James Renwick (30 May 1790 – 12 January 1863), was an English-American scientist and engineer.

Early life

Renwick was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England, on 30 May 1790. He was the son of Jane Jeffrey Renwick (1773–1850) and William Renwick (1769–1808). His paternal grandfather was James Renwick (1743–1803). He graduated from Columbia College in 1807.

Career

In 1820, Columbia appointed Renwick professor of

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the develop ...

, a position he held until 1854. In 1838, the U.S. government appointed him one of the commissioners to explore the line of the boundary between

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

and

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, which was settled in 1842 by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. In addition to his collegiate duties he wrote biographies of

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...

David Rittenhouse David Rittenhouse (April 8, 1732 – June 26, 1796) was an American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society an ...

, and

Count Rumford Colonel (United Kingdom), Colonel Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (26 March 175321 August 1814), was an American-born British military officer, scientist and inventor. Born in Woburn, Massachusetts, he sup ...

for Sparks's ''American Biography''; a memoir of

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and Naturalism (philosophy), naturalist. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the sixth governor of New York. ...

(1834); and ''Treatise on the Steam-engine'' (1830). His textbooks, ''Outlines of Natural Philosophy'' (1822), ''Elements of Mechanics'' (1832), and ''First Principles of Chemistry'' (1840) were among the first works of their kind published in the United States. The first and third of these, along with other educational works of his, passed through multiple editions. In 1828, Renwick was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. In 1863, he was elected an Associate Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

Morris Canal

Renwick was responsible for the idea and initial design of the inclined planes on the

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a toll road, common carrier Anthracite, anthracite coal canal across North Jersey, northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals in Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its weste ...

. The design of these planes were later copied for the Elbląg Canal in Poland.

Personal life

Renwick married in 1816 Margaret Anne Brevoort (1791–1868), from a wealthy and socially prominent New York family. Together, they were the parents of: * Henry Brevoort Renwick (1817–1895), who was a mechanical engineer and inspector of steamboat engines. *

James Renwick Jr. James Renwick Jr. (November 11, 1818 – June 23, 1895) was an American architect known for designing churches and museums. He designed the Smithsonian Institution Building in Washington, D.C., and St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan), St. Patric ...

(1818–1895), was a noted Gothic Revival architect, designer of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York and the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C., among many other buildings. * Edward S. Renwick (1823–1912), who was a mechanical engineer, inventor and patent expert. * Laura Renwick (1826–1879). Renwick died in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on 12 January 1863.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Renwick, James 1790 births 1863 deaths American canal engineers English emigrants to the United States Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia University faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Natural philosophers Scientists from Liverpool 19th-century American physicists Columbia University librarians