Great Engineers & Scientists

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