year and spent the next five years travelling around Europe, giving lectures on physics and doing consultancy work designing scientific instruments for manufacture.Captain Alan Gordon-Finlay, Qualifications, March 1926; source ILO personnel archives S768-73-1232 In March 1926, Finlay returned to the League of Nations in Geneva with high hopes of an appointment as General Registrar. His wife was six months pregnant, which encouraged Finlay to think about settling down to a career that combined his passion for science with his language skills as a communicator and a leader.Captain Alan Gordon-Finlay, Curriculum Vitae, June 1926; source ILO personnel archives S768-73-1232 Initially, he was only able to get his old job back at the ILO as a précis-writer on successive short-term contracts. Finlay's opportunity for advancement came in April 1927 when he identified critical weaknesses in an experimental telephonic translation system being trialled at the ILO. He diagnosed the problems with the system, suggested some key alterations with cost estimates and concluded with a plan for doing the work.
By June, Finlay was appointed to take responsibility for the technical delivery of the system. His plans were submitted to Edward Filene, a wealthy, well-connected, philanthropic, American entrepreneur who had devised the original telephonic concept and had been underwriting the costs of development.4. Most Important Persons in the Early History of Simultaneous Interpretation http://interstartranslations.com/interpretation/4-most-important-persons-in-the-early-history-of-simultaneous-interpretation/ Tests went well and by September 1927, Filene approved a budget of $10,000 to train interpreters and install Finlay's new designs. Finlay collaborated with the Bell Telephone Company to manufacture component parts, including his own innovations like the Stethophone and for the first time, automatic voice recording. By the spring of 1928, press releases announced ground-breaking new developments evolved by an "English Scientist attached to the International Labour Office" (ILO), referred to as Professor Gordon-Finlay, who was addressing a number of technical issues which needed resolving. The number of "receiver" delegates had increased from one hundred to five hundred, with the number of languages from two to six and was tested in June 1928 at the 11th International Labour Conference under Finlay's direction. Despite doubts going in, the conference proved a success and crucially, demonstrating significant cost savings by shortening proceedings. That proof-of-concept was picked up at the Nuremberg Trials almost twenty years later and arguably lead to the interpretation systems in use today.
Finlay had worked tirelessly to develop and deploy solutions, which was recognised and by 1929, the system had proved both successful and popular, particularly amongst delegates unfamiliar with the two official languages, and began featuring at multiple conferences. ILO historical records indicate that Finlay never had permanent employment with the League of Nations, constantly working under short-term contracts. From 1926 to 1929, his pay was underwritten by Filene, which dried up with the Wall Street crash of 1929. Finlay left the ILO at the end of September 1929.Captain Alan Gordon-Finlay personnel files; source ILO P-file-1959 He was, without question, the technical engine behind the new system (Filene had no technical background) but in May 1930, Filene filed a patent for his original concept including Finlay's innovations, but with himself as sole "inventor", excluding Finlay from the application, which IBM subsequently purchased. Finlay was an intensely charismatic man who lead from the front, successfully delivering, and more, on all his extravagant promises made in 1927."Filene Experiment, Special Course, Arrangements and equipment, 1928", International Labour Office Dossier, Q304/1/0, 1929 Focused as he was on technical delivery, he was naive in the ways of business"Conversations with Florence Gordon-Finlay", pers.comm Dione Venables, 31 May 2020 and had nothing material to show for his efforts at the League of Nations. The world had already moved on, however.
Second World War In the 1930s, Finlay commuted between his house just outside of Lausanne and his London apartment in Kensington Court. He had managed to secure a more permanent contract with English Electric working with the Marconi teams with a good annual salary."Salary of £700 per annum, pers.comm Dione Venables, 31 May 2020 By the end of the decade with war looming again, and with a proven track record of innovation in times of war, Finlay was working with Naval scientists to develop a degaussing system to protect shipping against magnetic naval mines. As conflict in Europe deepened, he would be away from home for long periods but in 1939, his Army commission was reinstated the day after war was declared by the United KingdomForces War Records. "Brevet Major 02/09/1939 (Captain War substantive)". Accessed 1 June 2020. https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/records/5890124/lieutenant-a-finlay-british-army-dorsetshire-regiment/?isSaved=1 and he was assigned a "unit car and driver". Not long after, Finlay joined Maurice Buckmaster from a secret address at Fountain Court in Belgravia. Finlay does not appear in the published lists as an SOE operative but his "War Substantive" skills with radio and languages were well known to those with whom he worked. At the same time, Reginald Victor Jones started making regular calls to Finlay's Kensington Court apartment, becoming a close family friend. In October 1940, the apartment was destroyed by a bomb, causing the family to scatter, staying with relatives or on assignment.