A mechanical engineer is a specialist in all fields related to machines, kinematics, thermodynamics and tools. One of the oldest disciplines of engineering, mechanical engineering is one of the largest producers of engineers around the world today, closely followed by civil and aeronautical engineers. Working as a mechanical engineer is known to be an enriching and rewarding experience and the job description involves working to plan, build and examine motor-powered vehicles, manufacturing plants, airplanes, industrial equipment, cybernetics and much more. These engineers are in a highly lucrative position and considering that mechanical engineering is an extraordinarily comprehensive field, the engineer can specialise in a number of areas including, applied mechanics, bioengineering, manufacturing engineering and nuclear engineering to name a few. The oldest documented mechanical engineers can be traced back to Ancient Greece and can be seen in the works of Archimedes. Zhang Heng, the inventor of the seismometer and the water clock, lived between the periods of 78-139 AD, who left behind a great legacy related to ‘mechanics’ around the world. Here is a compilation of a list of famous mechanical engineers, learn more fascinating facts and details about them with their biographies that include trivia, interesting facts, timeline and life history.
Kate Gleason
Nikola Tesla
Ayodele Awojobi
Kate Gleason
FAMOUS AS
Mechanical Engineer
NATIONALITY
BORN ON
25 November 1865 AD
BIRTHDAY
25th November Famous 25th November Birthdays
DIED AT AGE
67
SUN SIGN
BORN IN
Rochester
DIED ON
09 January 1933 AD
EDUCATION
Cornell University
Rochester Institute of Technology
DISCOVERIES / INVENTIONS
Tract Housing
Kate Gleason was the first female member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Even though she did not have any thorough engineering training, she made a name for herself as one of the few accomplished women engineers of her era. She was also a successful businesswoman who became a role model for many other aspiring career women in the 19th century America. Intelligent and curious from a young age, she was first exposed to the concepts of engineering at the age of 12 when she began helping out her father in his machine tool company, later named Gleason Works. She decided to get formally trained in this field and became the first female to be admitted to study engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She then continued her studies at the Mechanics Institute, later renamed Rochester Institute of Technology. Over the years, she became increasingly involved in the family business and played a pivotal role in its considerable expansion and growth. She never let her gender hinder her professional aspirations and toured Europe extensively, looking to expand the company’s business. In 1918 she was appointed the president of First National Bank of East Rochester, the first woman to serve as president of a national bank. In addition to her successful career, she was also well known for her charitable activities.
Childhood & Early Life
-
Catherine Anselm "Kate" Gleason was born on November 25, 1865, in Rochester, New York, to William and Ellen McDermott Gleason. Her father was the owner of a machine tool company, later named Gleason Works.
-
When she was 11, her stepbrother Tom who helped their father at the company, died of typhoid fever. This caused considerable problems to her father as he lost a valuable helper. She started helping out her father when she was 12 and realized that she had the aptitude for engineering work. By the time she was 14, she had become the company book-keeper.
-
In 1884, she became the first woman to be admitted to study engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. But, she was unable to complete her studies at Cornell due to her obligations towards the family business. She then continued her studies at the Mechanics Institute, later renamed Rochester Institute of Technology.
Career
-
Kate Gleason had become the Secretary-Treasurer of the family business by 1890. Working alongside her father, she designed and perfected a machine that could produce bevelled gears quickly and cheaply.
-
In 1893 she strived for international expansion and travelled to Europe on a business tour. Over a two month voyage she was able to secure orders from England, Scotland, France, and Germany. This trip is counted amongst the first attempts by an American manufacturer to globalize their business.
-
The business continued to flourish mainly due to Kate’s hard work and steely determination and became the leading U.S. producer of gear cutting machinery prior to World War I.
-
Kate resigned from Gleason Works in 1913 due to some family conflicts. Then she took up appointment as Receiver in Bankruptcy for the Ingle Machine Company in East Rochester.
-
In another first for an American woman, she was made the President of the First National Bank of East Rochester, in 1918. She had always been interested in humanitarian causes and this position helped her in furthering her efforts in this direction.
-
She started eight companies, including a construction company that sold low-cost concrete box houses in East Rochester. This work led to her becoming the first female member of the American Concrete Institute.
-
During her later years she travelled extensively and purchased real estate in France, where she helped a town recover from the destruction and devastation of World War I.
Major Works
-
The epitome of the modern career woman in late 19th and early 20th century America, Kate Gleason was the first woman to become a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Concrete Institute. She was also the first woman to serve as president of a national bank.
Philanthropic Work
-
Kate Gleason left much of her $1.4 million estate to charitable and educational causes. Her beneficiaries include libraries, parks, and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The Kate Gleason College of Engineering at RIT is named in her honor.
Awards & Achievements
-
In 1914 Kate Gleason was elected to full membership in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as its first woman member.
Personal Life & Legacy
-
She viewed marriage as a hindrance to her professional life and thus never married. She died of pneumonia on January 9, 1933, at the age of 67.
-
In 2011, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Foundation established the Kate Gleason Award in her honor.
Rochester Institute of Technology
Childhood & Early Life
- Catherine Anselm "Kate" Gleason was born on November 25, 1865, in Rochester, New York, to William and Ellen McDermott Gleason. Her father was the owner of a machine tool company, later named Gleason Works.
- When she was 11, her stepbrother Tom who helped their father at the company, died of typhoid fever. This caused considerable problems to her father as he lost a valuable helper. She started helping out her father when she was 12 and realized that she had the aptitude for engineering work. By the time she was 14, she had become the company book-keeper.
- In 1884, she became the first woman to be admitted to study engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. But, she was unable to complete her studies at Cornell due to her obligations towards the family business. She then continued her studies at the Mechanics Institute, later renamed Rochester Institute of Technology.
- Kate Gleason had become the Secretary-Treasurer of the family business by 1890. Working alongside her father, she designed and perfected a machine that could produce bevelled gears quickly and cheaply.
- In 1893 she strived for international expansion and travelled to Europe on a business tour. Over a two month voyage she was able to secure orders from England, Scotland, France, and Germany. This trip is counted amongst the first attempts by an American manufacturer to globalize their business.
- The business continued to flourish mainly due to Kate’s hard work and steely determination and became the leading U.S. producer of gear cutting machinery prior to World War I.
- Kate resigned from Gleason Works in 1913 due to some family conflicts. Then she took up appointment as Receiver in Bankruptcy for the Ingle Machine Company in East Rochester.
- In another first for an American woman, she was made the President of the First National Bank of East Rochester, in 1918. She had always been interested in humanitarian causes and this position helped her in furthering her efforts in this direction.
- She started eight companies, including a construction company that sold low-cost concrete box houses in East Rochester. This work led to her becoming the first female member of the American Concrete Institute.
- During her later years she travelled extensively and purchased real estate in France, where she helped a town recover from the destruction and devastation of World War I.
Major Works
- The epitome of the modern career woman in late 19th and early 20th century America, Kate Gleason was the first woman to become a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Concrete Institute. She was also the first woman to serve as president of a national bank.
Philanthropic Work
- Kate Gleason left much of her $1.4 million estate to charitable and educational causes. Her beneficiaries include libraries, parks, and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The Kate Gleason College of Engineering at RIT is named in her honor.
Awards & Achievements
- In 1914 Kate Gleason was elected to full membership in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as its first woman member.
Personal Life & Legacy
- She viewed marriage as a hindrance to her professional life and thus never married. She died of pneumonia on January 9, 1933, at the age of 67.
- In 2011, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Foundation established the Kate Gleason Award in her honor.
Nikola Tesla
FAMOUS AS
Father of Radio
NATIONALITY
BORN ON
10 July 1856 AD
BIRTHDAY
10th July Famous 10th July Birthdays
DIED AT AGE
86
SUN SIGN
BORN IN
Smiljan, Austrian Empire (modern-day Croatia)
DIED ON
07 January 1943 AD
PLACE OF DEATH
New York City, New York, USA
FATHER
Milutin Tesla
MOTHER
Duka Tesla
SIBLINGS
Dane, Milka, Angelina, Marica
MARRIED
No
EDUCATION
Graz University of Technology (1875 – 1878)
Gymnasium Karlovac (1870 – 1873)
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, best known for his development of alternating current electrical systems. He also made extraordinary contributions to the fields of electromagnetism and wireless radio communications. He was a child prodigy and possessed an eidetic memory with a futuristic vision for the mankind which is evident from most of his discoveries and researches. He was a trained electrical and mechanical engineer whose discoveries and inventions included the modern electric motor, wireless transmission of energy, basic laser and radar technology, the first neon and fluorescent illumination and the Tesla coil (widely used in radio, television sets, and other electronic equipment).Despite being a great inventor, his life was mostly shadowed by poverty because he was a terrible businessman. He was impractical with his money and had nobody to pass on his legacy to since he never got involved in a relationship with anyone. Although he was regarded as a generous and polite person by his friends, he had very limited social interaction with them because of his firm daily routine. He was a loner all his life and died penniless without the accolades that he would ultimately earn after his death. He was undoubtedly one of the most influential inventors of the 20th century whose discoveries in the field of electricity were way ahead of his time and continue to influence technology even today.
Childhood & Early Life
-
He was born on July 10, 1856 in the village of Smiljan, Austrian Empire, to Milutin Tesla, an orthodox priest and his wife, Djuka Mandic, an inventive homemaker who, in her spare time, created household appliances.
-
He was the fourth of five children in his family. He had an eidetic memory with a knack for electrical inventions. He always credited his mother’s genetic influence for his creative abilities.
-
He received his early education of German, arithmetic, and religion from the primary school in Smiljan.
-
In 1870, he was enrolled at the Higher Real Gymnasium in Karlovac and graduated the four year course within three years in 1873 with the help of his extraordinary intelligence
-
In 1875, he attended the Austrian Polytechnic in Graz, Austria, on a Military Frontier scholarship. He was a brilliant student in his first year but got addicted to gambling in his second year at the college which ruined his graduation and he was not able to obtain a degree.
Career
-
In 1881, he worked as a draftsman in the Central Telegraph Office in Budapest. Later he became the chief electrician in the Budapest Telephone Exchange and made significant improvements to the Central Station equipment.
-
In 1882, he was employed by the Continental Edison Company in France as a designer of electrical equipment. After two years, he was shifted to New York to work for Thomas Edison, helping him to redesign the direct current generators.
-
His idea of improving Edison’s inefficient motors and generators through the polyphase alternating current system prompted Edison to promise him a prize money of fifty thousand dollars if he did it successfully. He completed his task and demanded the prize money to which Edison replied that his challenge was just a form of American humor. Tesla immediately resigned from his job.
-
In 1888, he was hired by the industrialist George Westinghouse, who was impressed by his idea for the polyphase system, to develop the alternating current electric supply system. Ultimately, he won the war of currents with Edison’s DC system by demonstrating the marvels of electric appliances via alternating current.
-
Soon he established his own laboratory and invested his time and energy on numerous experiments including the ‘Tesla Coil’, carbon button lamp, on the power of electrical resonance, and on various types of lighting.
-
In 1899, he moved to Colorado Springs where he established his laboratory for creating a wireless global energy transmission system. He experimented on man-made lightning for sharing information and providing free electricity throughout the world wirelessly.
-
In 1900, he began his work on establishing the trans-Atlantic wireless telecommunications facility in Wardenclyffe, near Shoreham, Long Island. He performed many experiments in the facility but due to shortage of funds, he was forced to sell it around the time of World War I.
-
Later in life, he announced a method of transmitting mechanical energy with minimal loss over any terrestrial distance and a method of accurately determining the location of underground mineral deposits.
Major Works
-
His most notable contribution is in designing the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. It proved to be a more efficient and effective method as compared to the direct current (DC) system of Edison in transmitting electricity in a grid.
-
One of his most celebrated inventions was the ‘Tesla Coil’, a circuit that transforms energy into extremely high voltage charges, creating powerful electrical fields capable of producing spectacular electrical arcs.
-
In 1943, he was dubbed as the “the father of the radio” for his significant contributions to the development of radio.
-
He played a pioneering role in the development of radar technology, X-ray technology and the rotating magnetic field—the basis of most of AC machinery.
Awards & Achievements
-
Tesla (unit), SI derived unit of magnetic flux density (or magnetic inductivity), is named in his honor.
-
In 1894, he was awarded the ‘Elliott Cresson Medal’.
-
In 1895, he was honored with the ‘Order of Prince Danilo I’.
-
In 1934, he was awarded the ‘John Scott Medal’.
-
In 1936, he became the recipient of Order of the White Eagle, I Class, Government of Yugoslavia.
-
He was awarded the ‘University of Paris Medal’ in 1937.
Personal Life & Legacy
-
He had a strict schedule for his everyday life. He worked for almost 15 hours a day with not more than two hours of sleep. He walked for eight to ten miles each day and did not have much of a social life.
-
He had a photographic memory with the talent to speak in eight languages. He never married and did not have any known relationships despite the fact that many women were madly in love with him.
-
He became a vegetarian in his later years, living on only milk, bread, honey, and vegetable juices. He used to feed pigeons on an everyday basis near the end of his life.
-
He died of unknown causes on January 7, 1943 in a hotel room in the New York City. It was later confirmed from examining that he died of coronary thrombosis.
-
The Nikola Tesla Award, named after him, is awarded annually for an outstanding contribution to the generation or utilization of electric power.
FAMOUS AS
Father of Radio
NATIONALITY
BORN ON
10 July 1856 AD
BIRTHDAY
10th July Famous 10th July Birthdays
DIED AT AGE
86
SUN SIGN
BORN IN
Smiljan, Austrian Empire (modern-day Croatia)
DIED ON
07 January 1943 AD
PLACE OF DEATH
New York City, New York, USA
FATHER
Milutin Tesla
MOTHER
Duka Tesla
SIBLINGS
Dane, Milka, Angelina, Marica
MARRIED
No
EDUCATION
Graz University of Technology (1875 – 1878)
Gymnasium Karlovac (1870 – 1873)
Gymnasium Karlovac (1870 – 1873)
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, best known for his development of alternating current electrical systems. He also made extraordinary contributions to the fields of electromagnetism and wireless radio communications. He was a child prodigy and possessed an eidetic memory with a futuristic vision for the mankind which is evident from most of his discoveries and researches. He was a trained electrical and mechanical engineer whose discoveries and inventions included the modern electric motor, wireless transmission of energy, basic laser and radar technology, the first neon and fluorescent illumination and the Tesla coil (widely used in radio, television sets, and other electronic equipment).Despite being a great inventor, his life was mostly shadowed by poverty because he was a terrible businessman. He was impractical with his money and had nobody to pass on his legacy to since he never got involved in a relationship with anyone. Although he was regarded as a generous and polite person by his friends, he had very limited social interaction with them because of his firm daily routine. He was a loner all his life and died penniless without the accolades that he would ultimately earn after his death. He was undoubtedly one of the most influential inventors of the 20th century whose discoveries in the field of electricity were way ahead of his time and continue to influence technology even today.
Childhood & Early Life
- He was born on July 10, 1856 in the village of Smiljan, Austrian Empire, to Milutin Tesla, an orthodox priest and his wife, Djuka Mandic, an inventive homemaker who, in her spare time, created household appliances.
- He was the fourth of five children in his family. He had an eidetic memory with a knack for electrical inventions. He always credited his mother’s genetic influence for his creative abilities.
- He received his early education of German, arithmetic, and religion from the primary school in Smiljan.
- In 1870, he was enrolled at the Higher Real Gymnasium in Karlovac and graduated the four year course within three years in 1873 with the help of his extraordinary intelligence
- In 1875, he attended the Austrian Polytechnic in Graz, Austria, on a Military Frontier scholarship. He was a brilliant student in his first year but got addicted to gambling in his second year at the college which ruined his graduation and he was not able to obtain a degree.
Career
- In 1881, he worked as a draftsman in the Central Telegraph Office in Budapest. Later he became the chief electrician in the Budapest Telephone Exchange and made significant improvements to the Central Station equipment.
- In 1882, he was employed by the Continental Edison Company in France as a designer of electrical equipment. After two years, he was shifted to New York to work for Thomas Edison, helping him to redesign the direct current generators.
- His idea of improving Edison’s inefficient motors and generators through the polyphase alternating current system prompted Edison to promise him a prize money of fifty thousand dollars if he did it successfully. He completed his task and demanded the prize money to which Edison replied that his challenge was just a form of American humor. Tesla immediately resigned from his job.
- In 1888, he was hired by the industrialist George Westinghouse, who was impressed by his idea for the polyphase system, to develop the alternating current electric supply system. Ultimately, he won the war of currents with Edison’s DC system by demonstrating the marvels of electric appliances via alternating current.
- Soon he established his own laboratory and invested his time and energy on numerous experiments including the ‘Tesla Coil’, carbon button lamp, on the power of electrical resonance, and on various types of lighting.
- In 1899, he moved to Colorado Springs where he established his laboratory for creating a wireless global energy transmission system. He experimented on man-made lightning for sharing information and providing free electricity throughout the world wirelessly.
- In 1900, he began his work on establishing the trans-Atlantic wireless telecommunications facility in Wardenclyffe, near Shoreham, Long Island. He performed many experiments in the facility but due to shortage of funds, he was forced to sell it around the time of World War I.
- Later in life, he announced a method of transmitting mechanical energy with minimal loss over any terrestrial distance and a method of accurately determining the location of underground mineral deposits.
Major Works
- His most notable contribution is in designing the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. It proved to be a more efficient and effective method as compared to the direct current (DC) system of Edison in transmitting electricity in a grid.
- One of his most celebrated inventions was the ‘Tesla Coil’, a circuit that transforms energy into extremely high voltage charges, creating powerful electrical fields capable of producing spectacular electrical arcs.
- In 1943, he was dubbed as the “the father of the radio” for his significant contributions to the development of radio.
- He played a pioneering role in the development of radar technology, X-ray technology and the rotating magnetic field—the basis of most of AC machinery.
Awards & Achievements
- Tesla (unit), SI derived unit of magnetic flux density (or magnetic inductivity), is named in his honor.
- In 1894, he was awarded the ‘Elliott Cresson Medal’.
- In 1895, he was honored with the ‘Order of Prince Danilo I’.
- In 1934, he was awarded the ‘John Scott Medal’.
- In 1936, he became the recipient of Order of the White Eagle, I Class, Government of Yugoslavia.
- He was awarded the ‘University of Paris Medal’ in 1937.
Personal Life & Legacy
- He had a strict schedule for his everyday life. He worked for almost 15 hours a day with not more than two hours of sleep. He walked for eight to ten miles each day and did not have much of a social life.
- He had a photographic memory with the talent to speak in eight languages. He never married and did not have any known relationships despite the fact that many women were madly in love with him.
- He became a vegetarian in his later years, living on only milk, bread, honey, and vegetable juices. He used to feed pigeons on an everyday basis near the end of his life.
- He died of unknown causes on January 7, 1943 in a hotel room in the New York City. It was later confirmed from examining that he died of coronary thrombosis.
- The Nikola Tesla Award, named after him, is awarded annually for an outstanding contribution to the generation or utilization of electric power.
Ayodele Awojobi
FAMOUS AS
Academic
NATIONALITY
Nigerien
BORN ON
12 March 1937 AD
BIRTHDAY
12th March Famous 12th March Birthdays
DIED AT AGE
47
SUN SIGN
BORN IN
Oshodi-Isolo
DIED ON
23 September 1984 AD
FAMOUS AS
Academic
NATIONALITY
Nigerien
BORN ON
12 March 1937 AD
BIRTHDAY
12th March Famous 12th March Birthdays
DIED AT AGE
47
SUN SIGN
BORN IN
Oshodi-Isolo
DIED ON
23 September 1984 AD
Aurel Stodola
ALSO KNOWN AS
Стодола, Аурель Болеслав
FAMOUS AS
Engineer
NATIONALITY
BORN ON
10 May 1859 AD
BIRTHDAY
10th May Famous 10th May Birthdays
DIED AT AGE
83
SUN SIGN
PLACE OF DEATH
Zürich
EDUCATION
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
DISCOVERIES / INVENTIONS
Gas Turbine
Franklin Chang Díaz
ALSO KNOWN AS
Franklin Ramón Chang Díaz, Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz, Franklin Chang-Diaz, Franklin Ramón Chang-Díaz
FAMOUS AS
Former NASA Astronaut
NATIONALITY
Costa Rican, American Famous American Men
BORN ON
05 April 1950 AD
BIRTHDAY
AGE
66 Years
SUN SIGN
BORN IN
San José
FATHER
Ramón Angel Chang Morales
MOTHER
María Eugenia Díaz Romero
SIBLINGS
Sonia Rosa Chang-Díaz
SPOUSE:
Peggy Marguerite Doncaster
CHILDREN
Sonia Chang-Díaz, Jean Elizabeth Chang-Díaz, Lidia Aurora Chang-Díaz, Miranda Karina Chang-Díaz
EDUCATION
1969 - Hartford Public High School
1973 - University of Connecticut
1977 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
FOUNDER/CO-FOUNDER
Ad Astra Rocket Company
Franklin Chang Díaz
ALSO KNOWN AS
Franklin Ramón Chang Díaz, Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz, Franklin Chang-Diaz, Franklin Ramón Chang-Díaz
FAMOUS AS
Former NASA Astronaut
NATIONALITY
Costa Rican, American Famous American Men
BORN ON
05 April 1950 AD
BIRTHDAY
AGE
66 Years
SUN SIGN
BORN IN
San José
FATHER
Ramón Angel Chang Morales
MOTHER
María Eugenia Díaz Romero
SIBLINGS
Sonia Rosa Chang-Díaz
SPOUSE:
Peggy Marguerite Doncaster
CHILDREN
Sonia Chang-Díaz, Jean Elizabeth Chang-Díaz, Lidia Aurora Chang-Díaz, Miranda Karina Chang-Díaz
EDUCATION
1969 - Hartford Public High School
1973 - University of Connecticut
1977 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1973 - University of Connecticut
1977 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
FOUNDER/CO-FOUNDER
Ad Astra Rocket Company
No comments:
Post a Comment