Obituary. Arthur Woolf

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Obituary. Arthur Woolf Beaufort, and to Lieutenant Beecher, for the Admiralty Charts; to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Colonel Colly, for several of the Ordnance Maps of Ireland; and to your President, for thevolumes of the Philosophical Transactions, which complete the set of 123volumes from the commencement, presented by him to the Institution. The other presents, which are far too numerous to be here mentioned, will be recorded in a list accompanying this report. The following abstract of the receipts and expenditure during the year ending the Sist of December, 1837, will shew the present state bf the funis of the Institution : D?.. Cr. Cash Ac- count. To Balanceinhand, Jan. 1.111 4 3 By Library.. .......... 110 3 2 -Furniture.. ........ 16 14 6 -Publication ........ 28 68 -Short Hand Writer . 51 16 8 -Coals and Candles . 27 18 11 - Stationery&Engraving 2713 4 -Petty Cash ........ 332 10 - Rent,Taxes,& Repairs 92 10 6 - Salaries& Commission 301 11 3 -Balance.. .......... 27 1 5 -- S717 1 1 S717 1 1 -- I The Council have to regret the loss to the Institution by death of Arthur its Member, Arthur Woolf. This distinguishedindividual was woolfe- born at Camborne, in Cornwall. He was a millwright, and in that capacity went to London, and was employed in Meux’s Brewery. In 1804, he took out a patentfor his Two Cylinder Engine, working high pressure steam in a small cylinder, and allowing it to expand in a large one. When he first commenced erecting engines in Corn- wall, he induced the proprietors of the Foundries to improve their machinery, that a better style of workmanship might be used in the manufacture of steam engines;and he introduced an improved Hornblower’sdouble beat valve. The workdone atthe Consoli- dated Mines, proves him to have been a person of great talents. In October, 1814, the average duty of the engines in Cornwall was 204 millions-WoolPs engine at Wheal Abraham, however, performed 34 millions-and in December 1815, 52 millions ; and in May 1816, 57 millions; while the average duty of all the engines reported in Cornwall was 23 millions. In 1820, Mr. Woolf erected engines at the Consolidated Mines having cylinders of 90 inches in diameter, C Downloaded by [] on [12/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 10 and a stroke of 10 feet-the most powerful that had ever been con- structed. In December, 1827, a trial took place with one of Woolfs 90-inch engines, andit performed a duty of 636 millions-the average duty of 47 engines reported in this year was 32 millions, For some years before his death he received a pension of &loo. a year from the propxietors of the Consolidated Mines. His name is associated with the improvements in the drainage of the Cornish mines; and whatever share posterity mayassign to his individual genius in these improvements, his name is recorded in the page of history among those who have dedicated their talents and the opportunities of a long life to the advancement of practical science. Sohjeck The Councilhave also endeavoured to make arrangementfor a for supply of original communications for the present session. With sion. this view they, in addition to the notice of Prize subjects already mentioned, have issued a list of subjects for discussion which were brought before the Institution during the last session, and requested swh information upon them a3 parties might be able to communicate. On several of these, important information has been received. The Council have also received promises of many communications at an early period, so that they look forward with confidence to thepresent session being equal in importance to any which has preceded it. Conch- Confident in this belief, theyresign with the greatest satisfaction ‘lon* the trustwhich has been confided to them. Their efforts during the past year to render the Institutionmore efficient and useful, have been amply rewarded in the success which has attended them; and they trust that, in every succeeding year, the Institution will more and more fully realise the hopes of its n~ostsanguine supporters, and ere long be recognised by all as conferring an honour no less on the British Nation than 0x1 every one of those by whose superintendance it is continually adapted to the wantsof each successive generation. Downloaded by [] on [12/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved..
Recommended publications
  • Lean's Engine Reporter and the Development of The
    Trans. Newcomen Soc., 77 (2007), 167–189 View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Research Papers in Economics Lean’s Engine Reporter and the Development of the Cornish Engine: A Reappraisal by Alessandro NUVOLARI and Bart VERSPAGEN THE ORIGINS OF LEAN’S ENGINE REPORTER A Boulton and Watt engine was first installed in Cornwall in 1776 and, from that year, Cornwall progressively became one of the British counties making the most intensive use of steam power.1 In Cornwall, steam engines were mostly employed for draining water from copper and tin mines (smaller engines, called ‘whim engines’ were also employed to draw ore to the surface). In comparison with other counties, Cornwall was characterized by a relative high price for coal which was imported from Wales by sea.2 It is not surprising then that, due to their superior fuel efficiency, Watt engines were immediately regarded as a particularly attractive proposition by Cornish mining entrepreneurs (commonly termed ‘adventurers’ in the local parlance).3 Under a typical agreement between Boulton and Watt and the Cornish mining entre- preneurs, the two partners would provide the drawings and supervise the works of erection of the engine; they would also supply some particularly important components of the engine (such as some of the valves). These expenditures would have been charged to the mine adventurers at cost (i.e. not including any profit for Boulton and Watt). In addition, the mine adventurer had to buy the other components of the engine not directly supplied by the Published by & (c) The Newcomen Society two partners and to build the engine house.
    [Show full text]
  • Age of Steam" Reconsidered
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Castaldi, Carolina; Nuvolari, Alessandro Working Paper Technological revolution and economic growth: The "age of steam" reconsidered LEM Working Paper Series, No. 2004/11 Provided in Cooperation with: Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies Suggested Citation: Castaldi, Carolina; Nuvolari, Alessandro (2004) : Technological revolution and economic growth: The "age of steam" reconsidered, LEM Working Paper Series, No. 2004/11, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Pisa This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/89286 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. www.econstor.eu Laboratory of Economics and Management Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33 - 56127 PISA (Italy) Tel.
    [Show full text]
  • Technical Choice, Innovation and British Steam Engineering, 1800-1850
    Technical Choice, Innovation and British Steam Engineering, 1800-1850 Alessandro Nuvolari (Eindhoven University of Technology) Bart Verspagen (University of Maastricht) Summary The development of the high pressure expansive engine represented a watershed in the evolution of steam power technology, allowing the attainment of major fuel economies. In Britain, Cornish engineers took the lead in the exploration of this specific technological trajectory. Notwithstanding its superior fuel efficiency was widely popularized, the high pressure expansive engine did not find widespread application in other steam-using regions (in particular in Lancashire), where the favourite option remained the Watt low pressure engine. In this paper, we provide a reassessment of the factors accounting for the precocious adoption of the high pressure steam engine in Cornwall and for its delayed fortune in the rest of Britain. Corresponding author: Alessandro Nuvolari, Eindhoven University of Technology, Pav Q 1.21, P. O. Box 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected] 1 Traditional accounts of the British industrial revolution have, more or less explicitly, assumed that a wide range of industrial sectors rapidly benefited from the development of steam power technology. Rostow's work can be considered as representative of this view. Rostow dated the British "take-off" to the years 1783-1802, linking it explicitly with the commercialization of the Boulton and Watt engine.1 More recent research has suggested that such a direct link between
    [Show full text]
  • Modern Steam- Engine
    CHAPTER III. THE ·DEVELOPJIENT OF THE .AfODERN STEAM-ENGINE. JAAIES WA1'T A1VD HIS OONTEJIPORARIES. THE wol'ld is now entering upon the Mechanical Epoch. There is noth­ ing in the future n1ore sure than the great tl'iu1nphs which thn.t epoch is to achieve. It has ah·eady u<Jvanced to some glorious conquests. '\Vhat111ira­ cle� of invention now crowd upon us I Look ab1·oad, and contemplate the infinite achieve1nents of the steam-power. And· yet we have only begun-we are but on tho threshold of this epoch.... What is it but ·the setting of the great distinctive seal upon the nineteenth century ?-an advertisement of the fact that society .hns risen to occupy a higher platfor1n than ever before ?-a proclamation f1·01n the high places, announcing honor, honor imn1ortal, to the �vorlunen who fill this world with beauty, comfort, and power-honor to he forever embahned in history, to be pet·petuated in monuments, to be written in the hearts of this and succeeding generations !-KENNEDY. I.-J w SECTION A?rlES .A.TT AND HIS INVENTIONS. \ • . THE success of the N ewcomen engine naturally attracted the attention of mechanics, and of scientific men as well, to the p9ssibility of making other applications of steam-power. The best men of the time gave much attention to tl1e subject, but, until ·James Watt began the work that has made him famous, nothing more ,vas done than to improve the proportions and slightly alter the details of the Ne,vco­ men and Calley engine, even by such skillful engineers as Brindley and Smeaton.
    [Show full text]
  • The Invention of the Steam Engine
    The Invention of the Steam Engine by Rochelle Forrester Copyright © 2019 Rochelle Forrester All Rights Reserved The moral right of the author has been asserted Anyone may reproduce all or any part of this paper without the permission of the author so long as a full acknowledgement of the source of the reproduced material is made. Second Edition Published 30 September 2019 Preface This paper was written in order to examine the order of discovery of significant developments in the history of the steam engine. It is part of my efforts to put the study of social and cultural history and social change on a scientific basis capable of rational analysis and understanding. This has resulted in a hard copy book How Change Happens: A Theory of Philosophy of History, Social Change and ​ Cultural Evolution and a website How Change Happens Rochelle Forrester’s Social Change, Cultural ​ ​ Evolution and Philosophy of History website. There are also philosophy of history papers such as The ​ ​ Course of History, The Scientific Study of History, Guttman Scale Analysis and its use to explain ​ ​ ​ ​ Cultural Evolution and Social Change and the Philosophy of History and papers on Academia.edu, ​ ​ ​ Figshare, Mendeley, Vixra, Phil Papers, Humanities Common and Social Science Research Network ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ websites. This paper is part of a series on the History of Science and Technology. Other papers in the series are The Invention of Stone Tools Fire The Discovery of Agriculture The Invention of Pottery ​ History of Metallurgy The Development of Agriculture
    [Show full text]
  • A Handbook on the Steam Engine, with Especial Reference to Small And
    ADVERTlSEMElfTS. i+t\\i JD, 3.E. YS. (YS, Tl sPOUS U ^rcacuteb to PI nd), of I tt of Toronto id). Professor E.A.Allcut AL. Is. Castings in Bronze, Brass and Gun and White Metals, Machined if required. ROLLED PHOSPHOR BRONZE, Strip and Sheet, for Air Pump Valves, Eccentric Strap Liners, etc. HIKE find TELEPHONE WIRE. AD VER TISEMENTS. THE PHOSPHOR BRONZE CO, LIMITED, 87, Sumner Street, Southwark, London, S.E. And at BIRMINGHAM. r "COG WHEEL" and Sole Makers of the j3S %jg "VULCAN" iSPI^flfiC Brands of The best and most durable Alloys for Slide Valves, Bearings, Bushes, Eccentric Straps, and other parts of Machinery exposed to friction and Piston Motor wear ; Pump Rods, Pumps, Rings, Pinions, Worm Wheels, Gearing, etc. "DURO METAL" (REGISTERED TRADE MARK). Alloy B, specially adapted for BEARINGS for HOT-NECK ROLLS. CASTINGS In BRONZE, BRASS, GUN and WHITE METALS, in the Rough, or Machined, if required. ROLLED AND DRAWN BRONZE, GERMAN SILVER, GUN METAL, TIN, WHITE METALS AND ALUMINIUM BRONZE ALLOYS PHOSPHOR TIN & PHOSPHOR COPPER, "Cog-Wheel" Brand. Please specify the Manufacture of THE PHOSPHOR BRONZE CO., Ltd., of Southwark, London. lii ADVERTISEMENTS, ROBEY & Co GLOBE WORKS, LINCOLN. Mod Compound Horizontal Fixed Engine, it.- 1 iiii I'.ii.-nt Ti-ip Kxitiimioii (ic:ir. tolnijthe limpl >nUit ml miTrt economical at uuv in tin- market, and working ;.|iei to the Newcastle-nil -Tvm .tit Station (MX large engines), also St. Helens mint lam. BrUbane Electric Tram- Open-front High-speed Vertical e, for electric lighting. All thete Engine* are specially Dengned and Adapted for Electric Lighting.
    [Show full text]
  • The Newcomen Society
    The Newcomen Society for the history of engineering and technology Welcome! This Index to volumes 1 to 32 of Transactions of the Newcomen Society is freely available as a PDF file for you to print out, if you wish. If you have found this page through the search engines, and are looking for more information on a topic, please visit our online archive (http://www.newcomen.com/archive.htm). You can perform the same search there, browse through our research papers, and then download full copies if you wish. By scrolling down this document, you will get an idea of the subjects covered in Transactions (volumes dating from 1920 to 1960 only), and on which pages specific information is to be found. The most recent volumes can be ordered (in paperback form) from the Newcomen Society Office. If you would like to find out more about the Newcomen Society, please visit our main website: http://www.newcomen.com. The Index to Transactions (Please scroll down) GENERAL INDEX Advertising puffs of early patentees, VI, 78 TRANSACTIONS, VOLS. I-XXXII Aeolipyle. Notes on the aeolipyle and the Marquis of Worcester's engine, by C.F.D. Marshall, XXIII, 133-4; of Philo of 1920-1960 Byzantium, 2*; of Hero of Alexandria, 11; 45-58* XVI, 4-5*; XXX, 15, 20 An asterisk denotes an illustrated article Aerodynamical laboratory, founding of, XXVII, 3 Aborn and Jackson, wood screw factory of, XXII, 84 Aeronautics. Notes on Sir George Cayley as a pioneer of aeronautics, paper J.E. Acceleration, Leonardo's experiments with Hodgson, 111, 69-89*; early navigable falling bodies, XXVIII, 117; trials of the balloons, 73: Cayley's work on airships, 75- G.E.R.
    [Show full text]
  • Landmarks in Mechanical Engineering
    Page iii Landmarks in Mechanical Engineering ASME International History and Heritage Page iv Copyright © by Purdue Research Foundation. All rights reserved. 01 00 99 98 97 5 4 3 2 1 The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences– Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48­1992. Printed in the United States of America Design by inari Cover photo credits Front: Icing Research Tunnel, NASA Lewis Research Center; top inset, Saturn V rocket; bottom inset, Wyman­Gordon 50,000­ton hydraulic forging press (Courtesy Jet Lowe, Library of Congress Collections Back: top, Kaplan turbine; middle, Thomas Edison and his phonograph; bottom, "Big Brutus" mine shovel Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs and illustrations were provided from the ASME landmarks archive. Library of Congress Cataloging­in­publication Data Landmarks in mechanical engineering/ASME International history and Heritage. p. cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN I­55753­093­9 (cloth:alk. paper).— ISBN I­55753­094­7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Mechanical engineering—United States—History 2. Mechanical engineering—History. 1. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. History and Heritage Committee. TJ23.L35 1996 621'.0973—dc20 96­31573 CIP Page v CONTENTS Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Pumping Introduction 1 Newcomen Memorial Engine 3 Fairmount Waterworks 5 Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Scoop Wheel and Steam Engines 8 Holly System of Fire Protection and Water Supply 10 Archimedean Screw Pump 11 Chapin Mine Pumping Engine 12 Leavitt­Riedler Pumping Engine 14 Sidebar: Erasmus D.Leavitt, Jr. 16 Chestnut Street Pumping Engine 17 Specification: Chestnut Street Pumping Engine 18 A.
    [Show full text]
  • The Water Industry As World Heritage
    The Water Industry as World Heritage Thematic Study James Douet (coordinator) for TICCIH The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage 2018 1 Consultation This report was started in June 2017 and is due for completion in April 2018, following a conference at the Agbar Museu de les Aigues, Barcelona. Comments on the contents, proposals and conclusions are welcomed by the author and should be directed to James Douet: [email protected] This version: 25/01/2018. 2 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 1. Context 5 1.1 Thematic studies 5 1.2 Objectives 5 1.3 Methodology 5 2. Introduction 7 2.1 Scope 7 2.2 Chronology 7 2.3 Comparative studies 8 2.4 The water industry on the World Heritage list 8 3. Terminology 10 4. Historical development of water infrastructure 12 4.1. Ancient and Classical supply systems 12 4.2. Early-modern water provision 1500 - 1800 13 4.3. Industrialisation 1800 - 1880 17 4.4. Water and sewage combined 1880 - 1920 26 4.5. Modern water systems 1920 - 27 5. Areas and values of significance 29 6. The water industry as World Heritage 30 7. UNESCO evaluation criteria relevant to the water industry 33 8. Case studies: sites and landscapes 35 9. Conclusions 65 10. Acknowledgments 66 10. List of correspondents 66 11. Bibliography 67 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The water industry grew in response to rising demand for water due to industrialization and consequent concentrations of urban populations. By the early 19th century these were starting to overwhelm traditional sources of water and customs of waste removal, resulting in repeated epidemics of water-borne diseases like cholera, typhoid and yellow fever.
    [Show full text]
  • Data for Engineering Design: Lean's Engine Reporter and Early
    Les archives de l’invention, pp. 211-226. Data for engineering design: Lean’s engine reporter and early nineteenth century steam technology* Alessandro Nuvolari** One of the salient features of the Industrial Revolution was the transition from an economic system based on the exploitation of «organic»natural resources to another centered on the intensive use of inorganic minerals. In this sense, the Industrial Revolution consisted in a dramatic increase of the energy potential susceptible of effective economic utilization1. If we consider the cluster of technological innovations commonly associated with the Industrial Revolution in this perspective, the steam engine, allowing the transformation of thermal energy (heat) into kinetic energy (work), assumes paramount importance. Traditional accounts of early industrialization have, more or less explicitly, considered that a wide range of application sectors rapidly benefited from the development of steam power technologies2. This seems, however, to be generally unwarranted. When carefully examined, the diffusion of steam power appears to have been a delayed and particularly prolonged affair. The late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century economies were still dominated by the pervasive use of animal, wind and water power3. In fact, the widespread utilization of steam power had to await a number of cumulative improvements that progressively reduced the power costs of the steam engine. A major part of the power costs associated with the * This paper draws partially on NuvolariA.,«Collective invention during the British Industrial Revolution:the case of the Cornish pumping engine»,Cambridge journal of economics, 2004, n°28.An earlier version was presented at the conference «LesArchives de l’Invention» organized at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers – Centre d’histoire des techniques and the Centre historique des Archives nationales (Paris, 26-27 may 2003).
    [Show full text]
  • The Making of Steam Power Technology
    The Making of Steam Power Technology A Study of Technical Change during the British Industrial Revolution _____________________________________________________________________ Alessandro Nuvolari Eindhoven Centre for Innovation Studies (ECIS) Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands CIP – DATA LIBRARY TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT EINDHOVEN Nuvolari, Alessandro The making of steam power technology / by Alessandro Nuvolari. – Eindhoven: Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, 2004. – Proefschrift. – ISBN 90-386-2077-2 NUR 696 Keywords: Economical history / Industrial history / Steam engines; history Cover illustration: John Farey, vertical section of Arthur Woolf’s compound engine at Wheal Vor Mine (Cornwall), circa 1839 Cover design: Paul Verspaget Printing: Eindhoven University Press The Making of Steam Power Technology A Study of Technical Change during the British Industrial Revolution PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus, prof.dr. R.A. van Santen, voor een commissie aangewezen door het College voor Promoties in het openbaar te verdedigen op donderdag 23 september 2004 om 16.00 uur door Alessandro Nuvolari geboren te Mantova, Italië Dit proefschrift is goedgekeurd door de promotoren: prof.dr. H.H.G. Verspagen en prof.dr. G.N. von Tunzelmann Copromotor: dr.ir. G.P.J. Verbong ‘You see, Tom,’ said Mr Deane, at last, throwing himself backward, ‘the world goes on at a smarter pace now than it did when I was a young fellow. Why, sir, forty years ago, when I was much such a strapping youngster as you, a man expected to pull between the shafts the best part of his life, before he got the whip in his hand.
    [Show full text]
  • Collective Invention During the British Industrial Revolution: the Case of the Cornish Pumping Engine
    Collective invention during the British Industrial Revolution : the case of the Cornish pumping engine Citation for published version (APA): Nuvolari, A. (2004). Collective invention during the British Industrial Revolution : the case of the Cornish pumping engine. (ECIS working paper series; Vol. 200402). Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. Document status and date: Published: 01/01/2004 Document Version: Publisher’s PDF, also known as Version of Record (includes final page, issue and volume numbers) Please check the document version of this publication: • A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal.
    [Show full text]