Fayette Oliver Farwell (December 1858''1900 United States Federal Census'', ''1860 United States Federal Census'' – 24 May 1935), co-creator of the

Adams-Farwell The Adams Company is an American manufacturing concern. It was founded in 1883 and is based in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. Between 1905 and 1912 it produced the Adams-Farwell, a brass era automobile. History The Roberts & Langworthy Iron Works ...

automobile manufacturing The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...

company, was a prolific American inventor with at least thirteen

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

s credited to his name.theoldmotor.com: ''The Adams-Farewell: A Truly Unique Early Motorcar''

Patents

*camp chair ........................October 10, 1887 *camp chair support ...............July 14, 1890 *cash carrier ........................March 10, 1891 *stove back ........................March 23, 1892 *stove damper .....................April 27, 1892 *combined anvil and vise.........April 5, 1894 *non-conducting handle.........June 7, 1894 *stovepipe damper...............August 21, 1894 *molding machine...............September 16, 1895 *front grate........................October 25, 1895 *oven shelf........................November 4, 1895 *milling machine..................February 25, 1896 *sand press........................August 28, 1897 *current controller/igniting devices for hydrocarbon engines........ October 21, 1904 *lubricator........................November 17, 1904 *milling machine...............December 9, 1908 *molding machine...............November 4, 1910 *internal combustion motor ...February 28, 1911 *gear-hobbing machine.........June 10, 1911 encyclopediaduboque.org: ''FARWELL, Fay Oliver'' *driving mechanism for machine spindles............January 23, 1919 Lesser known was Farwell's development of a timing device that allowed

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

bullets to be fired through the whirling

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s of airplanes without striking the blades. Near the time of

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 ...

, Farwell was called to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

by the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...

to further refine his ideas. Farwell left

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

in 1921 to demonstrate a

merry-go-round A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

he had patented. He sold a phonograph invention to the

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidia ...

. He returned to the gear-cutting business in Toledo. Three sons-Jay, Ray, and Fay survived him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farwell, Fay Oliver 1858 births 1935 deaths American inventors Date of birth unknown