Francis Ashbury Pratt (February 15, 1827 – February 10, 1902) 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 ...

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 ...

, and co-founder of

Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies). Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially ...

Biography

Pratt was born in Peru, New York. His parents moved the family to

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...

, when he was eight years old. He was educated in Lowell and apprenticed in a machine shop. In 1848, he moved to Gloucester, New Jersey, and worked for Gloucester Machine Works as a journeyman and contractor. In 1852, Pratt moved to

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, to work at Colt Armory. It was at Colt that he met Amos Whitney. Pratt soon left Colt to work at Phoenix Iron Works and brought Whitney along with him. While still working at Phoenix Iron Works, he designed a

milling machine Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done by varying directions on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of ...

for George S. Lincoln & Company of

, which became the Lincoln miller, in some ways perhaps the most important American

machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, Boring (manufacturing), boring, grinding (abrasive cutting), grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some s ...

of the late 19th century. Over 150,000 machines were built on this form factor (by many firms)., pp
165–166
Pratt cofounded the

company along with Amos Whitney in 1860. Their first product was a thread winder for the Willimantic Linen Company. They went on to manufacture machine tools, tools for the makers of sewing machines, and gun making machinery for use by the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He is credited with being first to permit production of fine gear work. Pratt promoted

interchangeable parts Interchangeable parts are parts (wikt:component#Noun, components) that are identical for practical purposes. They are made to specifications that ensure that they are so nearly identical that they will fit into any assembly of the same type. One ...

and the adoption of a standard system for gages for the United States and Europe. Among several machine-tool patents, his most important was for planing metal granted on July 28, 1869. He served as a member of the board of water commissioners for the city of Hartford for four years. He was a director of the Hartford board of trade and the Pratt & Cady company. He served as president and director of the Electric Generator Company. He was a member 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 edu ...

. He died in Hartford, Connecticut and was interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

References

Bibliography

External links

Picture of Francis Pratt

Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems website

Francis Pratt cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Francis A. 1827 births 1902 deaths 19th-century American inventors American Civil War industrialists American company founders American mechanical engineers Burials at Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut) Businesspeople from Hartford, Connecticut Machine tool builders People from Lowell, Massachusetts People from Peru, New York