Charles Hill Morgan (January 8, 1831 – January 10, 1911) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, industrialist and President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in the year 1900–01. He is known for his contributions to Worcester and to the steel industry, especially to rod rolling.

Biography

Morgan was born in Rochester, New York in 1831, the son of Hiram and Clarissa L. (Rich) Morgan. He father was a mechanic of such limited means, that Morgan had to start working in a factory at the age of 12. Three years later he became an apprentice in the

machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop (UK) is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or plast ...

the Clinton Mill of his uncle in

Clinton, Massachusetts Clinton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,428 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Clinton, please see the article Clinton (CDP), Massach ...

."Charles Hill Morgan (1831-1911); Obituary," in: ''1911 Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers,'' 1911. At the age of 17 he was taught mechanical drawing by John C. Hoadley, civil engineer of the machine shop, and in 1852 by the age of 21 he was put in charge of the Clinton Mills dye-house. Here he started to study the basics of chemistry. In 1855 he moved to the Lawrence Machine Company of

Erastus Brigham Bigelow Erastus Brigham Bigelow (April 2, 1814 – December 6, 1879) was an American inventor of weaving machines. Beginnings Erastus Bigelow was born in West Boylston, Massachusetts. He was the son of a cotton weaver, and it was his parents' desire that ...

, where he was mechanical draftsman for five years. In 1860 he started his own manufacturing company with his brother Francis H. Morgan, that produced and supplied paper bags in Philadelphia. Four years later he became superintendent of manufacturing at the machine factory of

Ichabod Washburn Ichabod Washburn (1798–1868) was an American Congregational deacon and industrialist from Worcester County, Massachusetts. His financial endowments led to the naming of Washburn College, now Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas and the foundat ...

, where after another four years he became general superintendent at Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company. In 1881 Morgan founded a steel company for the manufacturings of springs, the Morgan Spring Co, and in 1891 another company for the manufacturing of rolling-mills and wire-drawing machinery, Morgan Construction Co. In the year 1900-01 he was President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The Morgan Construction Company stayed in business, and was sold in 2008 to

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

for approximately $130 million. By then the company employed about 1.000 people worldwide, and had installed over 400 mills in the steel industry.Eric Butterman.
Charles Hill Morgan
" at ''ASME.org'', June 2012. Accessed 05-05-2017

Publications

* C. H. Morgan,
Some Landmarks in the History of the Rolling Mill
" ''Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers'' 22 (1901): 31-64 ;Patents *
Patent US203346 - Improvement in processes of wire-drawing
'' 1878 *
Patent US224829 - Art of wire-drawing
'' 1879. ;Publications about Charles Hill Morgan, his family, live and work *

Charles G. Washburn Charles Grenfill Washburn (January 28, 1857 – May 25, 1928) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. Biography He was born in Worcester on January 28, 1857. Washburn graduated from Worcester Polytechnic ...

.
Industrial Worcester
'' 1917. * Philip M. Morgan, ''The Morgans of Worcester, ''Nummer 497, 1951. * Morgan Construction, ''Morgan milestones: from Worcester to the world: 100 years of progress.'' 1988. * Allison Chisolm. ''The Inventive Life of Charles Hill Morgan: The Power of Improvement In Industry, Education and Civic Life,'' 2015.

References

External links

Charles Hill Morgan Biography – His Life in Words and Pictures

Charles Hill Morgan
by Eric Butterman at ASME.org, June 2012.
Charles Hill Morgan
at gracesguide.co.uk

at Worcester Polytechnic Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Charles Hill 1831 births 1911 deaths American mechanical engineers People from Ulster County, New York Engineers from New York (state)