-
1 Dawson, William
SUBJECT AREA: Textiles[br]b. mid-eighteenth centuryd. c.1805 London, England[br]English inventor of the notched wheel for making patterns on early warp knitting machines.[br]William Dawson, a Leicester framework knitter, made an important addition to William Lee's knitting machine with his invention of the notched wheel in 1791. Lee's machine could make only plain knitting; to be able to knit patterns, there had to be some means of mechanically selecting and operating, independently of all the others, any individual thread, needle, lever or bar at work in the machine. This was partly achieved when Dawson devised a wheel that was irregularly notched on its edge and which, when rotated, pushed sprung bars, which in turn operated on the needles or other parts of the recently invented warp knitting machines. He seems to have first applied the idea for the knitting of military sashes, but then found it could be adapted to plait stay laces with great rapidity. With the financial assistance of two Leicester manufacturers and with his own good mechanical ability, Dawson found a way of cutting his wheels. However, the two financiers withdrew their support because he did not finish the design on time, although he was able to find a friend in a Nottingham architect, Mr Gregory, who helped him to obtain the patent. A number of his machines were set up in Nottingham but, like many other geniuses, he squandered his money away. When the patent expired, he asked Lord Chancellor Eldon to have it renewed: he moved his workshop to London, where Eldon inspected his machine, but the patent was not extended and in consequence Dawson committed suicide.[br]Bibliography1791, British patent no. 1,820 (notched wheel for knitting machine).Further ReadingW.Felkin, 1867, History of Machine-Wrought Hosiery and Lace Manufacture (covers Dawson's invention).W.English, 1969, The Textile Industry, London (provides an outline history of the development of knitting machines).RLH -
2 Textiles
See also: INDEX BY SUBJECT AREA[br]Dore, Samuel GriswoldHeilmann, JosuéLevers, JohnLister, Samuel CunliffeMa JunSong Yingxing -
3 Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent
SUBJECT AREA: Chemical technology[br]b. 26 August 1743 Paris, Franced. 8 May 1794 Paris, France[br]French founder of the modern science of chemistry.[br]As well as receiving a formal education in law and literature, Lavoisier studied science under some of the leading figures of the day. This proved to be an ideal formation of the man in whom "man of science" and "public servant" were so intimately combined. His early work towards the first geological map of France and on the water supply of Paris helped to win him election to the Royal Academy of Sciences in 1768 at the youthful age of 25. In the same year he used some of his private income to buy a part-share in the "tax farm", a private company which leased from the Government the right to collect certain indirect taxes.In 1772 Lavoisier began his researches into the related phenomena of combustion, respiration and the calcination or oxidation of metals. This culminated in the early 1780s in the overthrow of the prevailing theory, based on an imponderable combustion principle called "phlogiston", and the substitution of the modern explanation of these processes. At the same time, understanding of the nature of acids, bases and salts was placed on a sounder footing. More important, Lavoisier defined a chemical element in its modern sense and showed how it should be applied by drawing up the first modern list of the chemical elements. With the revolution in chemistry initiated by Lavoisier, chemists could begin to understand correctly the fundamental processes of their science. This understanding was the foundationo of the astonishing advance in scientific and industrial chemistry that has taken place since then. As an academician, Lavoisier was paid by the Government to carry out investigations into a wide variety of practical questions with a chemical bias, such as the manufacture of starch and the distillation of phosphorus. In 1775 Louis XVI ordered the setting up of the Gunpowder Commission to improve the supply and quality of gunpowder, deficiencies in which had hampered France's war efforts. Lavoisier was a member of the Commission and, as usual, took the leading part, drawing up its report and supervising its implementation. As a result, the industry became profitable, output increased so that France could even export powder, and the range of the powder increased by two-thirds. This was a material factor in France's war effort in the Revolution and the Napoleonic wars.As if his chemical researches and official duties were not enough, Lavoisier began to apply his scientific principles to agriculture when he purchased an estate at Frechines, near Blois. After ten years' work on his experimental farm there, Lavoisier was able to describe his results in the memoir "Results of some agricultural experiments and reflections on their relation to political economy" (Paris, 1788), which holds historic importance in agriculture and economics. In spite of his services to the nation and to humanity, his association with the tax farm was to have tragic consequences: during the reign of terror in 1794 the Revolutionaries consigned to the guillotine all the tax farmers, including Lavoisier.[br]Bibliography1862–93, Oeuvres de Lavoisier, Vols I–IV, ed. J.B.A.Dumas; Vols V–VI, ed. E.Grimaux, Paris (Lavoisier's collected works).Further ReadingD.I.Duveen and H.S.Klickstein, 1954, A Bibliography of the Works of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier 1743–1794, London: William Dawson (contains valuable biographical material).D.McKie, 1952, Antoine Lavoisier, Scientist, Economist, Social Reformer, London: Constable (the best modern, general biography).H.Guerlac, 1975, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, Chemist and Revolutionary, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (a more recent work).LRDBiographical history of technology > Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent
См. также в других словарях:
Dawson, William Levi — (1886 1970) African American politician William Dawson was born in Albany, Georgia. He graduated from Fisk University in Nashville in 1909, and in 1912 he moved to Chicago. In 1917, he joined the infantry and served as a first lieutenant in… … Historical Dictionary of the Roosevelt–Truman Era
William Mercer Owens Dawson — (* 21. Mai 1853 in Bloomington, Maryland; † 12. März 1916 in Charleston, West Virginia) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und von 1905 bis 1909 der 12. Gouverneur von West Virginia. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe Jahre und politischer Aufstieg 2… … Deutsch Wikipedia
Dawson Turner — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Dawson Turner Nacimiento 18 de octubre 1775 … Wikipedia Español
William Adams Dawson — (* 5. November 1903 in Layton, Utah; † 7. November 1981 in Salt Lake City, Utah) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker. Dawson studierte Jura am law department der University of Utah. Nachdem er 1926 seinen Abschluss machte, wurde er im selben Jahr … Deutsch Wikipedia
William Gustavus Conley — (* 8. Januar 1866 in Kingwood, West Virginia; † 21. Oktober 1940 in Charleston, West Virginia) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und von 1929 bis 1933 der 18. Gouverneur von West Virginia. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe Jahre und politischer… … Deutsch Wikipedia
William Harbutt Dawson — (b. July 27, 1860 1948) was a British author who wrote numerous books around the turn of the Twentieth Century. Dawson was educated at Berlin University, and most of his works deal with Germany and various aspects of German social and political… … Wikipedia
William Alexander MacCorkle — (* 7. Mai 1857 in der Nähe von Lexington, Virginia; † 24. September 1930 in Charleston, West Virginia) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und von 1893 bis 1897 der 9. Gouverneur von West Virginia. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe Jahre und politischer … Deutsch Wikipedia
William W. Barron — William Wallace Barron (* 8. Dezember 1911 in Elkins, West Virginia; † 12. November 2002 in Charlotte, North Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker. Er war 1961 bis 1965 der 26. Gouverneur von West Virginia. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe… … Deutsch Wikipedia
William Casey Marland — (* 26. März 1918 in Johnston City, Illinois; † 26. November 1965 in Barrington, Illinois) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und von 1953 bis 1957 der 24. Gouverneur von West Virginia. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe Jahre und politischer Aufstieg 2… … Deutsch Wikipedia
William Erskine Stevenson — (* 18. März 1820 in Warren, Pennsylvania; † 29. November 1883 in Parkersburg, West Virginia) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und von 1869 bis 1871 der 3. Gouverneur von West Virginia. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe Jahre und politischer Aufstieg… … Deutsch Wikipedia
William Gaston Caperton III — (* 21. Februar 1940 in Charleston, West Virginia) ist ein US amerikanischer Politiker. Er war 1989 bis 1997 der 31. Gouverneur von West Virginia. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe Jahre 2 Gouverneur von West Virginia … Deutsch Wikipedia
