Clarence Hickman
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Clarence Nichols Hickman (–) was a physicist who worked on rockets with
Robert Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first Liquid-propellant rocket, liquid-fueled rocket. ...
. He is known for developing the
bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the ...
man-portable recoilless
antitank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...
rocket launcher A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few in ...
weapon, and the
American Piano Company American Piano Company (Ampico) was an American piano manufacturer formed in 1908 through the merger of Wm. Knabe & Co., Chickering & Sons, and Foster-Armstrong. They later purchased the Mason & Hamlin piano company as their flagship piano. The ...
Model B
player piano A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern i ...
. He is also known as the "Father of Scientific Archery".


Life


Early life

Clarence Hickman was born on a farm established by his grandfather Leak on . The nearest town was
Lizton, Indiana Lizton is a town in Union Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 488 at the 2010 Census. It is one of the three towns ( Pittsboro and North Salem being the other two) that make up North West Hendricks School Cor ...
to the south. Clarence and his siblings attended the Leak country school until 1898, when the family moved northward to the Job Hadley farm, where the children attended another country school. In both residences, Clarence pursued an interest in archery, playing with bows and arrows made by his father. By his own account,
The arrows had heavy heads so that we did not need feathers to guide the arrow.... We boys shot fish with bows, using umbrella staves as arrows. I well remember that I could not understand why we had to aim under the fish to hit it. It was not until I attended high school, where I learned about refraction of light, that I understood this phenomenon.
In 1900 the family moved to the Mappen farm, just west of
Jamestown, Indiana Jamestown is a town in Jackson Township, Boone County and Eel River Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 958 at the 2010 census. History Jamestown was established in 1830, and was platted in 1832. The town ...
. While living there, Hickman developed an interest in photography and music. An acquaintance, Stanley Hendricks, owned a photographic studio in nearby Jamestown. Hickman credits Hendricks with "having a profound influence on my life at a later date". In 1903, Hickman's father bought a farm north of
Martinsville, Indiana Martinsville is a city in Washington Township, Morgan County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 11,828 at the 2010 United States Census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County. History Martinsville was founded in 1822. It is ...
. Prior to that, the family had been renters. Hickman continued to pursue his interests in music and photography, practicing guitar and accepting payment for taking pictures. Hickman completed the 8th grade in 1904, and then took 8th grade again because there was no other school to continue his education. His parents, who wanted their children to be able to attend high school, sold the farm in 1905 and moved to another farm west of Jamestown, where Hickman attended high school. He obtained work as a professional photographer, including work as the official photographer for the
Standard Oil Company Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
. He also began working for Stanley Hendricks, who had sold his photography business and opened a clothing store in Jamestown.


Early career

In 1906, Hickman's father bought a smaller, eight-acre farm with a large house south of Jamestown, and moved his family there. By that time, the family was smaller, as two of Hickman's brothers had moved out. Hickman continued studying at the Jamestown High School as well as studying German at home. In 1908 Stanley Hendricks had opened a clothing store in Waynetown and offered Hickman a job clerking the store, along with an opportunity to complete his high school education in Waynetown. Hickman graduated from Waynetown High School in 1909 and continued clerking full-time in the clothing store until 1910, when he accepted a teaching position in the Waynetown public schools, teaching 7th and 8th grades. During this time he learned to play the clarinet, and continued his interest in
magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
, suspending his teaching job to give performances as "The Hoosier Magician" in churches and opera houses in Waynetown and Hillsboro. In 1911, Hickman was offered a new teaching position at nearly double his previous salary, to teach mathematics, physics, botany, and German at Jamestown High School.


Education

Hickman received his
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in physics and mathematics from
Winona College Winona College was a university college in Winona Lake, Indiana. It was founded somewhere between 1902 and 1905. It consisted of a Liberal Arts College and the Winona Agricultural and Technical Institute with the College and the Agricultural Institu ...
in
Winona Lake, Indiana Winona Lake is a town in Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and the major suburb of Warsaw. The population was 4,908 at the 2010 census. Geography Winona Lake is located at (41.220818, -85.817118). It is now contiguo ...
. In 1917, Hickman began pursuing his master's degree at
Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...
in
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
. His work at the university had a focus on rocket development. At Clark, Hickman met rocket scientist
Robert Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first Liquid-propellant rocket, liquid-fueled rocket. ...
, who was head of Clark's physics department at the time, and with whom Hickman continued working after graduation.


Career

After graduating from Clark University, Hickman worked at the
Mount Wilson Observatory The Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles. The observat ...
with Robert Goddard, where he continued research and development on rockets intended for use during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. During this period, Hickman lost several fingers from his left hand and parts of fingers from his right hand due to an explosion of a rocket charge (subsequently he developed a modification to a clarinet to allow him to continue playing it). Hickman later worked for a short time demonstrating his rockets at the
Aberdeen Proving Grounds Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at ...
, and afterward joined the
Bureau of Standards A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO) is an organization whose primary function is developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpr ...
, then afterward he developed submarine mines at the
Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrativ ...
. In particular, working alongside
Robert Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first Liquid-propellant rocket, liquid-fueled rocket. ...
in 1918, Hickman helped develop a man-portable recoilless antitank rocket launcher (later known as the
bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the ...
), although the war ended before finishing development of the missile. Hickman eventually did guide this development to completion during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. During the 1920s, Hickman then worked for the
American Piano Company American Piano Company (Ampico) was an American piano manufacturer formed in 1908 through the merger of Wm. Knabe & Co., Chickering & Sons, and Foster-Armstrong. They later purchased the Mason & Hamlin piano company as their flagship piano. The ...
(also known as Ampico), improving the company's
player piano A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern i ...
products. The inventor of the Ampico piano, Charles Fuller Stoddard, needed a physicist and mathematician to develop improvements to reproducing instruments as well as manufacturing aspects of automatic pianos. He employed Hickman in this role at a research laboratory that Ampico established in 1924 at the Chickering Hall in New York. Hickman's work enabled the development of Ampico's dynamic recording machine and the Model 'B' player piano. Author Larry Givens wrote:
Dr. Hickman's employment with American Piano Company, from 1924 through the end of 1929, may accurately be said to represent the only period in the history of the player piano industry in which real ''scientific methodology'' was applied to the development of the player piano. Most development work in the industry had theretofore consisted of scratch-paper sketches and empirical constructing of models with hopes that they would function!
For his achievements at Ampico, Hickman was inducted into the
Automatic Musical Instruments Collector's Association The Automatic Musical Instruments Collector's Association (AMICA) was formed in 1963 by a group of collectors in the San Francisco area, committed to the preservation, restoration and enjoyment of vintage mechanical musical instruments that play ...
Hall of Fame in 1976. When the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
forced the research department to close, Hickman joined
Bell Telephone The Bell System was a system of telecommunication companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), that dominated the telephone services industry in North America for over one hundre ...
Acoustical Laboratories. At Bell, he renewed his interest in the physics of archery, performing laboratory experiments and publishing several papers in archery journals. He also invented a method of making silk backing for bows. Also at Bell, Hickman developed metal tape recording, devices for analyzing speech patterns, and new methods of
telephone switching telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a telecommunications system used in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It interconnects telephone subscriber lines or virtual circuits of digital syste ...
. During World War II, while in his position as director at Bell Labs, Hickman headed Section H of Division 3 (Rocket Ordnance) of the
National Defense Research Committee The National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) was an organization created "to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare" in the Un ...
.Summary Technical Report of NRDC, Master Subject Index, Office of Scientific Research and Development, Washington, D.C. (1946), p. 492. In that position he guided rocket development in various organizations, leading to completing the development and fielding of the
bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the ...
in 1941, which he had started with Goddard during the First World War. Hickman retired from Bell in 1950 and began working at the
Sandia National Laboratory Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, working on guided missiles. He lived in New York as a consultant to industrial companies until his death in 1981.


Awards

Hickman authored numerous papers and received several awards, including: * U.S.
Medal for Merit The Medal for Merit was, during the period it was awarded, the highest civilian decoration of the United States. It was awarded by the President of the United States to civilians who "distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct i ...
(1948) for rocketry developments during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
* National Archery Association Thompson Medal of Honor (1950) *
Automatic Musical Instruments Collector's Association The Automatic Musical Instruments Collector's Association (AMICA) was formed in 1963 by a group of collectors in the San Francisco area, committed to the preservation, restoration and enjoyment of vintage mechanical musical instruments that play ...
Hall of Fame (1976) *
John Price Wetherill Medal The John Price Wetherill Medal was an award of the Franklin Institute. It was established with a bequest given by the family of John Price Wetherill (1844–1906) on April 3, 1917. On June 10, 1925, the Board of Managers voted to create a silver ...
from 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 contributions in several fields including rocketry, telephony, sound recording, and archery * Dean Emeritus, The World Archery Center (TWAC)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickman, Clarence N. Rocket scientists 1889 births 1981 deaths Clark University alumni Fellows of the American Physical Society Medal for Merit recipients People from Hendricks County, Indiana