"Oliver Evans, the Watt of America" Original portrait caption
Born
(1755-09-13)September 13, 1755
Newport, Delaware Colony
Died
April 15, 1819(1819-04-15) (aged 63)
New York City, New York, USA
Nationality
American
Occupation(s)
Inventor, engineer
Spouses
Sarah Tomlinson
(m. 1783–1816)
Hetty Ward
(m. 1818–1819)
Children
7
Signature
Oliver Evans (September 13, 1755 – April 15, 1819) was an American inventor, engineer, and businessman born in rural Delaware and later rooted commercially in Philadelphia. He was one of the first Americans to build steam engines and an advocate of high-pressure steam (as opposed to low-pressure steam). A pioneer in the fields of automation, materials handling and steam power, Evans was one of the most prolific and influential inventors in the early years of the United States. He left behind a long series of accomplishments, most notably designing and building the first fully automated industrial process,first propose a design vapor-compression refrigeration, the first high-pressure steam engine, and the first (albeit crude) amphibious vehicle and American automobile. More recently, however, in the allocation of priorities for the development of the high-pressure steam engine, the simultaneity of Evans’ work with that of Richard Trevithick has been established, and historians have accorded proper credit for his pioneering of the assembly line.[1]
Born in Newport, Delaware, Evans received little formal education and in his mid-teens was apprenticed to a wheelwright. Going into business with his brothers, he worked for over a decade designing, building and perfecting an automated mill with devices such as bucket chains and conveyor belts. In doing so Evans designed a continuous process of manufacturing that required no human labor. This novel concept would prove critical to the Industrial Revolution and the development of mass production. Later in life Evans turned his attention to steam power and built the first high-pressure steam engine in the United States in 1801, developing his design independently of Richard Trevithick, who built the first in the world a year earlier. Evans was a driving force in the development and adoption of high-pressure steam engines in the United States. Evans dreamed of building a steam-powered wagon and eventually constructing and running one in 1805. Known as the Oruktor Amphibolos, it was the first automobile in the country and the world's first amphibious vehicle, although it was too primitive to be a success as either.
Evans was a visionary who produced designs and ideas far ahead of their time. He was the first to describe vapor-compression refrigeration and propose a design for the first refrigerator in 1805, but it would be three decades until his colleague Jacob Perkins would be able to construct a working example. Similarly, he drew up designs for a solar boiler, machine gun, steam-carriage gearshift, dough-kneading machine, perpetual baking oven, marine salvage process, quadruple-effect evaporator, and a scheme for urban gas lighting, ideas and designs which would not be made reality until some time after his death. Evans had influential backers and political allies, but lacked social graces and was disliked by many of his peers. Disappointed and then angry at the perceived lack of recognition for his contributions, Evans became combative and bitter in later years, which damaged his reputation and left him isolated. Despite the importance of his work, his contributions were frequently overlooked (or attributed to others after his death) so he never became a household name alongside the other steam pioneers of his era.
OliverEvans (September 13, 1755 – April 15, 1819) was an American inventor, engineer, and businessman born in rural Delaware and later rooted commercially...
Frank OliverEvans was a British Able Seaman of the RMS Titanic as part of its Deck Crew. He was known for being a survivor of the ship as well as being...
Mill - History of the Old Stone Mill". Evans, Oliver, The Young Mill-Wright and Miller’s Guide, OliverEvans, Philadelphia, 1795, Chapter II, pp.88-90...
approaching. Lord asked Evans if he knew of any ships in the area, and Evans responded: "only the Titanic." Lord asked Evans to inform her that Californian...
and 1843, in Buffalo, New York. Using the steam-powered flour mills of OliverEvans as their model, they invented the marine leg, which scooped loose grain...
Shortly thereafter high-pressure engines by Richard Trevithick and OliverEvans were introduced. The compound steam engine became widespread in the late...
17 October 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2022. Oliver Lyttelton (13 June 2014). "'The Hobbit' Star Luke Evans Joins Tom Hiddleston in Ben Wheatley's 'High...
Training Authority (ITA)". itabc.ca. Retrieved 4 January 2017. Evans, Oliver; Cadwallader Evans; Thomas Ellicott (1848). The young mill-wright and miller's...
American drama film directed by Bill Oliver, from a screenplay by Oliver and Peter Nickowitz. It stars Billy Porter, Luke Evans, Robin Weigert, Andrew Rannells...
in an art gallery whose expression she found to be, as described by OliverEvans in The Georgia Review , "wise, kindly, and compassionate". Spiros Antonapoulos...
Lifeboat 10 numbered around 57 people, including: Able Seaman Frank OliverEvans, who later transferred to Lifeboat 14 Elizabeth Gladys 'Millvina' Dean...
sentence ses gestes d’anthropopithèque was translated in 1959 by Idrisyn OliverEvans as "his semi-human gestures". The French word pipeau refers to a type...
Orukter Amphibolos, was conceived and built by United States inventor OliverEvans in 1805, although it is disputed to have successfully travelled over...
separately, OliverEvans in 1801 introduced engines using high-pressure steam; Trevithick obtained his high-pressure engine patent in 1802, and Evans had made...
invented by Edmund Cartwright 1785: Automatic flour mill invented by OliverEvans 1786: Threshing machine invented by Andrew Meikle 1787: Jacques Charles...
London before becoming an actor. Munn, Patrick. "Oliver Walker Cast In BBC One's 'Atlantis', David Evans Boards 'The Ark'". TV Wise. Archived from the original...
patent expired, the Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick and the American OliverEvans began to construct higher-pressure non-condensing steam engines, exhausting...
named Oliver Cromwell. Other public statues of Cromwell are the Statue of Oliver Cromwell, St Ives in Cambridgeshire and the Statue of Oliver Cromwell...
minutes. At 00:00 (12 a.m.), Fleet and Lee were relieved by Alfred Frank Evans and George Hogg. Fleet went down to the boat deck and helped prepare Lifeboat...
aimed to replace human operators with mechanized processes. In 1784, OliverEvans created a water-powered flourmill which operated using buckets and screw...
at Wingerworth Iron Foundry, Derbyshire, England, by Joseph Butler. OliverEvans is awarded a U.S. patent for his "steam carriage," a design that is believed...
This may be the reason why the history of the icemakers begins with OliverEvans, an American inventor who designed the first refrigeration machine in...
magnétisme". Histoire de l’Académie Royale des Sciences. pp. 569–577. Evans, Oliver; Evans, Thomas Ellicott Cadwallader (1848). The Young Mill-wright and Miller's...
Global Information
