Amos Whitney (October 8, 1832 – August 5, 1920) was a mechanical engineer and inventor in Connecticut.
Born in Biddeford, Maine, the son of Aaron and Rebecca (Perkins) Whitney. At the age of 12 he moved to Exeter, NH, where he remained until he was 14. He then entered the employ of the Essex Machine Company, in Lawrence, MA, and learned the machinist's trade. He went to Hartford when he was about 19 and was employed by the Colts Fire Arms Company for a few years, and for a number of years he was in the employ of the Phoenix Iron Works. [1]
In 1860 he partnered with Francis A. Pratt to organize the Pratt and Whitney company to manufacture machine tools, tools for the makers of sewing machines, and gun making machinery for use by the Union Army during the American Civil War.
He employed W. A. Rogers and G. M. Bond in 1879 to develop the Rogers-Bond comparator. He also established policies leading to successful training of apprentices there and eventually became president. He retired at the age of 69 in 1901 when the company was acquired by Niles-Bement-Pond Co.
Amos Whitney died in Portland, Maine in 1920. [2]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ [1] Whitney Research Group website
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_Whitney