Ambrose Swasey | |
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.jpg) Ambrose Swasey | |
| Born | December 19, 1846 |
| Died | June 15, 1937(1937-06-15) (aged 90) |
| Occupation(s) | Engineer, inventor, machinist, entrepreneur, executive, philanthropist |
| Known for | Co-founder of theWarner & Swasey Company |
| Spouse | Lavinia Marston Cummings |
Ambrose Swasey (December 19, 1846 – June 15, 1937) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, manager, astronomer, and philanthropist. WithWorcester R. Warner he co-founded theWarner & Swasey Company.
Swasey was born nearExeter, New Hampshire[1] to Nathaniel and Abigail Swasey. He apprenticed as a machinist at the Exeter Machine Works and was afterwards employed atPratt & Whitney.[1] As his career progressed, he became a foreman in the gear-cutting section. He developed a new technique for making gear-tooth cutters.[1] In 1880, he and Warner formed their eponymous firm,[2] which quickly moved toCleveland, Ohio. Swasey would perform the engineering and machine development at this company.
The close friends Warner and Swasey built their homes next to each other onEuclid Avenue in Cleveland, a street that was known as "Millionaire's Row".
In addition to army ordnance contracts, the firm of Warner & Swasey became notable for their work on astronomical observatories and equipment. The founders were interested in astronomy as an avocation, and in the field's quest for better optical telescopes, which was burgeoning at the time. They also realized that obtaining contracts to build large astronomical observatories would provide publicity for their company.
In 1885, Swasey completed work atMcCormick Observatory on the 45-footdome, which was the largest in the world, and had a unique, 3 shutter design. In 1887, Swasey built the mount for the 36-inchrefracting telescope atLick Observatory. In 1898, he manufactured adividing engine for theU.S. Naval Observatory that was used to make the meridian circles. Both the building and dome of theDominion Astrophysical Observatory were made by Warner and Swasey Co. Other observatory telescopes and components were built by the company at the Kenwood Observatory,Yerkes Observatory,Argentine National Observatory, the Swasey Observatory atDenison University, and theCase School of Applied Science Observatory.
From 1904[1] until 1905, he was the president of theAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Both Warner and Swasey were amateur astronomers. In 1920, they made a joint donation to theCase School of Applied Science to fund the construction of an observatory. This was named theWarner and Swasey Observatory in their honor, and the observatory was used for research by the Case astronomy department. The observatory maintained by the department today is still known by this name today.
Swasey Hall (1917, "懷士堂"), a red brick hall, is the landmark ofSun Yat-sen University, one of the top colleges in China. It was named after Swasey for his USD$25000 donation to the then university ChristianYMCA society hall. Now it serves as a conference hall.
Other donations made by Swasey include the Swasey Chapel at Denison University in Granville, Ohio (1924), a bandstand in Exeter by architectHenry Bacon (1916), a library building toColgate Rochester Divinity School and the endowment of a chair for a professor of physics at the Case School of Applied Sciences. The chimes in the chapel were included as a memorial to his wife, Lavinia Marston Swasey.
Swasey died in Exeter. The Warner & Swasey Company he cofounded would continue until 1980, when it was acquired byBendix Corporation.
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