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Erasmus Darwin Leavitt Jr. (October 27, 1836 – March 11, 1916), also known as E. D. Leavitt, was a noted American mechanical engineer best known for his
Leavitt Curiously, there was an Edward Levett Darwin, born in 1821 in
US 129240 A, Improvement in steam pumping-engines
'' 1872 *
US 283261 A, Signor to dauphin
'' 1883 *
US 380330 A, Pump
'' 1887-88 *
US 402256 A, Steam-cylinder for steam-engines
'' 1888-89 *
US 402257 A, Hoisting-engine
'' 1888-89
Erasmus Darwin Leavitt Jr
ASME {{DEFAULTSORT:Leavitt, Erasmus Darwin 1836 births 1916 deaths Leavitt family Presidents of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers American mechanical engineers Calumet and Hecla Mining Company personnel People from Lowell, Massachusetts People from Cambridge, Massachusetts Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 19th-century American engineers 20th-century American engineers
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
designs.
Life and work
Leavitt was born in Lowell, Massachusetts to Erasmus Darwin Leavitt Sr., a native ofCornish, New Hampshire
Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,616 at the 2020 census. Cornish has four covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair.
History
The town was granted in 1763 and contained a ...
, and Almina (Fay) Leavitt. He graduated from local schools at age 16, and performed a 3-year apprenticeship at the Lowell Manufacturing Company.
After his apprenticeship Leavitt worked for one year at the engineering firm of Corliss & Nightingale in Providence, Rhode Island before returning to Boston, where he became assistant foreman for Harrison Loring. In this role he designed the steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
for the USS '' Hartford''. From 1859–61 he again worked in Providence, this time as chief draftsman for Thurston, Gardner & Company, builders of steam engines.
During the Civil War, Leavitt first served aboard the USS '' Sagamore'', then in construction roles in Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...
, Boston, and Brooklyn, and ultimately as an instructor in steam engineering at the United States Naval Academy. In 1867 he resigned his teaching post to become a consulting engineer.
Leavitt was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a founding member 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 ...
, for which he served as vice president from 1881 to 1882, and president in 1883. In 1884 he received the first honorary doctorate of engineering degree granted by the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Leavitt was a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts. He and his wife, the former Elizabeth Pettit, daughter of Philadelphia locomotive designer William Pettit, had five children: Mary Alford; Hart Hooker; Margaret Almira; Harriet Sherman; and Annie Louise. The astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt was his niece.
Work
Leavitt Curiously, there was an Edward Levett Darwin, born in 1821 in Derbyshire, England
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nort ...
, who was the grandson of Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Robert Darwin (12 December 173118 April 1802) was an English physician. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave-trade abolitionist, inventor, and poet.
His poems ...
. first achieved professional prominence in 1873 for his design of a novel pumping engine. From 1874–1904 he served as consulting engineer for the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company
The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company was a major copper-mining company based within Michigan's Copper Country. In the 19th century, the company paid out more than $72 million in shareholder dividends, more than any other mining company in the Uni ...
, where he designed more than 40 types of engines for a variety of uses for the company's Michigan mines. Each huge stationary steam engine was named, much like a steam locomotive or ship, with names including the Arcadia, Chippewa, Frontenac, Mackinac, Marquette, and Superior.
He also designed steam-powered water pumps for various municipal water systems, including those of Louisville, Kentucky and Boston, and the power source for a hydraulic forge at the Bethlehem Steel Company.
Patents
*US 129240 A, Improvement in steam pumping-engines
'' 1872 *
US 283261 A, Signor to dauphin
'' 1883 *
US 380330 A, Pump
'' 1887-88 *
US 402256 A, Steam-cylinder for steam-engines
'' 1888-89 *
US 402257 A, Hoisting-engine
'' 1888-89
Further reading
* Carol Poh Miller, ''Landmarks in Mechanical Engineering'', Purdue University Press, pages 16–17. .References
External links
Erasmus Darwin Leavitt Jr
ASME {{DEFAULTSORT:Leavitt, Erasmus Darwin 1836 births 1916 deaths Leavitt family Presidents of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers American mechanical engineers Calumet and Hecla Mining Company personnel People from Lowell, Massachusetts People from Cambridge, Massachusetts Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 19th-century American engineers 20th-century American engineers