Birdsill Holly
Birdsill Holly (November 8, 1820 - April 27, 1894) was an inventor. Holly was born in Auburn, New York. He spent his early years in Seneca Falls, New York, a major center of water powered industries. His first patented invention was a rotary water pump.
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[edit] Life
He left Seneca Falls in 1851 for Lockport, New York, where he established Holly Manufacturing. Birdsill's factory employed over 500 men, and was one of the largest manufacturing plants in the Northeast at the time. He is known for inventing the rotary pump and district heating. Birdsill Holly had over a 150 patents when he died, placing him second only to Thomas Edison in the U.S. for most patents held by one person. He was also a key person in the invention of the Sybill steam engine, which became the first non-man-powered fire engine.
[edit] Death
Birdsill Holly died on April 27, 1894 at 7pm. He had suffered from a long illness and the cause of death was listed as heart failure.
[edit] Lore
A rumor purports that on the day he died, the nearby town of Gasport, New York burned to the ground.[1] There were only two cities that did not incorporate his fire hydrant system in those days:[2] one was Gasport[1] and the other was Chicago, Illinois, both of which experienced major fires.[1][3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c http://www.niagara2008.com/trivia.html
- ^ Unverifiable
- ^ http://www.chicagohs.org/fire/
[edit] External links
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