Charles LeGeyt Fortescue and the method of symmetrical components

The author gives a brief review of the life and work of Charles LeGeyt Fortescue with particular reference to his 1918 paper on the "Method of Symmetrical Co-Ordinates Applied to the Solution of Polyphase Networks" which grew out of his investigations of problems related to railway electrification, which began in 1913. As a postlude to the author\´s article, the paper presents Fortescue\´s own writing on the topic of symmetrical components, which he included in a document he produced on 8 October 1934, titled "High Points in My Career".