Chronicles of Mechanical Engineering in the United States

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From the time it was organized in 1880, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers recorded aspects of the history of the mechanical engineering profession and the careers of some of its notable practitioners. The Society’s OF CHRONICLES historical efforts were formalized in 1971 with the creation of a History and Heritage Committee. This volume commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of that committee and collects, in a single place, many of the historical contributions published over the past fifty years in ASME’s flagship journal Mechanical Engineering.

In preparation for the United States’ bicentennial year, and later the Society’s centennial, the editors of Mechanical Engineering contracted with engineer-historian Fritz Hirschfeld for a long series of articles about the county’s early mechanical engineering heritage and the lives of notable mechanical engineers, particularly those associated with ASME’s founding. Hirschfeld’s articles form the foundation of this volume.

To supplement Hirschfeld’s work, the editors have added numerous other historical articles published in Mechanical Engineering. The engineering innovations described by these articles have been enormously important to the development of modern technological society, and the stories behind their development should be of interest to engineers interested in the history of their profession, as well as anyone interested in American Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ebooks/book/chapter-pdf/6715821/356056_fm.pdf by guest on 05 August 2021 history.

ENGINEERING MECHANICAL

CHRONICLES OF

MECHANICA L

ENGINEERING

IN THE UNITED STATES

Two Park Avenue New York, NY 10016 www.asme.org

EDITED BY: THOMAS H. FEHRING, P.E.

TERRY S. REYNOLDS, PH.D.

ASME

FEHRING

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CHRONICLES OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING IN THE UNITED STATES

COVER ILLUSTRATIONS Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ebooks/book/chapter-pdf/6715821/356056_fm.pdf by guest on 05 August 2021

FRONT (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) The Hart Parr tractor was designated a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by ASME as the first commercially successful tractor driven by an internal combustion engine. This early image, from a glass plate negative, is courtesy of Jeff Wahl. See page 385 for further information.

In the 1860s, oil fields like this one at Pioneer Run Creek, Titusville, Pennsylvania, quickly followed the discovery of oil by Edwin Drake on August 27, 1859. Drake’s well wasn’t the first strike of oil in history, but it was the first that intended to exploit oil commercially as a fuel. See page 211.

A 1908 replica of Fulton’s North River steamboat, generally referred to today as the Clermont. See articles beginning on page 46 about America’s quest to develop the steamboat.

Start-up ceremonies in 1926 for a new steam turbine-generator at the Lakeside Power Plant in St. Francis, Wisconsin. Engineers Fred Dornbrook (left) and John Anderson are pictured with Anderson’s daughter Miriam. At the time, Miriam was the only female mechanical engineering student at the University of Wisconsin. The plant was an engineering marvel in its day—a model for power plants throughout the world and an important landmark in the evolution of modern, efficient, electric power production. Photograph courtesy of We Energies. See Chapter 5 for further information about the history of power generation in the United States.

BACK This book includes numerous biographies of significant early mechanical engineers, including those of Robert H. Thurston, John F. Fritz, George H. Corliss, John Edison Sweet, and Lillian and Frank Gilbreth, all shown here. See Chapter 3.

The famous Centennial Engine of George H. Corliss, which powered (by line-shafts located underneath the floor) all of Machinery Hall at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition, the first official World’s Fair to be held in the United States. See page 130.

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CHRONICLES OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING IN THE UNITED STATES

EDITED BY:

Produced by the History and Heritage Committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ebooks/book/chapter-pdf/6715821/356056_fm.pdf by guest on 05 August 2021 including photocopy, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Information contained in this work has been obtained by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) from sources believed to be reliable. However, neither ASME nor its authors or editors guarantee the accuracy of completeness of any information published in this work. Neither ASME nor its authors and editors shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages arising out of the use of this information. This work is published with the understanding that ASME and its authors and editors are supplying information but are not attempting to render engineering or other professional services. If such engineering or professional services are required, the assistance of an appropriate professional should be sought. Because of the dynamic nature of the internet, web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.

ASME shall not be responsible for statements or opinions advanced in papers or ... printed in its publications (B7.1.3). Statement from the Bylaws.

For authorization to photocopy material for internal or personal use under those circumstances not falling within the fair use provisions of the Copyright Act, contact the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, tel: 978-750-8400, www.copyright.com.

Requests for special permission or bulk reproduction should be addressed to the ASME Publishing Department, or submitted online at: https://www.asme.org/publications-submissions/books/bookproposals/permissions

ISBN: 9780791884843 Library of Congress Control Number: 2021904165

First Printing: June 2021

This book is published in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the formation of the History and Heritage Committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. It is dedicated to all those who have worked to Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ebooks/book/chapter-pdf/6715821/356056_fm.pdf by guest on 05 August 2021 document and preserve the history of mechanical engineering.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THIS BOOK ...... XI FOREWORD ...... XV INTRODUCTION ...... 1 Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ebooks/book/chapter-pdf/6715821/356056_fm.pdf by guest on 05 August 2021 A SENSE OF THE PAST: HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS ...... 1 FIFTY YEARS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING HISTORY: ASME’S HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMITTEE, 1971-2021...... 10 CHAPTER 1: ENGINEERING IN THE NEW NATION ...... 17

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK ...... 18 SUBMARINE WARFARE: GENERAL WASHINGTON’S SECRET WEAPON ...... 22 OF BLANCHARD’S BALLOON AND WASHINGTON’S PASSPORT ...... 26 SAMUEL SLATER MEETS MOSES BROWN AND A TEXTILE EMPIRE IS FOUNDED ...... 30 DESALINATION CIRCA 1790 ...... 34 THE UPS AND DOWNS OF ELI WHITNEY ...... 38 PAUL REVERE RIDES AGAIN ...... 42 LINKING THE NATION BY WATER AND RAIL ...... 46 “SOMETHING TROUBLE THE MATTER WITH THE ENGINE” ...... 57 CHAPTER 2: THE EMERGENCE OF ASME ...... 63

AT THE BEGINNING ...... 64 JOHN EDISON SWEET ...... 70 ROBERT H. THURSTON ...... 75 ALEXANDER L. HOLLEY...... 80 HENRY R. WORTHINGTON...... 84 ERASMUS D. LEAVITT ...... 88 CHAPTER 3: BOILER AND PRESSURE VESSEL SAFETY ...... 93

THE TRUE HARNESSING OF STEAM ...... 95 TO PROTECT AND SERVE ...... 98 THE CODE BUILDERS ...... 105 THE HYDROLEVEL CASE: A RETROSPECTIVE ...... 111 CHAPTER 4: SIGNIFICANT ENGINEERS IN AMERICA’S RISE TO INDUSTRIAL PROMINENCE ...... 125

GEORGE H. CORLISS ...... 127 EDWIN REYNOLDS ...... 136 HENRY R. TOWNE...... 145 JOHN F. FRITZ ...... 150 GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE: A MAN FOR HIS PEOPLE ...... 153 GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE ...... 157 GEORGE W. MELVILLE ...... 162 FREDERICK W. TAYLOR ...... 169 WORCHESTER R. WARNER AND AMBROSE SWASEY ...... 172 ELMER A. SPERRY ...... 176 THE GILBRETHS: LILLIAN AND FRANK ...... 180

￨ ix WILLIS H. CARRIER ...... 184 WILLIAM F. DURAND ...... 188 STEPHEN P. TIMOSHENKO ...... 194 RALPH E. FLANDERS ...... 198 CHAPTER 5: ENERGY PRODUCTION AND CONVERSION ...... 201

ENERGY CONVERSION ...... 203 THE MODERN OIL AGE ...... 212 A PRACTICAL HERO...... 218 MERCURY AND STEAM ...... 222 GAS TURBINES, OLD AND NEW ...... 227 UCLEAR AVY N N ...... 232 Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ebooks/book/chapter-pdf/6715821/356056_fm.pdf by guest on 05 August 2021 HEEDING THE LESSONS OF HISTORY ...... 238 50 YEARS OF NUCLEAR POWER ...... 246 CHAPTER 6: AVIATION AND AEROSPACE ...... 251

LANDMARK IN THE AIR ...... 253 FIRST FLIGHTS ...... 258 LOOK MA, NO PILOT ...... 267 NOT SO SIMPLE MACHINES ...... 272 THE MECHANICS OF FLIGHT ...... 277 HYDROGEN-FUELED GAS TURBINES ...... 283 HOT PLATES: CERAMIC TURBINE COMPONENTS ...... 286 MOUNTING TROUBLES ...... 291 THE MOST HAZARDOUS AND DANGEROUS AND GREATEST ADVENTURE ON WHICH MAN HAS EVER EMBARKED...... 296 THAT ONE SMALL STEP ...... 302 CHAPTER 7: LAND TRANSPORTATION ...... 311

CREDIT TO THE BICYCLE ...... 312 BETWEEN THE HORSE AND THE CAR ...... 319 THE REMARKABLE HENRY FORD ...... 327 MOTORING MADNESS ...... 336 WHEELING AND DEALING...... 342 PIPELINES FOR WAR AND PEACE ...... 345 CHAPTER 8: ENGINEERING OTHER ASPECTS OF HUMAN LIFE ...... 351

MILESTONES IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING ...... 353 STRAIGHT AND TRUE ...... 364 UNDER THE CAPITOL DOME ...... 368 DRAWN TO BIGGER THINGS ...... 372 IT’S A COOL STORY: REFRIGERATION AND AIR CONDITIONING IN THE 20TH CENTURY ...... 377 IN THE SERVICE OF ABUNDANCE ...... 384 SLIDES RULE: FAR FROM FORGOTTEN ...... 391 APPENDIX: CURRENT AND PAST MEMBERS OF ASME’S HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMITTEE ...... 395 REFERENCES ...... 397 INDEX ...... 401

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ABOUT THIS BOOK Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ebooks/book/chapter-pdf/6715821/356056_fm.pdf by guest on 05 August 2021

From its earliest days, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), founded in 1880, has recorded the history of significant mechanical engineering innovations, documented the engineers involved, and otherwise sought to promote the history of the profession. ASME formalized this effort in 1971 with the creation of the Society’s History and Heritage Committee. The Committee celebrates its 50th year of service in 2021. This book—Chronicles of Mechanical Engineering—is part of that celebration. Chronicles is a collection of articles relating to the history of mechanical engineering that have appeared in the Society’s flagship magazine, Mechanical Engineering (ME), during those fifty years. ME was first published in 1919 and is widely read by mechanical engineers throughout the world.

ARTICLE SELECTION One of the leading contributors of historical articles to ME over the past fifty years was Fritz Hirschfeld. In preparation for the United States’ bicentennial year in 1976, the editors of Mechanical Engineering contracted with engineer-historian Hirschfeld for a series of articles on the county’s early engineering history. Just a few years later, as the Society was nearing its centennial in 1880, the editors again turned to Hirschfeld and asked him to write a series of articles about the founding of ASME and important early mechanical engineers. Hirschfeld’s articles, collected here, provide the foundation for the early portion of this volume. Building upon Hirschfeld’s foundation, we selected a wide assortment of other articles about aspects of mechanical engineering history in the United States from the Revolutionary War until recent times. We largely limited our selections to those articles published in Mechanical Engineering magazine during the last fifty years (i.e., 1971-2021). Even for this period, the volume does not include all such articles due to limitations in length and editorial judgments. For instance, some articles duplicated coverage of specific events or innovations. In such cases we picked what we deemed the best, or most comprehensive of overlapping articles. We also decided to focus this volume on the history of mechanical engineering in America. We thus excluded articles on historical developments largely occurring outside the United States. At some future time, we may “harvest” both pre-1971 ME articles and unselected post-1971 articles, as well as articles focusing on non-American mechanical engineering achievements, for a separate collection or collections. Of the more than seventy articles collected in this volume, well over ninety per cent were drawn from issues of ME published during the past fifty years. Five pieces, however, were drawn from outside that chronological limit or from other sources. We have, for example, included a 1933 biographical article from ME about American engineer George H. Corliss. Corliss’s innovations in the design and manufacture of steam engines and related devices helped establish the United States as a major player in the manufacture of prime movers. Corliss was considered by his contemporaries to be such a significant figure in mechanical engineering circles in the United States that we elected to include him. He was, after all, asked to serve as the first president of ASME—an offer which he declined. A second exception is

￨ xi another biographical article, one on Edwin Reynolds, a significant steam engine designer. It was authored by Thomas Fehring, one of the editors of this volume. Reynolds worked for a time for the Corliss Steam Engine Company, as did other notable American engineers such as Erasmus Darwin Leavitt (second president of ASME) and Alexander L. Holley (one of the founders of the Society), before moving to Allis-Chalmers. Reynolds made significant improvements in steam engine design. He was president of ASME in 1902-03, and three of his steam engines have been designated as Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks by the Society. Two other non-ME selections provide the “Introduction” to this volume. Key to this introduction is an overview of ASME’s efforts in publishing historical materials prior to 1974—"A Sense of the Past”— authored in 1975 by Eugene S. Ferguson as a free-standing essay. It appeared on asme.org for many years and was also reprinted in Richard S. Hartenburg’s National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks (New York: ASME, 1979). To outline ASME’s efforts to promote history after 1974, the editors of this Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ebooks/book/chapter-pdf/6715821/356056_fm.pdf by guest on 05 August 2021 volume authored an update to Ferguson’s piece, providing the second half of the “Introduction.” Finally, the leadoff article in Chapter 5 (“Energy Conversion”) was authored by editor Fehring. With these five exceptions, all of the articles in this volume originate from the pages of Mechanical Engineering between 1971 and 2021. Thus, Chronicles largely depends on the materials available to us from ME. While we were surprised by the volume of historical material we found, we must also acknowledge the shortcomings. For example, certain areas of mechanical engineering have not been blessed by historical articles in Mechanical Engineering, so gaps proved unavoidable. For instance, we failed to discover, within the chronological limits we adopted, a good account of mechanical engineering’s contributions to the evolution of railroad locomotion after the beginnings of that technology.

AUDIENCE Besides commemorating the History and Heritage Committee’s 50th anniversary, our primary intention in compiling this work was to provide a readily accessible collection of historical articles from ME that would contribute to making mechanical engineers more aware of the history of their profession and make the general public more aware of the contributions of mechanical engineering to American history. We know that professional historians of technology may be put off by the lack of scholarly apparatus (reference notes, bibliography) in the articles and because the research behind them was, for the most part, not based on original source material. We acknowledge that the pieces assembled here do not present a comprehensive picture of the history of mechanical engineering. They present episodes in that history, rather than a complete picture. We recognize that the articles are generally not critical and that they focus primarily on engineering successes rather than failures. We also recognize that professional historians are likely to react negatively to the sense of technological optimism exhibited by the articles’ authors. American comedian, and former late-night television host and now collector of automobiles, Jay Leno recently stated “I’m a hopeless optimist. I believe engineers will save the world. Look at how engineers have developed cars over the past 50 years. When I came to LA in the ‘70s, you couldn’t go outside more than 100 days a year because of the smog. Now, we have at least ten times as many cars on the road, or so it seems, and while the air is not perfect, it is remarkably cleaner. I think we’re moving in the right direction.”a Leno’s optimism is generally shared by engineers and is reflected in many of the articles in this collection. Readers may also note that the stories chronicled throughout this book largely ignore scientific theory and, instead, focus on innovations that made it into production, providing useful products for humanity. Determining the first individual who thought of a truly novel innovation is often difficult. Many times, several individuals almost simultaneously come up with the same idea. Often these thoughts go nowhere.

a “Jay Leno on “How Driving Changed in 2020—and How It Will Change Even More,” The Wall Street Journal, December 17, 2020. xii ￨ Our focus, and that usually taken by historical contributors to Mechanical Engineering, has been on achievements that have resulted in useful products. We are reminded of a quote attributed to Charles Townes, who won the Nobel Prize for the physics behind the laser in 1964. He was fond of telling the story of a beaver and a rabbit looking up at the Hoover Dam: “No, I didn’t build it myself,” says the beaver, “but it’s based on an idea of mine.” While we have nothing against the beavers of this world, both we and most of the historical contributors to ME over the past half century have preferred to emphasize the accomplishments of those that have created actual machines and practical innovations. While our primary intended audience is mechanical engineers and the educated public, we nonetheless hope that historians of technology may find some value in this compilation.

EDITORIAL ISSUES Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ebooks/book/chapter-pdf/6715821/356056_fm.pdf by guest on 05 August 2021 The text of the articles in this collection is generally identical to what was originally published, optically scanned and proofed. But readers should be aware of the circumstances which prevented us from printing the articles here exactly as they were published. Articles in Mechanical Engineering are usually superbly laid out and very well illustrated. However, many of the illustrations were authorized by copyright holders for single-use only. They could not be used in a collection like this one. In other cases, the original illustrations had inadequate resolution. Because of these limitations, the editors have substituted relevant photographs and illustrations that were in the public domain or that were ‘owned’ by ASME or by the editors of this volume, or for which we secured permission for this publication. We made substantial use of images available in the Creative Commons (most of which are posted on Wikimedia Commons), the Library of Congress, and other such public domain sources. In some cases, the original article made reference to events that occurred at or near the time an article was written, or reference the date of original publication. For instance, an article written in 2007 might say: “Two years ago … .” Because this was potentially confusing to a reader of this collection, the editors made minor editorial changes to avoid confusion. In the example cited, the editors would have added “[In 2005]” to the original, the brackets indicating an addition by the editors. And we would have removed “Two years ago” and added an ellipsis (three dots, i.e., “…”) to indicate the spot where a deletion was made from the original. We have followed these conventions wherever we altered the original text. Occasionally, we corrected an obvious printing error, but otherwise we have avoided changes. Readers should also be aware that the articles included in this volume were published at widely varying intervals over the last fifty years (or more); as a result, inconsistencies exist between articles in style and formatting. Finally, we would like to acknowledge Steven Walton, Ph.D., of Michigan Tech and Lee Langston, Ph.D., of the University of Connecticut for their assistance in securing scans of articles and photograph permissions, and Richard Pawliger, P.E., former chair of the History and Heritage Committee, for his work in reviewing the editors’ update to “A Sense of the Past.” And we also thank the editorial staff of Mechanical Engineering for their work over the years in preparing the materials which we have drawn on so heavily for this volume.

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FOREWORD

Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ebooks/book/chapter-pdf/6715821/356056_fm.pdf by guest on 05 August 2021 I recently had the good fortune of representing the Society at a ceremony to designate the Westinghouse air brake as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. I had been aware of ASME’s landmark program for decades—the Society has designated over 270 landmarks over the last fifty years—but this was my first personal involvement at a designation ceremony. It was an honor as President-elect to represent ASME. George Westinghouse’s invention of the air brake has saved numerous lives. It is an excellent example of ASME’s contribution to improving safety and achieving its mission: “advance engineering for the benefit of humanity.” This book documents many examples of such contributions. This book is another way ASME’s history and heritage committee works to preserve the mechanical engineering profession’s heritage. This particular work recounts episodes in the history of mechanical engineering in the United States through articles that have been published in the Society’s flagship magazine—Mechanical Engineering. As you’ll note from these articles, the magazine is a rich repository of engineering history. The articles have been carefully curated by two members of the history and heritage committee: Thomas Fehring and Terry Reynolds. Tom is an engineer-historian, having worked in the electric power industry for over 40 years. He has written a number of books about the history of technology in the Milwaukee area, including The Magnificent Machines of Milwaukee and When Milwaukee Went to War. Terry is past chair of the Department of Social Sciences at Michigan Technological University, past president of the Society for the History of Technology, and former book review editor for IA: Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology. He has authored or edited eight books dealing with aspects of the history of technology, including Stronger Than a Hundred Men: A History of the Vertical Water Wheel and Iron Will: Cleveland-Cliffs and the Mining of Iron Ore. One of the central duties of any professional society is recognition of the accomplishments of its practitioners, both in the present, through ASME’s annual awards, and in the past, through the efforts of ASME’s History and Heritage Committee. ASME’s Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark program, as well as initiatives like this volume, are evidence that ASME takes seriously its professional responsibility to recognize the accomplishments of its past practitioners and, indeed, to acknowledge that the present

￨ xv generation of mechanical engineers has been able to accomplish what it has only by standing on the shoulders of those mechanical engineers who have gone before us.

Bryan Erler

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Bryan A. Erler, P.E. ASME’s 139th President (2020-2021)

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