Stephen Stepanian (February 28, 1882 – October 1964) (Armenian: Ստեփան Ստեփանեան) was an

Armenian American Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians in ...

inventor and owner of numerous patents including the Elevator and Conveyor,

Compound Tool Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...

, and the Wrench. He is also accredited as the inventor of a self-discharging motorized transit mixer that was the predecessor of the concrete mixer truck. Stepanian is often called the "

father of Often, discoveries and innovations are the work of multiple people, resulting from continual improvements over time. However, certain individuals are remembered for making significant contributions to the birth or development of a field or tech ...

the ready-mix concrete industry."

Life

Of Armenian descent, Stepanian moved to Grandview Heights, Ohio, in 1906. He is credited with rescuing 13 people from a tree using a makeshift raft during the 1913 flood in Columbus, Ohio. They had been in the tree some 48 hours when Stepanian used a raft he made from floating timbers and a pole to navigate them, 2-3 at a time, to safety. He resided on Glenn Avenue near Bluff. Stepanian became president of Marble Cliff Quarries and the Central Ohio Concrete Company. Eventually, Stepanian founded the Arrow Concrete Company, a company that is still in service today. He was elected as an honorary member of the board of directors for the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. Stepanian was honored by the 1954 National Ready Mixed Concrete Association annual convention which named him an honorary lifetime member. In 2004, Stepanian was selected as one of the Top 100 Transportation Private Sector Professionals by the

American Road and Transportation Builders Association The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is a trade association representing the transportation construction industry in the United States and is based in Washington, D.C., United States. Established in 1902, the associa ...

Inventor of concrete mixing truck

Stephen invented a self-discharging motorized transit mixer that was the predecessor of the concrete mixer truck and applied for a patent in 1916. However, the patent was rejected in April 1917 by the patent office because it was believed that a truck could not support the weight of a concrete mixer on top of it. The patent office also noted that there was no previous patenting information that proves integration was possible with both the mixer and the design of the truck. Other sources suggest that the patent was rejected because Stepanian was not an American citizen. However, on December 21, 1928, Stepanian reapplied for the patent and received approval on November 21, 1933.

Notable patents

*Wrench United States Patent No. 1,321,776, filing date: May 29, 1918, issue date: Nov. 11, 1919. *Concrete Mixing and Transporting Vehicle United States Patent No. 1,935,922, filing date: Dec. 21, 1928, issue date: Nov. 21, 1933. *Sample Display Holder United States Patent No. 1,730,439, filing date Apr. 24, 1926, issue date: Oct. 8, 1929. *Compound Tool United States Patent No. 1,321,777, filing date: Feb. 24, 1919, issue date: Nov. 11, 1919. *Elevator and Conveyor United States Patent No. 859,588, filing date: Sep. 9, 1904, issue date: Jul. 9, 1907. *Building Apparatus United States Patent No. 2,440,920, filing date: Aug. 15, 1941, issue date: May 4, 1948. *Garment United States Patent No. 1,997,703, filing date: April 7, 1933, issue date: April 16, 1935.

References

{{Reflist American people of Armenian descent Armenian inventors 1882 births 1964 deaths People from Grandview Heights, Ohio 20th-century American inventors