] Angier March Perkins (21 August 1799 – 22 April 1881) was an American engineer who worked most of his career in the United Kingdom and was instrumental in developing the new technologies of central heating.

Life

Perkins was born in Old Newburyport, Massachusetts, the second son of six children of Jacob Perkins and his wife, Hannah, ''née'' Greenleaf. His name came from that of his father's brother in-law and close friend Angier March. Jacob Perkins travelled to the UK in 1819 in order to exploit his

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printing inventions and Angier March followed in 1821 to join his father in the printing business.McConnell (2004) Angier March eventually took charge of his father's business but in 1828 launched his own heating and steam engineering enterprise. He married Julia Georgina Brown in 1831 and in the same year filed the first of his patents for heating equipment. His first steam heating system was installed in 1832 in the home of Governor of the Bank of England John Horley Palmer so that the owner could grow grapes. He also installed heating systems in commercial premises. Angier March's business prospered and he moved to larger premises, sharing an office with his father who, though still inventive, enjoyed less commercial success. He ultimately became involved in improved methods for smelting iron and designs for piping and plumbing fittings. His high-pressure steam technology proved to have other uses, including a mobile baker's

oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been us ...

for the British Army.

Family

Angier March had two sons: *Angier Greenleaf Perkins (1832–1871), also an engineer; *

Loftus Perkins Loftus Perkins (8 May 1834 – 27 April 1891) was an English engineer, particularly involved in developing the practical technologies of central heating and refrigeration. Life He was born in London, the son of Angier March Perkins and was likel ...

(1834–1891), was apprenticed to his father in 1848 becoming a

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in A. M. Perkins & Son in 1866. Angier March died April 22, 1881, at his family home in

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and was buried in the family vault in Kensal Green Cemetery. He was age 81.

Honours and offices

*Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers, (1840); * Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, (1849).

References

Bibliography

* *McConnell, A. (2004)
Perkins, Angier March (1799–1881)
, '' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 14 August 2007 (subscription required)

External links

*
A history of the development of the Baker Perkins Group
Baker Perkins Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Angier March 1799 births 1881 deaths American engineers Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery