James Mapes Dodge ( Manhattan, June 30, 1852 – Germantown, Philadelphia, December 4, 1915) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, industrialist and president of the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

in the year 1903–1904. He is known as president of the Link-Belt Company, and as pioneer of applying

scientific management Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineer ...

methods.

Life and work

Dodge was the son of William Dodge, member of the New York bar, and Mary Mapes Dodge, a children's writer and editor of the '' St. Nicholas'' magazine. He grew up in Manhattan, attended the Newark Academy, and obtained degrees from Cornell University, and Rutgers UniversityJames Mapes Dodge
''The Iron Age,'' Vol. 96, 1995, p. 1368 Portrait of Mrs

After an apprenticeship at the shipbuilding company

John Roach & Sons John Roach & Sons was a major 19th-century American shipbuilding and manufacturing firm founded in 1864 by Irish-American immigrant John Roach. Between 1871 and 1885, the company was the largest shipbuilding firm in the United States, building m ...

, in 1876, he started a mining machine manufacturing company with E.T. Copeland in New York. When this didn't work out and the company dissolved, he worked another six years in manufacturing companies in Chicago and Indianapolis. In 1884 he founded Burr & Dodge in Philadelphia, that in 1906 merged with the Link-Belt Engineering company into the Link-Belt Company with Dodge as president, later de

Link-Belt Construction Equipment Link-Belt Cranes is an American industrial company that develops and manufactures heavy construction equipment, specializing in telescopic and lattice boom cranes. Link-Belt is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, and is a subsidiary of the Ja ...

company. In his lifetime Dodge was a productive inventor, and was granted over 200 patents concerning link-belts, moving stair, toys, etc. In 1903–04 Dodge was president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 1906 he and Henry R. Towne were responsible for maneuvering Frederick Winslow Taylor to the Presidency of the ASME in 1906. The Philadelphia plant of the Link-Belt Company is known for its significant labor efficiency improvements, due to the introduction of scientific management applications. According to

Leon P. Alford Leon Pratt Alford (Jan. 3, 1877 – Feb. 2, 1942) was an American mechanical engineer, organizational theorist, and administrator for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. known for his seminal work in the field of industrial management. ...

especially Dodge's personal involvement and personality made this happen. He had offered the workers special arrangements and incentives to accept Taylor's changes, which won him much respect and trust from the workers..

Publications

* James Mapes Dodge, "The money value of technical training," in: ''Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,'' 25 (1903): 40–48 * James Mapes Dodge, G. Schlesinger,
Industrielle Betriebsführung
'' 1913 * James M. Dodge, President Link-Belt Engineering Co., "History of the Link-Belt Industry," ''Industrial World: Devoted to the Metal. Electrical. Mining & Allied Industries'' 78 (26, June 28, 1906):753. ;Patents, a selectionFor more patents, see
here
' *
US D6203 S, Design for a toy-boat
'' 1872 *
US 37499 Drive chain
'' 1880-81 *
US 239739 Hinge Joint &c.
'' 1881 *
US 954941 Sprocket-wheel
'' 1909-1910 ;Publications about James Mapes Dodge * Charles Piez,
Personal reminiscences of James Mapes Dodge
', 1916 * George P. Torrence. ''James Mapes Dodge: Mechanical Engineer, Inventor, Pioneer in Industry.'' 2010

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodge, James Mapes 1852 births 1915 deaths American mechanical engineers People from Ulster County, New York Cornell University alumni 19th-century American engineers 20th-century American engineers Engineers from New York (state) Newark Academy alumni People from Manhattan Rutgers University alumni