Horace See
Horace See (Philadelphia, 1835 - New York City, December 14, 1909) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, and superintendent. He is known as principal naval architect at the William Cramp & Sons shipyard in Philadelphia,[1] and as president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in the year 1888-89.[2]
Biography
See was born in Philadelphia in 1835, where he received some classical and mathematical education at some private schools. He started his career as apprentice in the Port Richmond Iron Foundry, Machine and Steam Boiler Shop, I.P. Morris & Co. After a few years he moved on from Neafie & Levy to the National Iron Armor and Shipbuilding Company.[2]
See became superintendent of George Snyder Machine Works in Philadelphia, and after his service in the Civil War, he started at William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company in Philadelphia as designer and became superintendent of engineering in 1879.[3]
After Camp and Sons, See moved to New York, where he worked as consulting engineer for the Newport News Steamship and Dry Dock Company. He was superintending engineer for the Southern Pacific Company, and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, superintendent for the Cromwell Steam Ship Company. In his private practice as a marine engineer and naval architect he designed and prepared specifications for many yachts and commercial vessels.[2]
See was a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers; of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects of Great Britain; the Northeast Coast Institute of Engineers and Shipbuilders; and the American Geographical Society; associate member of the American Society of Naval Engineers; and the United States Naval Institute; and fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[2] He was Presidents of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in the year 1888-89.[4]
Work
See made significant contributions working at William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company in Philadelphia. The ASME (1910) summarized that he was
- "...designing vessels and machinery of greatly improved construction and performance, introducing improved methods of work and standards in that great establishment, and giving to the United States a shipbuilding plant of capacity and quality to compare favorably with the products of the Clyde and Newcastle."[2]
At Camp and Sons, according to the ASME (1910), it was
- "...under his leadership that the United States Navy contracts for the first vessels of what was then called the New Navy of the United States were taken, and the big ships of the American Line at that day bore his impress..."[2]
Publications
- Horace See. "Method he introduced for producing true crank shafts for multiple-cylinder engines," presidential address in: ASME Transactions, Vol. 7, 1888. p. 521.
- Patents
- Patent US231501 Tube for surface condensor, 1880
- Patent US439695 Extractor for removing air, 1890
- Patent US505489 Regulating Plug-Cock, 1892-93
- Patent US600237 Steam-boiler, 1897-89
References
- ^ William duBarry Thomas. Speed on the ship!: a centennial history of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, 1893-1993. 1993, p. 11.
- ^ a b c d e f American Society of Mechanical Engineers, "Horace See, President of the Society in 1888, died in New York City on December 14, 1909." in: Journal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Jan-Apr 1910. p. 23 (p. 309)
- ^ Carl W. Hall (2008). "A Biographical Dictionary of People in Engineering." p. 194
- ^ Philip Scranton. Endless Novelty: Specialty Production and American Industrialization, 1865-1925. p. 104