Joshua C. Stoddard
Encyclopedia
Joshua C. Stoddard was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 inventor. He was educated at the public schools, and became noted as an apiarist
Beekeeper
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly; pollinating fruits and vegetables; raising queens and bees for sale to other farmers; and/or for purposes satisfying natural scientific curiosity...

. He also turned his attention to inventing, and on October 9, 1855 patented the steam calliope
Calliope (music)
A calliope is a musical instrument that produces sound by sending a gas, originally steam or more recently compressed air, through large whistles, originally locomotive whistles....

, used on Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

steamerboats. It was originally known as a "steam piano", with Stoddard forming the American Steam Piano Company [sometimes referred to as the American Steam Music Company] in Worcester. His first instrument, consisting of a steam boiler, a set of valves, and fifteen graded steam whistles played from a pinned cylinder, reportedly could be heard for a range of five miles. The Worcester City Council banned him from playing it within the city limits because it was so loud.

He also invented the Stoddard horse-rake, patented in 1879. More than 100,000 of his rakes were produced. Other inventions included a fruit-paring machine, a hay-tedder and a fire escape system, patented 1884.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK