Civil engineer; born in Alteburg,
Germany, Dec. 4, 1769; settled in
Philadelphia in 1786.
Not long afterwards he constructed a machine for manufacturing whetstones.
He next became a builder of bridges and powermills.
In 1809 he laid the keel of the first United States frigate built in the
Philadelphia navy-yard; in 1812 he built a wooden bridge across the
Schuylkill River at
Philadelphia, which became known as the “Colossus of
Fairmount” and which was till that time the longest bridge ever constructed, having a single arch with a span of 340 feet. About 1813, when he settled in
Phoenixville, Pa., he began experiments for the purpose of utilizing anthracite coal.
For a time he found it most difficult to ignite it, but later, by closing the furnace doors and making a draft beneath the coal, he succeeded in producing combustion.
Later he invented a stove in which he burned coal in his own home.
He died in
Harper's Ferry, Va., Aug. 12, 1843.