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<span class=prefix>BG</span> William Petit Trowbridge

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BG William Petit Trowbridge

Birth
Troy, Oakland County, Michigan, USA
Death
12 Aug 1892 (aged 64)
New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA
Burial
New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA GPS-Latitude: 41.3001528, Longitude: -72.9465589
Plot
Section: Lawn Avenue, Plot: 495, Grave: 3 
Memorial ID
View Source
Scientist, Engineer and Author. Trowbridge entered the United States Military Academy in 1844 and graduated first in his class on July 1, 1848. He was appointed a Brevet Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and stationed at the Military Academy Observatory where he remained from 1848 to 1850. In 1849 he was advanced to second lieutenant and attached to the Company of Sappers, Miners, and Pontnoniers from 1850 to 1851. He went on Coast Survey serving from April of 1851 to December 1, 1856 being engaged in the Primary Triangulation of the Coast of Maine, and Surveys of Appomattox and James River, Virginia. He also was a part of the Survey of the Pacific Coast, including Astronomical, Tidal and Magnetic Observations from 1853 to 1856. On December 18, 1854 he was promoted to first lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers . On December 1, 1856 he resigned from the service and accepted the position of Professor of Mathematics at the University of Michigan were he remained until 1857. He left Michigan to accept the office of Scientific Secretary of the Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey from 1857 to 1861 and on Hydrographic Survey of a part of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island as well as Key West, Florida. During the Civil War he was in charge of the Engineer Agency, at New York city, for supplying materials for fortifications and construction, and shipping of engineering material for armies in the field. From 1861 to 1865 he was the Superintending Engineer of the construction of the Fort at Willett's Point, New York and repairs of Fort Schuyler, New York and in charge of works on Governor's Island, New York Harbor from 1862 to 1865. After the war he became Vice President of the Novelty Iron Works in New York City. He was elected Professor of Dynamical Engineering in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College in 1870 and remained in that position until 1877 when he accepted a position as head of the School of Mines of Columbia College, which he held until the time of his death. He was appointed Brigadier General of the Connecticut National Guard and served from 1872 to 1874. He was chosen as the Chief Special Agent of the tenth United States census for collecting statistics relating to "Power and Machinery Employed in Manufactures." He was a member of many scientific societies and Vice President of the New York Academy of Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In the later capacity he presided over the section of Mechanical Science in 1882 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He was a contributor to many scientific journals and his more prominent works include "East River at Blackwell's Island," "Heat as a Source of Power," and "Turbine Wheels." He is credited with having been the first engineer to suggest the idea of the cautilever bridge.
Scientist, Engineer and Author. Trowbridge entered the United States Military Academy in 1844 and graduated first in his class on July 1, 1848. He was appointed a Brevet Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and stationed at the Military Academy Observatory where he remained from 1848 to 1850. In 1849 he was advanced to second lieutenant and attached to the Company of Sappers, Miners, and Pontnoniers from 1850 to 1851. He went on Coast Survey serving from April of 1851 to December 1, 1856 being engaged in the Primary Triangulation of the Coast of Maine, and Surveys of Appomattox and James River, Virginia. He also was a part of the Survey of the Pacific Coast, including Astronomical, Tidal and Magnetic Observations from 1853 to 1856. On December 18, 1854 he was promoted to first lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers . On December 1, 1856 he resigned from the service and accepted the position of Professor of Mathematics at the University of Michigan were he remained until 1857. He left Michigan to accept the office of Scientific Secretary of the Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey from 1857 to 1861 and on Hydrographic Survey of a part of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island as well as Key West, Florida. During the Civil War he was in charge of the Engineer Agency, at New York city, for supplying materials for fortifications and construction, and shipping of engineering material for armies in the field. From 1861 to 1865 he was the Superintending Engineer of the construction of the Fort at Willett's Point, New York and repairs of Fort Schuyler, New York and in charge of works on Governor's Island, New York Harbor from 1862 to 1865. After the war he became Vice President of the Novelty Iron Works in New York City. He was elected Professor of Dynamical Engineering in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College in 1870 and remained in that position until 1877 when he accepted a position as head of the School of Mines of Columbia College, which he held until the time of his death. He was appointed Brigadier General of the Connecticut National Guard and served from 1872 to 1874. He was chosen as the Chief Special Agent of the tenth United States census for collecting statistics relating to "Power and Machinery Employed in Manufactures." He was a member of many scientific societies and Vice President of the New York Academy of Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In the later capacity he presided over the section of Mechanical Science in 1882 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He was a contributor to many scientific journals and his more prominent works include "East River at Blackwell's Island," "Heat as a Source of Power," and "Turbine Wheels." He is credited with having been the first engineer to suggest the idea of the cautilever bridge.


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