Mark Benson (born Mark Müller; Jun 19, 1888 – May 1965) was a

Bohemian German German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part ...

engineer, best known as the inventor of a

supercritical boiler A supercritical steam generator is a type of Boiler (steam generator), boiler that operates at Supercritical fluid, supercritical pressure, frequently used in the production of electric power. In contrast to a subcritical boiler in which bubble ...

. Benson was born in the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...

, and his original name was Müller (he changed his name 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 ...

to hide his German origin). He emigrated to the United States, then returned to Europe to work for the

English Electric Company N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during th ...

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

. For ''English Electric'' he designed a relatively small steam generator (3 tons/hr), but with—for the time—very high pressure (supercritical) and without any drum. In 1922 Benson was granted a patent for this type of boiler. In 1924,

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

acquired the right to use Benson's patent, and in 1926–27 built the first large Benson boiler in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

-Gartenfeld. Siemens improved the technology and developed it as an internationally acknowledged standard for large steam generators.Joachim Franke: ''The Benson Boiler Turns 75'', Siemens Power Journal Online, Mai 2002
/ref> Since 1933 (until today) Siemens do not manufacture their own Benson boilers any more, but instead license the technology to others. After his patent, Mark Benson did not make any further public appearances, but Siemens continued to use ''Benson'' as a registered trademark for this successful type of boiler, so the name is renowned worldwide in boiler engineering, although relatively little is known about the inventor behind it.

References

Date of death missing British mechanical engineers German Bohemian people People associated with electricity Boilers Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States 1888 births {{US-mechanical-engineer-stub