Joshua C. Stoddard (August 26, 1814 in

Pawlet, Vermont Pawlet is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,424 at the 2020 census. History Pawlet was one of the New Hampshire Grants, chartered from Benning Wentworth, Governor of colonial New Hampshire. The charter was gr ...

– April 4, 1902) was an American inventor. He was educated at the public schools, and became noted as an apiarist. He also turned his attention to inventing, and on October 9, 1855, patented () the steam

calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muse ...

, used on

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

steamboats. It was originally known as a "steam piano", with Stoddard forming the American Steam Piano Company ometimes referred to as the American Steam Music Companyin

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. His first instrument, consisting of a steam boiler, a set of valves, and fifteen graded steam whistles played from a pinned cylinder, reportedly could be heard for a range of . The Worcester City Council banned him from playing it within the city limits because it was so loud. He also invented the Stoddard horse-rake, patented in 1879. More than 100,000 of his rakes were produced. Other inventions included a fruit-paring machine, a hay-tedder and a fire escape system, patented 1884.

References

19th-century American inventors American beekeepers 1814 births 1902 deaths American people of Québécois descent {{Bee-stub