Howe, William

Howe, William

▪ American inventor
born May 12, 1803, Spencer, Mass., U.S.
died Sept. 19, 1852, Springfield, Mass.

      U.S. inventor who pioneered in the development of truss bridges in the U.S.

      An uncle of Elias Howe, the sewing-machine inventor, William Howe farmed until 1838, the year he was engaged to build a bridge for the Boston and Albany Railroad at Warren, Mass. He made major alterations in previous truss designs and in 1840 received two patents for the Howe truss. After he built a bridge over the Connecticut River at Springfield, his truss proved so successful that henceforth he was primarily a bridge builder. His truss, with wooden diagonal members and iron vertical ties, was the most popular bridge design in the U.S. during the last half of the 19th century. In 1842 he obtained a patent for an improvement in the Howe truss, incorporating a curved timber extending from each buttress to the centre of the truss.

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  • Howe, William Howe, 5th Viscount — born Aug. 10, 1729 died July 12, 1814, Plymouth, Devonshire, Eng. British military commander. The brother of Adm. Richard Howe, he fought in the last French and Indian War (1754–63), in which he earned a reputation as one of the army s most… …   Universalium

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  • William Steffe — (1830 1890) collected and edited a camp meeting song with the traditional Glory Hallelujah refrain, in about 1856. [Annie J. Randall, A Censorship of Forgetting: Origins and Origin Myths of Battle Hymn of the Republic , in Music, Power, and… …   Wikipedia

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  • Howe — /how/, n. 1. E(dgar) W(atson), 1853 1937, U.S. novelist and editor. 2. Elias, 1819 67, U.S. inventor of the sewing machine. 3. Gordon (Gordie), born 1928, Canadian ice hockey player. 4. Irving, 1920 93, U.S. social historian and literary critic.… …   Universalium

  • William — /wil yeuhm/, n. 1. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter W. 2. a male given name: from Germanic words meaning will and helmet. * * * (as used in expressions) Huddie William Ledbetter Aberhart William George William… …   Universalium

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  • howe — /how/, Scot. and North Eng. n. 1. a hole. 2. the hold of a ship. 3. a hollow; dell. adj. 4. hollow. 5. deep. Also, how. [1325 75; ME (north and Scots), alter. of holl; see HOLLOW] * * * (as used in expressi …   Universalium

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