Samuel Thomas Wellman, (February 5, 1847 – July 11, 1919) was an American steel industry pioneer, industrialist, and prolific

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 ...

Charles M. Schwab Charles Michael Schwab (February 18, 1862 – September 18, 1939) was an American steel magnate. Under his leadership, Bethlehem Steel became the second-largest steel maker in the United States, and one of the most important heavy manufacturer ...

of Bethlehem Steel described Samuel T. Wellman as "the man who did more than any other living person in the development of steel". Wellman was a close friend of electrical pioneer George Westinghouse, and he was also 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 ...

from 1901 to 1902.

Early life

Born in Wareham, Massachusetts in 1847, Wellman was the son of a Nashua Iron Company superintendent.Wellman, Joshua Wyman ''Descendants of Thomas Wellman'' (1918) Arthur Holbrook Wellman, Boston pp.69-72&455 Wellman received his formal engineering training from

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

in Norwich, Vermont, and served as a corporal with the 1st New Hampshire Heavy Artillery Regiment during the Civil War. Shortly after the war, Wellman married Julia A. Ballard, with whom he had five children.

Career and influence on the steel industry

Wellman began his career working at the Nashua Iron Company. He was encouraged by his father to build a regenerative gas furnace for the company. Wellman did this, impressing Carl Wilhelm Siemens, who immediately hired him to establish the first crucible-steel furnace in America. Wellman went on to improve upon the

open-hearth process An open-hearth furnace or open hearth furnace is any of several kinds of industrial Industrial furnace, furnace in which excess carbon and other impurities are burnt out of pig iron to Steelmaking, produce steel. Because steel is difficult to ma ...

of steel rail production, which in turn had improved upon the Bessemer process. In 1869, Wellman built the first commercially successful open-hearth furnace in America at the Bay State Iron Works in South Boston. Furnaces were not Wellman's only contribution to the steel industry. He was also instrumental in the development of the Hulett unloader, which allowed the unloading of

taconite Taconite () is a variety of iron formation, an iron-bearing (over 15% iron) sedimentary rock, in which the iron minerals are interlayered with quartz, chert, or carbonate. The name "taconyte" was coined by Horace Vaughn Winchell (1865–1923) � ...

from the

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

boats of the Great Lakes, particularly on Lake Erie. In addition to improvements on the Hulett unloader, other important inventions include an open hearth charging machine and a

hydraulic crane A hydraulic jigger is a hydraulically-powered mechanical winch. From the mid-19th century, hydraulic power network, hydraulic power became available throughout the increasingly modern dockyards and warehouses. This was generated centrally and dist ...

. Following an unsuccessful venture with his half-brother, Wellman later founded the in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, which continues under a different name to this day.

Partial list of inventions

Automatic bail gripping or locking device for electric cranesFurnace charging apparatusOpen hearth steel furnace

Complete list of patents on Google Scholar

Selected publications

*Wellman, S. T., (1902)
The early history of open-hearth steel manufacture in the united states
''Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 23,'' 78-98. *Wellman, S. T., (1916)
Iron and steel making
In F. H. Newell & C. E. Drayer, (Eds.), ''Engineering as a career: A series of papers by eminent engineers,'' (pp. 81–88). New York: D. Van Nostrand Company.

References

External links