Great Engineers & Scientists

Today is the birthday of Raymond Loewy, father of the field of industrial design. Born in France on November 5, 1893, Loewy is known as "the man who shaped America" because of his many iconic designs. His achievements include the S-1 locomotive, the Studebaker Avanti, and NASA's Skylab.

Early Life

Raymond Loewy was already a business owner and aeronautics inventor by the age of fifteen. His life and career, however, were upended by World War I. Burned by mustard gas, this corporal in the French Corps of Engineers earned seven medals and four citations. He was also awarded the distinguished Legion of Honor, established as the highest decoration in France by Napoleon Bonaparte.

The end of the war did not mean the end of Raymond Loewy's hardships, however. Tragically, the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 claimed the lives of both of his parents (the war had already claimed most of their estate.) Penniless, Loewy managed to finish school at École Centrale, France's prestigious technological institute, at the age of 26.

We're Coming to America

In the fall of 1919, Raymond Loewy decided to follow his two brothers to New York City. He arrived with $40, some letters of introduction, and little knowledge of the English language. Despite this humble beginning to life in the United States, Loewy landed a job as a fashion illustrator with Vogue magazine, a post he held for ten years until intellectual boredom led him to advertise his own engineering design philosophy - that a better designed product would outsell a product that was equal in price, quality, and function. In 1929, British manufacturer Sigmund Gestetner found one of the cards that Loewy handed out to advertise his services.

The Beginnings of a New Engineering Discipline

A maker of duplicating machines, Gestetner hired Loewy to redesign one in three days before taking a trip to his native England. Gestetner was so impressed with the clay model that Loewy designed that he paid a $2,000 fee. By 1931, Raymond Loewy had signed a lucrative deal to design the 1934 Hupmobile. Some in the company didn't approve of Loewy's innovative designs, however, and the business eventually went under.

Next, Loewy offered his services to the Pennsylvania Railroad, offering to redesign their locomotives. But first he had to prove his mettle to the company president by redesigning the trash containers in New York City's Pennsylvania Station. After impressing the executive with his trashcan designs, Loewy designed a new diesel locomotive (the S-1) that literally changed the face of American railroading.

Later, Raymond Loewy opened a Fifth Avenue office and added clientele from all over the world, including Sears and Roebuck. Wisely, the Chicago-based retailer awarded Loewy the contract to redesign, both from a style and functionality standpoint, the 1934 Coldspot refrigerator. This resulted in unprecedented consumer demand.

Pairing with Studebaker Automobile Company

In 1937, Raymond Loewy began what would be a fifteen year association with Studebaker. Although World War II nearly halted consumer automobile production in the U.S., Loewy's sleek designs helped inspire the automotive craze of the post-war period. The most famous of his designs was the Studebaker Avanti, which inspired an entirely new style of performance car. Financial problems, however, kept Studebaker from realizing the vehicle's full sales potential. Although rights to the Avanti design were bought and sold often, vehicles that resembled Loewy's design were still produced until 2007.

Reflecting on His Achievements

When Raymond Loewy decided to retire at the age of 87, he could reflect upon a career where he had presided over offices in New York City, Chicago, South Bend, Los Angeles, London, and Paris. His studios designed "all modes of transportation, department stores, supermarkets, corporate and brand identity, packages, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Skylab".

The first advocate for the field now known as industrial design, Loewy convinced manufacturers that beauty and simplicity meant higher sales. He also trained more than 2,000 industrial designers and brought them into this new discipline. Fittingly, Raymond Loewy was paid tribute by the Smithsonian in 1975 when the museum ran a retrospective exhibit of his work.

Raymond Loewy died from natural causes on July 14, 1986 at the age of 92.

Resources:

"Raymond Fernand Loewy."The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume 2: 1986-1990. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Influenza

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studebaker_Avanti

http://www.avantimotors.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Loewy

Today is the birthday of Asaph Hall, a post-Civil War astronomer who is best-known for his discoveries of Phobos and Deimos, the two tiny moons of Mars. Phobos and Deimos are non-spherical bodies, measuring only 16 x 12 miles and 10 x 6 miles, respectively.

Given Asaph Hall's incomplete education, his Martian discoveries were a considerable accomplishment. Hall is also remembered for naming a-six mile wide crater on Phobos after his first wife, Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, a mathematician who had once been Asaph Hall's professor.

We Don't Need No Education

Ideally, this track would have come from Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon instead of The Wall, but "We Don't Need No Education" still works here. One of the most remarkable aspects of Asaph Hall's career is his lack of education.

Apprenticed to a carpenter at age 16, he split his time between working and studying at a variety of schools as a non-matriculated student. Hall studied mathematics at Norfolk Academy for one winter, spent 18 months at Central College studying astronomy, and then studied for three months at the University of Michigan under the special instruction of F. F. E. Brünnow. After a short stint as a schoolmaster in Ohio, Hall was able to secure a position at the Harvard Observatory.

Making the Most of an Opportunity

Asaph Hall used his opportunity to work at the Harvard Observatory as a chance to attend lectures and, informally at least, to complete his education. His reputed brilliance as a heavenly observer was immediate. He began sending papers, most often on the orbits of asteroids and comments, to scientific journals in 1856. By the time of his death some 51 years later, Hall had nearly 500 published papers.

In 1862, Asaph Hall was appointed an aide at the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) in Washington, D.C. A year later, he was named to a position as a mathematics instructor. Promoted to chief of the USNO in 1872, he discovered the existence of Mars's two moons in 1877. Asaph Hall's discovery contradicted many established scientific works which claimed that the red planet was without satellites.

Recognition and Later Life

Asaph Hall received numerous awards and recognitions, both nationally and internationally, for his work. Given his disdain for textbooks, perhaps from a lack of formal education, he refused to write a book and concentrated on his scientific papers instead.

After retiring from the Naval Observatory in 1891, Hall accepted a position teaching and working in astronomy at Harvard. Eleven years later, in 1902, he was elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Asaph Hall published his final paper in September of 1906. He died a year later, on November 22, 1907, at the age of 78.

Resources:

"Asaph Hall." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

"Asaph Hall."Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

http://www.ozgate.com/infobytes/mars_moons.htm

http://maia.usno.navy.mil/women_history/hall.html

Today marks the birthday of the father of refrigeration and air conditioning, John Gorrie. In fact, much of today's freezer and ice production machinery is based on the basic principles designed by Gorrie way back in the mid-nineteenth century.

Becoming a Man of Medicine

Many of Gorrie's records and personal papers of were destroyed in 1860 during the turmoil of the United States' Civil War, but what we do know is this: Gorrie's inventive flare and humanitarian efforts helped stop a deadly disease, as well as provide a better way of living for those suffering in hot climates. Gorrie, a South Carolina native, enrolled in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Western District of the State of New York in 1825. It was there that he excelled as a physician and launched his career into medicine.

After moving his family to the bustling Gulf Coast city of Apalachicola, Florida, which at the time was the third largest port in the eastern seaboard, Gorrie took on a number of civic duties in addition to the relatively low-paying job of practicing medicine. This changed, however, as quickly as a coastal breeze.

Desperate Measures

In addition to becoming the inventor of the original ice machine, Gorrie is best known for his study of tropical diseases. In fact, Gorrie's early efforts aimed to thwart a disease that still takes the lives of more than one million people each year. As the old adage goes, necessity is the mother of invention; this saying rang true for John Gorrie when the muggy heat and humidity of Florida spurred an outbreak of malaria and yellow fever that hit the Gulf of Mexico by 1841.

The word malaria literary translates as "bad air" in Italian, and while scientists at the time originally thought the cause of the disease was spoiled vegetation, it was later determined that mosquitoes were the source of its transmission. Fortunately, Gorrie's proactive efforts paid-off from doing two things: first by informing his community of the importance of eliminating low-lying waters where mosquitoes bred; and, more importantly, he developed ways to control his patients' body temperatures by decreasing temperature and humidity levels in his hospital rooms.

Ice, Ice Baby

The often stifling heat in the southeastern corner of the United States wasn't any cooler during Gorrie's time in history than it is now, and the presence of ice was a rare treat. In fact, ice delivery service at the time meant that it was basically harvested from frozen waters in the north, stored in underground icehouses, packed in sawdust, and eventually shipped south to hot areas like Florida.

Between 1838 and 1845 Gorrie began researching methods by which he was able to compress air in a chamber in order to produce an artificial chill. The air, when compressed and released to expand rapidly, caused it to absorb the surrounding heat and form water within the chamber. This compressed air, in turn, drew so much heat away from the water that the water temperature dropped below freezing and produced ice. Violà! The world's first ice maker!

A Penniless Patent

After leaving the field of medicine to pursue and further study his cold air creations, Gorrie was granted U.S. Patent No. 8080 for his ice machine on May 6^th, 1851. Despite the obvious advantages that such a machine offered society at the time, many powerful figures from the northern ice making industry considered this new invention a serious financial threat. Fearing a profit loss, these powerful players effectively lobbied against Gorrie, who could not find sufficient financial backing in order to advance his prototype.

Sadly, before his death on June 16^th, 1855, Gorrie never actually earned a profit from his invention, nor did he even gain recognition for providing history with a means of refrigeration that would become widely utilized in the coming century.

References:
"John Gorrie." Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. 21. Gale Group, 2001. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

UNICEF's World Malaria Report: http://www.rollbackmalaria.org/wmr2005/

Today is the birthday of Isaac Babbitt, a self-taught metallurgist who is best-known for creating the Babbitt alloy, which is used extensively in a variety of engine bearings, most often as the bearing surface. Babbitt alloys are characterized most notably by their resistance to gall, or failure mode.

A Self-Made Man

Isaac Babbitt was born on July 26, 1799 in Taunton, Massachusetts. He produced notable achievements in the field of metallurgy, particularly with gold and britannia, before creating the mainly tin alloy called the Babbitt alloy. Although the American inventor had very little formal schooling, he reached the status of full-fledged goldsmith by age 24.

Originally a jewelry-maker, Babbitt saw a potential future in britannia, a popular alloy metal which was very similar to pewter. After successful experiments with creating and casting the britannia alloy, Isaac Babbitt went into business with William Crossman. Together, they competed with imported britannia and manufactured cups, inkstands, and shaving boxes. Though able to hold their own for a few years, the pair eventually sold their company to apprentices Henry G. Reed and Charles Barton, who renamed the business Reed & Barton, Inc. and made silverware with great success.

South Boston's Iron Works: A Foundry of Ideas

After moving on from his first major venture, in 1834, Isaac Babbitt took up employment as superintendent of Alger's Foundry and Ordnance Works, where he successfully made the first brass cannon ever cast in the United States. Five year's later, on July 17, 1839, Babbitt was granted a patent (U.S. No. 1252) for a journal box with a new metal alloy that he created in hope of keeping the journal in solid condition with little or no attrition. At the time, this alloy was made up of fifty parts tin, five parts antimony, and one part copper.

Bearing Fruit in an Unplanned Way

Babbitt thought this metal might make a good surface for an axle, but it turned out that his alloy was also an excellent choice for many types of bearings. Most historians, however, believe that Isaac Babbitt didn't know this when he invented the metal that would became known as the Babbitt Alloy. But the U.S. Navy found Babbitt's alloy to be very useful in its development of engine-based ships and purchased the rights to usage of the Babbitt Alloy for $20,000 (USD) in 1842. Still, Isaac Babbitt never had a hand in the use of his invention as a bearing material.

Later Years of an Overworked Genius

Isaac Babbitt's life was one of difficulty and struggle. His first wife, Sally Leonard, bore him five children, but all died in infancy. Sally followed them after nine years of marriage. His second wife, Eliza Barney, bore him three daughters and a son. He eventually left the field of metal to join a relative in the manufacture of soap. But years of overwork in factories and foundries, and the great straining of his intellect in the field of metallurgy, took its toll on the aging Babbitt. Eventually, the self-made inventor was committed to the McLean Asylum in Somerville, Massachusetts, where he died in 1862 at the age of 63.

Resources:

http://www.wheelsofitaly.com/wiki/index.php/Babbitt_metal

"Isaac Babbitt." Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

Today is the birthday of Alberto Santos-Dumont, one of the most influential (as well as controversial) aviation pioneers. He was born on July 20, 1873 in Brazil.

Getting Things off the Ground

Alberto Santos-Dumont was the first man to successfully combine an internal combustion engine with a ballooning apparatus. The aviator was also long-believed to be the first to fly a heavier-than-air motorized plane. After the unfortunate passing of his father, a wealthy engineer and entrepreneur involved with the Brazilian coffee industry, Santos-Dumont's career soared. His unconventional methods of achieving flight got off the ground, however, only after he studied chemistry, physics, astronomy, and mechanics in Paris.

It was in 1898 that Santos-Dumont left the ground in his first balloon. The round and unusually small craft called Brésil (Brazil) was actually capable of lifting over 114 lbs. His second balloon, America, had 500 cubic meters of capacity. Faced with competition from 12 other balloons, Santos-Dumont's America reached the highest altitude and remained in the air for 22 hours.

Time Will Tell

Between 1898 and 1905, Alberto Santos-Dumont built and flew 11 dirigibles and combined the use of his lighter-than-air aircraft's piston-powered engines with hydrogen. He won the Deutsch Prize, which was granted by oil tycoon Deustch de la Merthe, when for the first time in the history, a dirigible soared around the Eiffel tower on October 19, 1901. This achievement garnered Santos-Dumont a prize of 100,000 francs, and well-deserved acclaim for building the first airship to complete a specified circuit around the Eiffel Tower and back within a half-hour.

Aside from aeronautics, Santos-Dumont's name is stamped in time, quiet literally, as his old friend Louis Cartier was able to transform a gift to the aviator into a common male fashion accessory: the wrist watch. As an alternative to the pocket watch, which allowed one to tell time but was not hands-free, the Santos wrist watch was a timekeeper of great precision that allowed the aviator to clock his experiments. Although the wrist watch had been invented much earlier, the Santos-Dumont watch helped to popularize this style of timepiece.

According to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Alberto Santos-Dumont also visited the United States in 1904 and was invited to the White House to meet President Theodore Roosevelt, who was supposedly interested in the marriage of aviation and warfare. Santos-Dumont and the Wright brothers never actually met, however, even though both names were often spoken in the same breath later on.

The First in Flight Controversy

To this day, many researchers, historians and aviation enthusiasts argue that Orville and Wilbur Wright were not the first to fly for various technical reasons. These critics start with the fact that the Wright aircraft used a ramp to accelerate and thus did not take-off with its own power. Many also argue that because the Wright Brothers did not fly a predetermined distance before an independent panel of experts, their efforts cannot qualify as standardized for scientific practice.

Nevertheless, the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission argues that on December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers completed the world's first successful, powered, heavier-than-air flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina by achieving a 12-second, 120-foot journey. As far as the world knew, however, Santos-Dumont's held the "first in flight" title, a claim which made the Brazilian aviator a hero to the world press. Stories about the Wright Brothers' flights in the United States were not recognized or publicized at the time.

Ascension, Descent, and Legacy

The Brazilian aviation pioneer continued with his experiments, building other dirigible balloons, including the Demoiselle, the design of which was the aircraft built by Alberto Santos-Dumont. The Demoiselle's drawings were released for free.

Alberto Santos-Dumont retired from his aeronautical activities in 1910 and became seriously ill with what researchers believe was the onset of multiple sclerosis. At the time, he was also suffering from a serious bout of depression that some say was caused by the use of airplanes as weapons of war. This mental and physical descent ended after Santos-Dumont took his own life in the city of Guarujá in São Paulo on July 23, 1932.

Resources:

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=432

The Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/14/1071336816574.html?from=storyrhs

U.S. Centennial of Flight commission: http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/Santos-Dumont/DI41.htm