. Bulletin - United States National Museum. Science. rudimentary commutator, which led to a prac- tical rotating electrical generator. Returning to the United States in 1837, Saxton was employed in the Mint until, in 1843, he moved to the Coast Survey and was given the responsibility for constructing the standard balances, weights, and measures that were dis- tributed to the various state governments. Many examples of this work are still in existence, delighting the eye and exciting admiration for his surpassingly fine craftsmanship. Joseph Henry paid him a well-deserved compli- ment in d
. Bulletin - United States National Museum. Science. rudimentary commutator, which led to a prac- tical rotating electrical generator. Returning to the United States in 1837, Saxton was employed in the Mint until, in 1843, he moved to the Coast Survey and was given the responsibility for constructing the standard balances, weights, and measures that were dis- tributed to the various state governments. Many examples of this work are still in existence, delighting the eye and exciting admiration for his surpassingly fine craftsmanship. Joseph Henry paid him a well-deserved compli- ment in describing him as one who "had the good fortune, denied to many, of neither being behind nor in advance of his age, but of being in perfect harmony with it. He neither pestered the world with premature projects destined to failure because the necessary contemporaneous conditions were not present; nor retarded the advance of improvement by advocating old errors under new ; Saxton was a tall man, his forehead was high and broad, and his countenance was, according to Henry, thoughtful and benevolent. Honored and esteemed by his more illustrious contempora- ries, Joseph Saxton willed to his successors a heritage of mechanical excellence that one may hope will, in time, be adequately appreciated. in the National Archives. Lukens visited Jacob Perkins while he was in England. A letter from Lukens to Thomas P. Jones dated March 8, 1827, is quoted in Bathe and Bathe (cited in note 26 above), pp. 128-129. 77 A memoir of Joseph Saxton's life was written by his friend Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- tion. In his memoir Henry mentioned a diary that Saxton kept "for several years" while he was in England, in which he "recorded daily events intermingled with suggestions which illustrated his habits, his thoughts, and his varying employ- ment" (Joseph Henry, "Memoir of Joseph Saxton 1799—1873," National Academy of Sc
Size: 1429px × 1749px
Photo credit: © Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorun, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectscience
