Isaac Babbitt

Isaac Babbitt (July 26, 1799 in Taunton, Massachusetts – May 26, 1862 in Somerville, Massachusetts) was an American inventor. In 1839, he invented a bearing made of a low-friction tin-based metal alloy, Babbitt metal, that is used extensively in engine bearings today.[1]

Isaac Babbitt
Isaac Babbitt
Born	July 26, 1799 Taunton, Massachusetts
Died	May 26, 1862 Somerville, Massachusetts
Known for	Babbitt metal

Babbitt was a goldsmith by trade, who experimented with metal alloys. In 1824, he made the first Britannia metal manufactured in the United States, from which he sold table wares as Babbitt, Crossman & Company. As this proved financially unsuccessful, he withdrew, and in 1834 moved to Boston. There he engaged as superintendent for the South Boston Iron Company, better known as Alger's foundries, where he produced the first brass cannon in the United States. Also while there, in 1839, he invented the widely used anti-friction metal now known as Babbitt metal. For this invention he received in 1841 a gold medal from the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, and afterward the United States Congress granted him $20,000. He subsequently patented this material in England (1844) and in Russia (1847). For some time, he devoted his attention to the production of the metal, and he was also engaged in the manufacture of soap.

Patents

• "A Mode of Making Boxes for Axles and Gudgeons", U.S. Patent 1252, July 17, 1839
• "Metallic Hones for Sharpening Razors", U.S. Patent No. 10,5254, May 23, 1854

See also

• Tabitha Babbitt, Shaker inventor of the circular saw.

References

1. Hellemans, A.; Bunch, B.H. (1988). The Timetables of Science: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in the History of Science. A Hudson Group Book. Simon and Schuster. p. 305. ISBN 978-0-671-62130-8. Archived from the original on 2012-05-24.

• "Isaac Babbitt", Appletons Encyclopedia
• "Isaac Babbitt", Encyclopaedia Britannica