Robert Hoe (1784–1833), born in Leicestershire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, was a master carpenter and machinist in the United States, to which he emigrated in 1803. In 1823 he became

sole proprietor A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole tradership, individual entrepreneurship or proprietorship, is a type of enterprise owned and run by one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity. A sole ...

of the R. Hoe & Company, retiring in 1832. A skilled mechanic, he constructed and introduced the original Hoe press and was, it is thought, the earliest

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

machinist to utilize steam as a motive power in his plant.

Family

He was born in the village of Hose in Leicestershire, England. His parents were Richard Hoe and Ann March. He was the father of Peter Smith Hoe (1821 - 1902) (who resided at Sunnyslope), Richard March Hoe (1812-1886) and Robert Hoe (1815-1884). Richard became an inventor, developing the rotary printing press, which revolutionized newspaper publishing. Robert II (19 July 1815

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

- 13 September 1884

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North ...

) was associated with his father and elder brother Richard in business. He was one of the founders of the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

, and a patron of young artists. His son Robert Hoe III became President of R. Hoe Printers upon his father's death. He was also well known as one of the foremost bibliophiles in the country at the time

bibliophile Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books. Profile The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...

. His book collection and much of his art was sold by the American Art Association in 1911 for $2 million in sales, at the time a record.''The Very Valuable Art Property of the late Robert Hoe'' (American Art Association, Sale Catalogue February 15th-25th 1911)
Volume 2
(Internet Archive
Volume 3.
(Internet Archive)

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoe, Robert 19th-century American inventors British emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from New York City 1784 births 1833 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople