Clemens Herschel (March 23, 1842 – March 1, 1930) was an American

hydraulic engineer Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the mov ...

. His career extended from about 1860 to 1930, and he is best known for inventing the

Venturi meter The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section (or choke) of a pipe. The Venturi effect is named after its discoverer, the 18th century Italian physicist, Giovanni Battista ...

, which was the first large-scale, accurate device for measuring water flow. He developed this device while serving as director of the Holyoke Testing Flume, a turbine testing facility which he would redesign, which became the first modern hydraulics laboratory in the United States and the world.

Early life and education

Clemens was born in Vienna on March 23, 1842 to Samuel and Therese Hirschl (née Kohn). His family immigrated to Davenport, Iowa in 1850. He spent most of his life practicing his profession in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where he received his bachelor of science degree in 1860 from the

Lawrence Scientific School The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is the engineering school within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, offering degrees in engineering and applied sciences to graduate students admitted ...

.''New York Times.'' "Clemens Herschel Dies in 89th Year." March 3, 1930"Clemens Herschel." (1930). ''Journal AWWA.'' 22:5 685-6. After Harvard, he completed post-graduate studies in France and Germany.Kent, Walter G. (1927). ''An Appreciation of Two Great Works in Hydraulics, Giovanni Battista Venturi, born 1746, Clemens Herschel, born 1842.'' London: Blades, East & Blades.

Career

The first part of Herschel's career was devoted to bridge design, including the design of cast-iron bridges. For a time, he was employed on the sewerage system of Boston. Herschel was influenced by

James B. Francis James Bicheno Francis (May 18, 1815 – September 18, 1892) was a British-American civil engineer, who invented the Francis turbine. Early years James Francis was born in South Leigh, near Witney, Oxfordshire, in England, United Kingdom. ...

, who was the agent and engineer of the

Proprietors of Locks and Canals The Proprietors of Locks and Canals on Merrimack River is a limited liability corporation founded on June 27, 1792, making it one of the oldest corporations in the United States. Its named incorporators were Dudley Atkins Tyng, William Coombs, Jose ...

on the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Mas ...

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, to switch his career path to hydraulic engineering. About 1880, he started working for the

Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

Water Power Company in Massachusetts. He remained with the company until 1889. While he was there, Herschel designed the Holyoke Testing Flume, which has been said to mark the beginning of the scientific design of water-power wheels. Herschel first tested his Venturi meter concept in 1886 while working for the company, and by 1888 felt he had perfected it conceptually, ultimately naming it in honor of

Giovanni Battista Venturi Giovanni Battista Venturi (11 September 1746 – 10 September 1822) was an Italian physicist, savant, man of letters, diplomat and historian of science. He was the discoverer of the Venturi effect, which was described in 1797 in his ''Recherches E ...

, the eminent Italian physicist who first described the differential pressure phenomenon in a 1797 treatise. The original purpose of the

was to measure the amount of water used by the individual water mills in the Holyoke area. VenturiFlow

Water supply development in northern New Jersey was an active area of investment in the late 19th century. In 1889, Herschel was hired as the manager and superintendent of the East Jersey Water Company, where he worked until 1900. He was responsible for the development of the

Pequannock River The Pequannock River is a tributary of the Pompton River, approximately long, located in northern New Jersey in the United States. It rises in eastern Sussex County, near Highland Lakes on the north side of Hamburg Mountain. It flows southeas ...

water supply for

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

. He also installed two of his largest Venturi meters at

Little Falls, New Jersey Little Falls is a township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The township was named for a waterfall on the Passaic River at a dam near Beattie Mill. As of the 2020 census, the township's population was 13,360 reflecting a decrea ...

, on the main stem of the Rockaway River to serve Paterson,

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

and

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls, which was the first large-scale electric power plant. He was appointed to an expert committee that reviewed the plans for the first water tunnel that would deliver water from the Catskill reservoirs to New York City.

Personal life

Herschel's first wife, Grace Hobart, died in 1898. They had three children, Arthur, Winslow and Clementine. Herschel married Jeannette Begg Hunter of

Thompsonville, Connecticut Thompsonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Enfield in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population of the CDP was 8,577 at the 2010 census. History Thompsonville was established in the 19th century as a carpet- ...

, on March 5, 1910. They had one son, Clemens Herschel Jr.''New York Times.'' “Clemens Herschel Weds.” March 6, 1910.

Professional associations

Herschel was active in several professional organizations including the

American Water Works Association American Water Works Association (AWWA) is an international non-profit, scientific and educational association founded to improve water quality and supply. Established in 1881, it is a lobbying organization representing a membership (as of 2012) o ...

and the New England Water Works Association. He was a member of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

in London, and he was elected president of the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in 1916.

Honors and awards

Herschel was one of the first five inductees into the American Water Works Association Water Industry Hall of Fame. He was also made an honorary member of that organization. Herschel was awarded the Elliott Cresson medal in 1889 by the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

for his development of the Venturi water meter. In 1888, Herschel was presented with the Thomas Fitch Rowland Prize by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Rowland Prize is awarded to an author whose paper describes in detail accomplished works of construction or which are valuable contributions to construction management and construction engineering. He was made an Honorary Member of ASCE in 1922. The Clemens Herschel Prize was established at Harvard University in 1929. The award is given to meritorious students in practical hydraulics. Each year, the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section presents the Clemens Herschel Award to authors "…who have published papers that have been useful, commendable, and worthy of grateful acknowledgment."BSCES Individual Section Awards
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Publications

Holyoke Testing Flume seen from exterior c

Perhaps Herschel's most well-known publication was not a strictly technical book. While traveling in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 1898, he found a manuscript written by Sextus Julius Frontinus, who was the designer of the water supply system of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. He translated the work into English and entitled it ''Frontinus and the Water Supply of the City of Rome.'' Other more recent translations have been done by scholars and Latin specialists, but Herschel's book brought the challenges and successes of the water commissioner for Rome to the notice of water professionals.Frontinus, Sextus Julius. (1973). ''The Water Supply of the City of Rome of Sextus Julius Frontinus Water Commissioner of the City of Rome A.D. 97.'' Translated by Clemens Herschel, Boston: New England Water Works Association. Some of his other publications include: *Herschel, Clemens (1897) ''115 Experiments on the Carrying Capacity of Large, Riveted, Metal Conduits, up to Six Feet per Second of Velocity of Flow'' New York:Wiley *Herschel, Clemens (1898) ''Measuring Water'' Providence, RI:Builders Iron Foundry *Herschel, Clemens (1899) ''The Venturi Water Meter'' Reprinted from

Cassier's Magazine ''Cassier's Magazine: An Engineering Monthly'' was an engineering magazine, published by the Cassier Magazine Company from 1891 to 1913. History The magazine was established by Louis Cassier (1862–1906) in 1891. He was the editor until his deat ...

* *

References

External links

AWWA Water Industry Hall of Fame#129 Holyoke Water Power System (1859)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herschel, Clemens 1842 births 1930 deaths Converts to Christianity from Judaism Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni Engineers from Massachusetts Engineers from New Jersey Jewish American inventors People from Glen Ridge, New Jersey People from Holyoke, Massachusetts Scientists from Vienna Writers from Boston