Great Inventors of New York's Capital District

by Starr, Timothy

• ISBN13: 9781596291713
• ISBN10: 1596291710
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-28
• Publisher: History Pr

Summary

For more than a century, New York's Capital District was one of the most industrialized regions in America. Adding to the growth and fame of Capital District engineering were hundreds of gifted inventors, without whom some industries would never have been established. Based on the strength of milestone inventions, Troy became known as the Collar City, Cohoes as Spindle City and Schenectady as the City that Lights the World. Other inventors established businesses to manufacture valves, fire engines, billiard balls, horseshoes and farming equipment, to name just a few. Great Inventors of New York's Capital District describes the lives and accomplishments of dozens of inventors. Some of their stories are well known; others, which are being published here for the first time, were groundbreaking and no less important to the evolution of technology in America.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. 7
Introduction	p. 9
Working the Land	p. 15
Perpetual Hay Press	p. 16
Bolt Harness Snap	p. 18
Potato Planters and Diggers	p. 20
Wire Straightener	p. 22
Agricultural Machines	p. 24
Farm Machinery and Perforated Paper	p. 26
Hauling the World	p. 29
Horse-Powered Ferry	p. 31
Locomotive Superheater	p. 33
Compound Engine	p. 35
Car Heating Systems	p. 38
Railroad Air Brake	p. 40
Heating the World	p. 45
Anthracite Coal Stove	p. 46
The Rathbone Family	p. 49
Morning Glory and West Shore Range Stoves	p. 51
The Stewart Stove	p. 54
Lighting the World	p. 58
Electromagnet	p. 60
Alternating Current	p. 63
High-Frequency Alternator	p. 66
Ductile Tungsten	p. 69
Electric Turbines for Warships	p. 73
Incandescent Light Bulbs	p. 75
Fire and Water	p. 78
Hand and Steam Fire Engines	p. 79
Mohawk Hydrant and Eddy Valve	p. 82
Straight-Way Slide-Stop Valve	p. 84
The Knibbs Run Around	p. 87
Men of Steel	p. 90
Iron and Steel Manufacture	p. 92
Horseshoe Machine	p. 95
Armor Plating	p. 99
Steam Trap	p. 104
The Collar City	p. 107
Preshrinking Cotton Fabrics	p. 108
Shirts and Collars	p. 112
Collar and Cuff Machines	p. 113
Ironing Machines	p. 117
The Spindle City	p. 120
Power Knitting Loom	p. 121
Winding Bobbin Machine	p. 125
Knitting Burr	p. 127
Upright Rotary Knitting Machine	p. 129
Arts and Entertainment	p. 132
Celluloid for Billiard Balls	p. 134
Piano Attachment	p. 139
Sound Machines	p. 141
The Meneely Family: Bells and Bell Fixtures	p. 144
The Schenectady Putter	p. 147
Contents by Town	p. 151
Bibliography	p. 155
About the Author	p. 159
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