James Pickering Dovel (26 December 1868 – 30 July 1948) was an author and inventor who researched and improved

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...

operations. In 1940 he received the Modern Pioneer Award from the National Association of Manufacturers in honor of his "distinguished achievement in the field of science and invention." Born in 1868 in

Pickerington, Ohio Pickerington is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, Fairfield and Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin counties in the central region of the U.S. state of Ohio. It was founded in 1815 as Jacksonville, named after Andrew Jackson. Pickerington was known a ...

, he spent his early years running a farm for his

invalid Invalid may refer to: * Patient, a sick person * one who is confined to home or bed because of illness, disability or injury (sometimes considered a politically incorrect term) * .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real use As t ...

father. He invented a mechanical

corn harvester A corn harvester is a machine used on farms to harvest corn, stripping the stalks about one foot from the ground shooting the stalks through the header to the ground. The corn is stripped from its stalk and then moves through the header to the int ...

at the age of seventeen, after realizing the need for labor-saving machinery on the farm. While the device was never patented, it was adopted by several manufacturers of

farm equipment Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the countless kinds of farm implements that the ...

. The depression of the 1890s drove Dovel, his wife and children to the city, where he was hired at Columbus Steam and Boiler Company. Within days, he was promoted to

foreman __NOTOC__ A foreman, forewoman or foreperson is a supervisor, often in a manual trade or industry. Foreman may specifically refer to: *Construction foreman, the worker or tradesman who is in charge of a construction crew * Jury foreman, a head j ...

, launching a long career in industrial invention. In 1905 Dovel moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

to become superintendent of the Birmingham Engineering Company. While there, he supervised construction of a blast furnace for

Woodward Iron Company The Woodward Iron Company (located in the area between Hueytown, Brighton, and Bessemer, Alabama) was founded on December 31, 1881, by brothers William and Joseph Woodward. William was the company president and Joseph was the company secretary.Mar ...

. Four years later, he joined the Sloss Furnace Company as superintendent of construction. For the next twenty-one years, Dovel developed gas cleaning equipment, modified the design of the furnaces, and improved the linings of the furnaces. In all, some seventeen patents are credited to Dovel. Sloss's No. 2 Furnace, rebuilt in 1927, included many of these inventions, earning Dovel and Sloss a national reputation for innovation.

Arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

confined Dovel to bed in 1933. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Dovel worked by telephone from his hospital bed, advising blast furnace operators around the country in the use of his many patented innovations. At the time of his death, more than fifty furnaces were using his inventions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dovel, James 1868 births 1948 deaths 20th-century American inventors People from Pickerington, Ohio