Fairman Rogers

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Fairman Rogers, in the second half of the 19th century

Fairman Rogers (born November 15, 1833 in Philadelphia , † August 22, 1900 in Vienna ) was a professor of civil engineering, trustee of the University of Pennsylvania , horse expert, charter member of the National Academy of Sciences and chairman of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts . His knowledge of horses, the promotion of art and an interest in serial photography come together in the painting The Fairman Rogers Four-in-Hand .

Life

Rogers was the son of iron merchant Evans Rogers and his wife Caroline Augusta, a daughter of inventor Gideon Fairman . During his school days he was given the task of demonstrating the function of the telegraph in front of his classmates.

In 1849 he was accepted into the college department of the University of Pennsylvania. From 1853 he worked as an engineer, in January 1856 he married Rebecca H. Gilpin and in 1857 he was a professor at the Franklin Institute and at the University of Pennsylvania. In his work on roads and bridges, 1861, he compared the expansion of the railroad with the poor state of the roads in America. That year he was also involved in exploring the Potomac River for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey and served in the Civil War as an engineer corps officer. In 1863 Rogers was one of the 50 founding members of the National Academy of Sciences . As part of the academy he was commissioned with a study of the compass in iron ships.

Thomas Eakins: The Fairman Rogers Four-in-Hand , around 1879; The painting shows Rogers on the lines of his four-in-hand horse

In 1871 Rogers switched from professor to that of trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1881 his interests turned away from the university and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts . He became Chairman of Education at the Academy and under his leadership it was completely reorganized. He also wrote an article on horsemanship , the art of handling horses. He saw it as an art, but to a certain extent it can be scientified. He adopted the system from François Baucher, which required gentleness and patience in dealing with horses. Therefore, he spoke out against violence.

Rogers is said to have been the first owner of a typewriter and a four-in-hand in Philadelphia. He was also the founder of the Philadelphia Coaching Club .

When Eadweard Muybridge came to Philadelphia and was commissioned to take large-scale series photography, Rogers and Thomas Eakins sat on the committee that oversaw Muybridge's work. At the same time, Rogers, as chairman of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, was the superior of Professor Eakins, who also took serial photographs himself. In 1879, Rogers commissioned Eakins to paint a painting for him. Known by the two names A May Morning in the Park and The Fairman Rogers Four-in-Hand, this painting shows Rogers at the reins of his four -in-hand horse in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. For the first time in history, this painting showed anatomically correct leg positions of horses in motion, a direct result of Rogers 'and Eakins' shared interest in serial photography.

Rogers was a co-founder of the Union League , as well as a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers , the American Philosophical Society, and various riding and hunting clubs. Another publication by Rogers deals with the Difference Engine by George Barnard Grant, which was later exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition .

Rogers' last publication in Europe was the Manual of Coaching , a rule book on all aspects of horse-drawn carriage. Correct turning and the question of the center of gravity of the carriage are among the many points dealt with. The book was richly illustrated and also contained a black and white reproduction of the Eakins painting The Fairman Rogers Four-in-Hand .

The University of Pennsylvania maintains a Fairman Rogers collection with many works from equine science and engineering. Rogers is still known today for his Manual of Coaching , and even more so for the painting The Fairman Rogers Four-in-Hand .

Publications

  • On Roads and Bridges , Washington, 1861–1862, two editions
  • Horsemanship etc. , in: US Service Magazine, 1st year 1864
  • The Magnetism of Iron Vessels, with a Short Treatise on Terrestrial Magnetism . D. Van Nostrand, New York 1877, 2nd edition 1883
  • A Manual of Coaching , JB Lippincott Company, Philadelphia 1900, 8 editions (London 1900 edition: digitized , 1901 Philadelphia edition: digitized )

literature

  • Horace H. Furness: FR 1833-1900 . Private print, Philadelphia 1903 ( digitized )
  • Edgard F. Smith: Biographical Memoir of Fairman Rogers. 1833-1900. Read before the National Academy of Science. November 22, 1906 ( digitized at Google Booksearch , digitized as PDF )
  • Gordon Hendricks : A May Morning in the Park . In: Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin, ISSN  0899-059X , Vol. 60, No. 285 (Spring 1965), pp. 49-64
  • Claire Gilbride Fox: The Fairman Rogers collection on the horse and equitation. A history and guide . College of Physicians, Philadelphia 1975

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ^ A b Edgar F. Smith, Biographical Memoir of Fairman Rogers , 1906
  2. ↑ Guide to the Fairman Rogers Papers
  3. ^ Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine ( September 11, 2008 memento in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Rogers, Fairman
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American civil engineer, horse expert, art manager
DATE OF BIRTH November 15, 1833
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia
DATE OF DEATH 22nd August 1900
Place of death Vienna