Class of 2016

Mayor Anita Dugatto is pleased to announce the selection of the tenth anniversary class for the  Derby Hall of Fame. It could be said that the three new members made us better educated, made driving more convenient for us and helped to enliven our lives. The three new members are Harry Haugh, inventor of the "electromatic traffic signal"; Josiah Holbrook, founder of the Lyceum educational movement and Charles A. Sterling, the owner of the Sterling Piano Company.

Mayor Dugatto said, "The additions to Hall of Fame this year are impressive and show the strength and vision of the Valley forefathers that made it great!"

Brief descriptions of the members of the Class of 2015 (Click on names to learn more):

Harry Haugh -Once the automobile came into existence, traffic jams were not far behind. Until the invention of the traffic control signal, police officers provided that function at busy intersections. However, the first traffic signals could not adjust for the amount of traffic flowing through an intersection. That advance didn't come until 1927, and it was Derby native Harry A. Haugh, Jr. working at Yale University who installed the first "electromatic traffic signal" in New Haven in 1928. The invention revolutionized traffic control by vehicular activation and won him national acclaim.
Josiah Holbrook was the a founder of an educational reform movement that swept the country in the nineteenth century. That movement was known as the Lyceum Movement.
The Sterling Piano Factory was once the largest manufacturing employer in the City of Derby. Founded in 1866 by Charles Sterling, the Sterling Company was known world wide for its quality. Mr. Sterling had previously had a number of other business successes. He continued as the head of the company until his death in 1887. The company actually manufactured organs until 1884, when the piano was first introduced.

For the full listing of Hall of Fame members, click here.