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Inventors Who Invented Themselves
by Jeanette Cain
Eighteenth century America was living 100 years behind life in Europe, but it was the time of material advancement for the North American continent. France, which had skilled machinists, as well as England, used networking of barge canals for trade and industry. The French were so skilled and ingenious that many so-called "genius toys" were brought to life. These included a chess-playing machine, tiny and intricate working musical boxes and watches. The toys that were created came from the minds of those behind the creation of the first silk looms.
Newcomen designed and created steam engines in England. These engines pumped the water from coal mines that were opened with the removal of English forest lands. With this increase in coal production came an increase in the production of English iron. England had started the adoption of a factory system by the beginning of the American Revolution. With this increase, the English economy accelerated rapidly, therefore the loss of its American colonies was of little consequence.
During these glory days, inventors were no longer considered lunatics since their inventions found their place in society. Any inventor able to prove that his invention was of immediate and serviceable use became a respected member of the community. This was the beginning for the change in the word engineering. At one time it was associated only with the military, that is, men who erected and worked the engines of war, such as the catapult. But, eighteenth century England granted a new and honorable meaning to the word engineer.
An engineer was not considered a learned professional; he was a skilled craftsman. Only later would it be expanded to include mechanical engineering. Books had been written on the mathematical aspects of machinery, but it was called mechanical philosophy. Any man who was an inventor and then built that invention was called a mechanic. One man whose inventions made him not only rich but respected was Joseph Bramah. Bramah was one of the greatest machine and tool designers of all time. Working in his shops were the apprentices that would expand nineteenth century mechanical science.
America was in a different situation. Americans were more concerned with a political revolution and they were near-sighted to agriculture, road building, travel and mechanical appliances. Tools were created to repair existing tools, or to make an already familiar tool even more profitable. Any man attempting to create something never seen or used before was considered a lunatic. Americans were trailing in the industrial world by hanging on to this lack of vision.
America lacked the networking of canals and highways that were in use in Europe, since few mechanics were available. In 1805 Robert Fulton returned to America hoping to build a clockwork torpedo that had greatly interested the French and British. Only one mechanic, Henry Frasse, a Frenchman barely able to speak English, was able to read and to understand Fulton's plans.
The colonies had an attitude of apathy toward mechanical devices. When the first and only steam engine had been created and built, few people had heard of its existent. Even after seventeen years in existence, the steam engine was not known to anyone within a distant of two days walking from the engine's original location. In 1753, in the Schuyler copper mines, the engine had been set up, and Oliver Evans was born two years later. Evans became known as the James Watt of America. Evans was interested in using the idea of steam to drive a piston, but was unaware that this had already been invented, only fifty miles away from his home.
Men were often ignored and overlooked whose interest was in the area of engineering. Many talents and bright ideas were lost to the world during this time. Work was not offered to these men, and as a result many let go of their dreams to feed their families. Those pioneering inventors who kept to their dreams eventually became respected and profitable members of their societies. Patents had been allowed for in the first Article of the Constitution, but most often these were shoddy affairs, not only in government, but in the populous who considered patents an infringement on the right to general knowledge. Most considered this a monopoly, keeping one man from using another man's idea was to deny the right of usage. In the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, monopoly was considered a bad thing.
Many ideas were tried for working out payment schedules on inventions, but most ended up in court resulting in delayed action. Those men venturing to change the mood of Americans to a sense of pride during this time did so at a high price to their own pride and self-esteem, and their pocketbooks. But with courage and perseverance, these men used their talents and achievement to fulfill not only their dreams, but their pocketbooks, and a service to all Americans.
Source:
1. Wilson, Mitchell. American Science and Invention: A Pictorial History. Bonanza Books: New York. 1954
Further Study:
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Society of Women Engineers
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