Recent from talks
Birdsill Holly
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Birdsill Holly
Birdsill Holly Jr. (November 8, 1820 – April 27, 1894) was an American mechanical engineer and inventor of water hydraulics devices. He is known for inventing mechanical devices that improved city water systems and patented an improved fire hydrant that is similar to those used currently for firefighting. Holly was a co-inventor of the Silsby steam fire engine. He founded the Holly Manufacturing Company that developed into the larger Holly Steam Combination Company that distributed heat from a central station and developed commercial district heating for cities in the United States and Canada.
Birdsill Holly Jr. was born on November 8, 1820, in Auburn, New York. His father was Birdsill Holly, Sr. and his mother was Comfort (Parker) Holly. When Holly was born his father moved the family to Auburn to join the crew constructing the new prison facility. When the prison was completed, Birdsill Sr. found a job at the Auburn Theological Seminary in construction, after which he tried to farm without much success. The family moved to Seneca Falls, New York, where there was a water-powered industry with many jobs. Holly grew up in the Seneca Falls area, where his father found work as a millwright and general mechanic.
Holly was forced to drop out of school at the age of eight when his father died prematurely at the age of 37; he was only in the third grade before he had to start supporting his family. He was influenced by his father and took an interest in similar trade skills of mechanical engineering. Holly started an apprenticeship in a cabinetry before he trained as a mechanic. In his late teens Holly became a superintendent in the machine trade and later became an owner of a machine shop in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
Holly moved back to Seneca Falls in his early twenties. In 1845 he became one of the partners of a new firm called Silsby, Race and Holly in 1845, which manufactured hydraulic machinery and steam-powered fire engines. As the firm's visionary, Holly contributed significantly to their success. In 1849 he received his first patent, for a rotary water pump.
Holly was a co-inventor of the Silsby steam fire engine, which was first produced in 1856. The unconventional rotary motion steam-cylinder engine and pump were Holly's inventions (US39259A and US12350A). The first of these machines weighed up to 9,500 pounds (4,300 kilograms) and produced 60 pounds (27 kilograms) of steam pressure, enough to propel four streams of water over 200 feet (61 m). The greatest distance recorded for a stream was 364 feet (111 m) on September 24, 1881, in Reading, Pennsylvania. More than 1,000 were made, becoming the most popular steam fire engine built in the United States.
Holly left Seneca Falls in 1851 for Lockport, where in 1859 he established the Holly Manufacturing Company with the financial assistance of politicians Washington Hunt and Thomas Flagler. The company produced sewing machines, cistern pumps, and rotary pumps.
Holly built the Lockport Fire Protection and Water System in 1863, which used pumps powered by water turbines and steam engines to bring water to hydrants in the city. In 1871, his system was adopted by Covington, Kentucky, in 1871. In 1869, he patented a fire hydrant used for fire protection.
Holly's inventions used pressure to pump water directly into the main city water supply lines, since there were no water towers at the time for pressure from a local water supply reservoir for drinking water and fire protection. The pumps ran at various speeds according to usage and was regulated by the pressure in the discharge main. Holly's company facilities doubled when he built a similar system for the city of Lockport water works department. Eventually his water works system equipment was in use in more than two thousand cities in the United States and Canada.
Hub AI
Birdsill Holly AI simulator
(@Birdsill Holly_simulator)
Birdsill Holly
Birdsill Holly Jr. (November 8, 1820 – April 27, 1894) was an American mechanical engineer and inventor of water hydraulics devices. He is known for inventing mechanical devices that improved city water systems and patented an improved fire hydrant that is similar to those used currently for firefighting. Holly was a co-inventor of the Silsby steam fire engine. He founded the Holly Manufacturing Company that developed into the larger Holly Steam Combination Company that distributed heat from a central station and developed commercial district heating for cities in the United States and Canada.
Birdsill Holly Jr. was born on November 8, 1820, in Auburn, New York. His father was Birdsill Holly, Sr. and his mother was Comfort (Parker) Holly. When Holly was born his father moved the family to Auburn to join the crew constructing the new prison facility. When the prison was completed, Birdsill Sr. found a job at the Auburn Theological Seminary in construction, after which he tried to farm without much success. The family moved to Seneca Falls, New York, where there was a water-powered industry with many jobs. Holly grew up in the Seneca Falls area, where his father found work as a millwright and general mechanic.
Holly was forced to drop out of school at the age of eight when his father died prematurely at the age of 37; he was only in the third grade before he had to start supporting his family. He was influenced by his father and took an interest in similar trade skills of mechanical engineering. Holly started an apprenticeship in a cabinetry before he trained as a mechanic. In his late teens Holly became a superintendent in the machine trade and later became an owner of a machine shop in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
Holly moved back to Seneca Falls in his early twenties. In 1845 he became one of the partners of a new firm called Silsby, Race and Holly in 1845, which manufactured hydraulic machinery and steam-powered fire engines. As the firm's visionary, Holly contributed significantly to their success. In 1849 he received his first patent, for a rotary water pump.
Holly was a co-inventor of the Silsby steam fire engine, which was first produced in 1856. The unconventional rotary motion steam-cylinder engine and pump were Holly's inventions (US39259A and US12350A). The first of these machines weighed up to 9,500 pounds (4,300 kilograms) and produced 60 pounds (27 kilograms) of steam pressure, enough to propel four streams of water over 200 feet (61 m). The greatest distance recorded for a stream was 364 feet (111 m) on September 24, 1881, in Reading, Pennsylvania. More than 1,000 were made, becoming the most popular steam fire engine built in the United States.
Holly left Seneca Falls in 1851 for Lockport, where in 1859 he established the Holly Manufacturing Company with the financial assistance of politicians Washington Hunt and Thomas Flagler. The company produced sewing machines, cistern pumps, and rotary pumps.
Holly built the Lockport Fire Protection and Water System in 1863, which used pumps powered by water turbines and steam engines to bring water to hydrants in the city. In 1871, his system was adopted by Covington, Kentucky, in 1871. In 1869, he patented a fire hydrant used for fire protection.
Holly's inventions used pressure to pump water directly into the main city water supply lines, since there were no water towers at the time for pressure from a local water supply reservoir for drinking water and fire protection. The pumps ran at various speeds according to usage and was regulated by the pressure in the discharge main. Holly's company facilities doubled when he built a similar system for the city of Lockport water works department. Eventually his water works system equipment was in use in more than two thousand cities in the United States and Canada.
Recent media