Cecil Hobart Peabody (1855 – 1934) was an American

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

, born on August 9 in Burlington,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. He was very influential in the development of the Mechanical Engineering Department and in founding the Department of Naval Architecture at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT).

Education and career

Peabody graduated from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

in 1877. He became assistant professor of steam engineering in 1883 and in 1893

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circ ...

and

naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and op ...

. Between graduation and his return to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

he was Professor of

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and Engineering at the

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

Imperial Agricultural College of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

for two years and assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. Shortly after beginning his teaching career at MIT, Peabody published in 1888 the Tables of Properties of Saturated Steam and Other Vapors and invented the throttling calorimeter. Peabody was ever expanding the course offerings at MIT and in his first year of teaching established courses in Marine Engineering and in 1891 courses in Naval Architecture. The courses led to the development of the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in 1893. Peabody retired in 1920 from head of the Department of Naval Architecture.

Publications

* ''Tables of the Properties of Saturated Steam and Other Vapors'' (1888; eighth edition, 1909) * ''

Thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed b ...

of the

Steam Engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

'' and other Heat-Engines (1889; sixth edition, 1910) * ''Valve-Gears for Steam-Engines'' (1892) * ''Steam Boilers'', with E. F. Miller, (1897; third edition, 1912) * ''Manual of the Steam Engine Indicator'' (1900) * ''Naval Architecture'' (1904; third edition, 1911) * ''Propellers'' (1912) * ''Computation for Marine Engines'' (1913) * ''Thermodynamics of the Steam Turbine''

References

MIT School of Engineering faculty American science writers Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni American engineers Writers from Burlington, Vermont 1855 births 1934 deaths {{US-academic-scientist-stub