Julian Kennedy (March 15, 1852 - May 28, 1932) was an American engineer and inventor, known for his national and international contributions to the

steel industry Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant t ...

. He was awarded the

ASME Medal The ASME Medal, created in 1920, is the highest award bestowed by the ASME (founded as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Board of Governors for "eminently distinguished engineering achievement". The award has been presented every year ...

in 1928.

Biography

Kennedy was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

in 1852, the eldest of the seven sons of Thomas Walker Kennedy and Margaret (Trusdale) Kennedy. His father was a prominent constructive engineer, inventor, designer and builder of blast furnaces. After the

Poland Seminary Poland Seminary, originally Poland Academy, was a name used for a series of schools operated in Poland, Ohio. First academy The original Poland Academy was created in 1830 by a Presbyterian minister named Bradley (first name unknown), in an room ...

, he attended the

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffiel ...

, where he obtained his Bachelor of Philosophy in 1875. Later in 1900 he further obtained his MSc degree, and in 1909 his PhD from the

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...

. Kennedy started his career Morse Bridge of Henry G. Morse and his brother Charles James Morse. Kennedy was superintendent for the company from 1879 to 1883. Afterwards he moved to the Carnegie Brothers and Company at

Homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept t ...

, later

Carnegie Brothers and Company Carnegie Brothers & Company, Ltd. was created by the consolidation of the steel businesses owned by Andrew Carnegie in the early 1880s. Those steel and coke works that were consolidated were: * Sciota Ore Mines * Union Iron Mills * Edgar Thomson ...

, where he was General superintendent from 1885 to 1888. For another two years he was chief engineer at Latrobe Steel Works in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, before settling as independent consulting engineer in 1890 in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. He consulted many of the major steel plant in the United States and Europe. As a steel consultant, Kennedy helped launch the Russia steel industry with the construction of the Nikopul' Providence Steel Mill in 1896. In 1907, Kennedy built the first Indian steel mill for Tata industries, earning the nickname, "Father of Asian Steel." As such, Kennedy was a major figure in the growth and success of steel in four of the World's top ten producers: India, USA, Russia, and Ukraine. In 1904, Kennedy served as the president of the Pennsylvania women's suffrage group, the Allegheny County Equal Rights Association (ACERA).

Personal life

Kennedy married Jennie E. Breneman in 1878 and the couple had several children who were popular in social circles in Pittsburgh. Jennie Kennedy was a

clubwoman The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a par ...

and a prominent

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

in the Pittsburgh area. Their daughters, Lucy Kennedy Miller and

Eliza Kennedy Smith Eliza Kennedy Smith (December 11, 1889 – October 23, 1964), also known as Mrs. R. Templeton Smith, was a 20th-century American suffragist, civic activist, and government reformer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Upon her death in 1964, ''The Pitts ...

, also both became prominent 20th-century American suffragists

Publications

* Julian Kennedy,
Some modifications in Blast Furnace Construction
" '' Proceedings of the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania'' XXIII, Engineers Society, 1908. p. 3-15 ;Publications about Julian Kennedy * Templeton Smith. ''Engineer Pittsburgh: The Story of Julian Kennedy, Engineer : His Helpmate Jane Eliza Brenneman and His Kennedy and Truesdale Ancestors in America.'' 1996. ;Patents, a selectionFor a more complete listing of about 90 patents, see
here
'' *
Patent US244997 - Hot Blast Stove
'' 1881. *
Patent US593476 - Furnace-valve for hot-blast stoves
'' 1896 *
Patent US581165 - Mechanism for operating shears
'' 1897 *
Patent US760873 - Hot-blast valve
'' 1904. *
Patent US1178522 - Charging-bell for blast-furnaces
'' 1916

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Julian 1852 births 1932 deaths American mechanical engineers People from Poland, Ohio ASME Medal recipients Engineers from Ohio