Jeremiah Burnham Tainter (January 6, 1836 in

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien ( ) is a city in Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Often called Wisconsin's second-oldest city, Prairie du Chien was established as a European settlemen ...

– February 5, 1920) was an

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

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

known for having designed the

Tainter gate The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow. It is named for its inventor, the Wisconsin structural engineer Jeremiah Burnham Tainter. Tainter, an employee of the lumber firm Knapp, ...

in 1886. He began his work in

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...

in 1862, with the modification of pre-existing

mill pond A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the co ...

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

s in Menomonie.Tainter, Jeremiah Burnham 1836 - 1920
/ref> Tainter was employed by Knapp, Stout & Co., the largest lumber manufacturer in the United States in the last quarter of the 19th century. His brother, Andrew Tainter, was a principal in Knapp, Stout. Tainter's inventions include: * Thomas Parker, Jeremiah B. Tainter, Andrew Tainter & James Downing, "Sluiceway-gate." Issued April 13, 1880. * Jeremiah Burnham Tainter, "Fifth wheel for vehicles." Issued May 10, 1881. * Jeremiah Burnham Tainter, "Automatic sluiceway gate." Issued May 10, 1881. * Jeremiah Burnham Tainter, "Coffer-dam." Issued July 6, 1886. * Jeremiah Burnham Tainter, "Sluiceway gate." Issued July 6, 1886. * Jeremiah Burnham Tainter, "Canal-lock." Issued July 6, 1886. * Jeremiah Burnham Tainter & Nathan B. Noble, "Snap-hook." Issued April 2, 1889. * Jeremiah B. Tainter, "Dam." Issued December 23, 1913.

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* 1836 births 1920 deaths American engineers 19th-century American inventors 20th-century American inventors American hydrologists People from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Engineers from Wisconsin People from Menomonie, Wisconsin {{US-inventor-stub