Frederick Steele Blackall Jr. (November 26, 1896 – July 6, 1963) was an American engineer, and president and chairman of board Taft-Peirce Manufacturing Company,''Who's who in Steel and Metals,'' Atlas Publishing Co, 1964. p. 49 known as 72nd President 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 ...
in 1953-54.
Biography
Family and education
Blackall was born in 1896 in
Roselle, New Jersey
Roselle (, ) is a borough located in Union County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 21,085,engineer and
inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
, who obtained some patents in the early 20th century. After attending the Abbott School in
Farmington, Maine
Farmington is a town in and the county seat of Franklin County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,592. Farmington is home to the University of Maine at Farmington, Nordica Memorial Auditorium, the Nordica Homestea ...
and the
Phillips Academy
("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness
, address = 180 Main Street
, city = Andover
, state = Ma ...
, he obtained his obtained his BA in English from Yale University in 1918.John W. Leonard, Winfield Scott Downs, M. M. Lewis. ''Who's who in Engineering.'' Volume 8, 1959. p. 214ASME, "Frederick S. Blackall Jr.—1896–1963," in: ''Mechanical Engineering: The Journal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,'' Volume 85. 1963. p. 33; 98
In World War I Blackall enlisted in the United States Navy, where he graduated from Third Reserve Officers' School at the United States Naval Academy in 1918. After the War he returned to college to study engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he obtained his BSc in 1922.
Career and death
After his graduation from MIT in 1922 Blackall started his lifelong career at Taft-Peirce Manufacturing Company as staff officer in charge of the heat-treatment, electroplating, and steel supply departments. There he was "responsible for the reorganisation of the departmental layouts and the institution of radical changes in crude stock control and heating treating methods." Looking back at this period Blackall later admitted: "If one may be said to have any hobby in the field of engineering, mine is the metallurgy and heat-treatment of iron and steel."
In 1923 Blackall was promoted to Assistant to the general manager, responsible for the management of all engineering and production departments. Eventually in 1951, Blackall was named president of the company, and by 1964 he was chairman of the board. In the year 1953-54 he served as president 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 ...
.
Blackall lost his life in a plane crash near Matane, Quebec, on the
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia (; ), is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River that extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick o ...
, July 7, 1963.Sigma Alpha Epsilon. ''The Record,'' Volume 83, Nr. 4. 1963. p. 151
Selected publications
* Blackall, Frederick Steele. ''Invention and Industry-Cradled in New England!.'' No. 160. Newcomen Society, American Branch, 1946.
* Blackall, Frederick Steele. ''Price Control in the Machine Tool Industry: With a Foreword by Henry Hazlitt.'' No. 447. American Enterprise Association, 1953.
;Articles, a selection
* Blackall Jr, F. S. "The obligation of management to provide leadership." Mechanical Engineering 72.3 (1950): 229-231.
* Blackall Jr, F. S. "ASME Standards Save Lives and Dollars." ''Mechanical Engineering'' 75 (1953): 979-981.