Robert Dunbar (13 December 1812 – 18 September 1890) was a Scottish

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 ...

. He designed the first steam-powered grain elevator in the world and the majority of the first grain elevators in Buffalo, New York City, and Canada.

Early life

Dunbar was born in Carnbee, Scotland. His birth is recorded as 13 December 1812. His father was William Dunbar, a mechanical engineer who came from a family line of engineers. Dunbar immigrated with his family to

Pickering, Ontario Pickering (2021 Canadian census, 2021 population 99,186) is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada, immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region, Ontario, Durham Region. Beginning in the 1770s, the area was settled by primarily British colon ...

, while a boy of 12. He went to high school and college in Canada. He took an interest in mechanics and learned mechanical engineering.

Career

Dunbar took charge of the shipyard at Niagara, Ontario, in 1832. He renovated the docks and their machinery. Dunbar later settled in Black Rock, Buffalo, New York, in 1834. He associated himself with Charles W. Evans and constructed flourmills. With financing by entrepreneur Joseph Dart, Dunbar designed and built at Buffalo in 1842 the first steam-powered grain elevator in the world. The invention had a profound effect on Buffalo and the movement of grains on the Great Lakes and around the world: He built nearly all the grain elevators in Buffalo, which made the city one of the largest grain markets in the United States. Dunbar built and designed the majority of the first grain elevators in Canada and

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 ...

. He constructed other grain elevators 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 ...

and Hull in England and in Odessa, Russia. He constructed grain elevators in many other grain shipping ports around the world. Dunbar's grain elevator innovations are still in use. Dunbar was a senior partner in a firm called Robert Dunbar & Son. They were grain elevator architects, engineers, and contractors. Dunbar became a wealthy man because of his innovations in grain elevators.

Family

Dunbar married Sarah M. Howell on 26 August 1840. Two of his sons were William J. Dunbar and Robert Dunbar. A third son, George H. Dunbar, became proprietor of the Eagle Iron Works of Buffalo. He also had two daughters, Mary G. Dunbar and Emma G. Dunbar.

Death

Dunbar died 18 September 1890.

Legacy

He is known as "the father of the great grain elevator system."

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunbar, Robert 1812 births 1890 deaths Canadian inventors Canadian mechanical engineers Scottish inventors Scottish mechanical engineers