Jacob Perkins
Jacob Perkins (born July 9, 1766 in Newburyport , Province of Massachusetts Bay , † July 30, 1849 in London ) was an American mechanical engineer and inventor.
He became a goldsmith and made some useful inventions. In 1813 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . He lived in Boston and New York for a while and moved to Philadelphia in 1814. In 1819 he went to England, developed copper engraving for steel engraving, invented a new press and the moletting process known as siderography (duplicating a steel engraving plate , for example for stamp production). He entered into a partnership with the English engraver Heath.
He built an experimental high-pressure steam engine with up to 2000 bar, which was not yet practical at the time. In 1827 he was the first to work with the direct current steam engine .
He examined the compressibility of water and measured it with piezometers he invented .
After a legal dispute, he had to close his machine factory in 1829/30. In 1823 he had received patent no. 4792 for a steam heater , which was socially acceptable for a short time. In 1831 he invented the less problematic hot water heating. He then partnered with his second son, with whom he developed and installed central heating systems.
In 1832 he founded the National Gallery of Practical Science ( Adelaide Gallery ) on Adelaid Street, West Strand .
In 1834 he built a cooling device that cooled by pumping ether into cooling coil systems. This was used on ships. Aether had the disadvantage that it tended to explode in connection with air. This principle was further developed by the Scotsman John Gorrie .
Perkins married Hannah Greenleaf on November 11, 1790, and they had two sons and seven daughters. His son Angier March Perkins (1799-1881) and his grandson Loftus Perkins (1834-1891) were engineers.
Individual evidence
Web links
- Entry in the real dictionary
- Baker Perkins Historical Society: The origin of the founders of Baker Perkins (English)
- Article by / about Jacob Perkins in the Polytechnic Journal
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Perkins, Jacob |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American mechanical engineer and inventor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 9, 1766 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Newburyport , Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 30, 1849 |
| Place of death | London |