David Robert Yarnall, Sr. (June 28, 1878 – September 11, 1967) was an American

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

, co-founder and president of the Yarnall Waring Company in Philadelphia, and the 65th president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1946–47. Yarnall was born in 1878 in

Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Middletown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,807 at the 2010 census. The Pennsylvania State University has an undergraduate satellite campus called Penn State Brandywine located in the ...

as son of Edward S. Yarnall and Sidney S. (Garrett) Yarnall. After attending the

Westtown School Westtown School is a Quaker, coeducational, college preparatory day and boarding school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States, 20 miles west of Philadelphia. Founded in 1799 b ...

from 1892 to 1897, he obtained his Bsc in Mechanical Engineering from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1901. After graduation Yarnall started working as engineer at Coatesville Boiler Works in

Coatesville, Pennsylvania Coatesville is a city in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,350 at the 2020 census. Coatesville is approximately 39 miles west of Philadelphia. It developed along the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike beginning ...

, and allied companies from 1901 to 1906. In 1908 Yarnall and Bernard G. Waring founded the Yarnall Waring Company for the manufacturing of specialty valves for power plants. Kurt Eichenwald,
D. Robert Yarnall Jr., 74, Former Manufacturer
" ''The New York Times,'' May 31, 1999. He served as president of the company until 1957, and afterwards as chairman of the board. He was a Quaker and a respected leader within the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

in the Philadelphia area. He volunteered to lead Quaker relief efforts in Germany after World War I, and was a founding member in the 1920s of the Business Problems Group of

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, or simply Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, or PYM, is the central organizing body for Quaker meetings in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, area, including parts of Pennsylva ...

. In 1941 Yarnall was awarded the

Hoover Medal The Hoover Medal is an American engineering prize. It has been given since 1930 for "outstanding extra-career services by engineers to humanity". The prize is given jointly by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Institute of Mi ...

, and in 1942 he received the honorary Doctor Engineering from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...

. He was elected president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for the year 1946–47, and in 1947 received the honorary Doctor of Science from Haverford College. His son, Robert Yarnall Jr. (1925-1999), followed into his footsteps.

Patents, a selection

* Yarnall, David Robert. "Automatic meter control." U.S. Patent No. 1,143,344. 15 Jun. 1915. * Yarnall, David Robert. "Non-heating valve hand-wheel." U.S. Patent No. 1,218,032. 6 Mar. 1917. * Yarnall, David Robert. "Sensitive weir-meter inlet control." U.S. Patent No. 1,307,609. 24 Jun. 1919. * Robert, Yarnall David. "Steam trap." U.S. Patent No. 1,805,064. 12 May 1931. * David, Robert Yarnall. "Control for valve turning and other operations." U.S. Patent No. 1,865,604. 5 Jul. 1932.

References

1878 births 1967 deaths American mechanical engineers University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni People from Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Presidents of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Engineers from Pennsylvania {{US-mechanical-engineer-stub