Isaac BabbittBorn 26 Jul 1799; died 26 May 1862 at age 62.American inventor of an alloy (babbitt's metal: tin 89%, antimony 7%, copper 4%.) widely used for friction reducing babbitt bearings. In 1924, he founded a company that has become Reed & Barton, the nation's oldest independent silversmiths. From 1834, he was superintendent of Alger's Foundry and Ordnance Works (South Boston Iron Works), where he cast the first brass cannon made in the U.S. He patented his successful invention of a journal box for train axles 17 Jul 1739, which suggested the bearings alloy. |