Samuel Batchelder (8 June 1784 in

Jaffrey, New Hampshire Jaffrey is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,320 at the 2020 census. The main village in town, where 3,058 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Jaffrey census-designated place (CDP) a ...

– 5 February 1879 in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

) was a United States inventor and author.

Biography

His family moved to New Ipswich when he was young, and by 1808 he was an investor in a cotton factory there, the second that was erected in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. In 1825 he moved 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 ...

, where he superintended the erection of the Hamilton Company's mills. In 1831, he was called on to undertake the erection of a cotton mill for the York Manufacturing Company in

Saco, Maine Saco ( ) is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,381 at the 2020 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as Saco Valley Shopping Center. General Dynamics ...

, and to superintend its operations. The mills under his management were very successful, and the plant and capital were greatly enlarged. In 1846 he moved to

, where he continued to reside, and, although a representative in the

Massachusetts State Legislature The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. The name "General Court" is a holdover from the earliest days of ...

, he yet for many years continued his relations with the mills, being president of the Hamilton Manufacturing Company, the Appleton Company, the Essex Company, the Everett Mills, the York Manufacturing Company, and the Exeter Manufacturing Company. The mills under his supervision had an aggregate capital of about $5,000,000.

Inventions

About 1832, he devised the first stop motion to the drawing frame, which afterward was used both in the United States and England. In 1832 he patented the steam cylinders and connections which became universally used in dressing frames for drying yarns. His greatest invention was the

dynamometer A dynamometer or "dyno" is a device for simultaneously measuring the torque and rotational speed ( RPM) of an engine, motor or other rotating prime mover so that its instantaneous power may be calculated, and usually displayed by the dyna ...

used for ascertaining the power for driving machinery. It was first used in the York Co. mills in 1837, and was considered preferable to any known apparatus for determining the power actually used in driving machinery.

Writing

In early life he contributed to the ''Boston Monthly Anthology'' and to the '' Port Folio''. He wrote: *''Responsibilities of the North in Relation to Slavery'' (Cambridge, 1856) *''Introduction and Early Progress of the Cotton Manufacture in the United States'' (Boston, 1863)

Notes

References

* Attribution: *

Biography

Inventions

Writing

Notes

References

Further reading