List of inventors and business leaders of Upstate New York
Encyclopedia
- Robert C. BakerRobert C. BakerRobert C. Baker was an inventor and Cornell University professor who invented the chicken nugget as well as many other poultry related inventions...
, the "Thomas Edison of poultry," a LansingLansing, New YorkLansing, New York can refer to:*Lansing , New York, a town in Tompkins County.*Lansing , New York, a village in the town of Lansing....
native and food scienceFood scienceFood science is a study concerned with all technical aspects of foods, beginning with harvesting or slaughtering, and ending with its cooking and consumption, an ideology commonly referred to as "from field to fork"...
professor at Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. - Willard Bundy, the inventor of the time clock for recording employee working hours
- Paolo BustiPaolo BustiPaolo Busti, or Paul Busti , was the principal agent of the Holland Land Company from 1800 until his death. Busti was born in Milan, Italy and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
- Willis CarrierWillis CarrierWillis Haviland Carrier was an American engineer and inventor, and is known as the man who invented modern air conditioning....
, the inventor of air conditioning - Theodore CaseTheodore CaseTheodore Willard Case known for the invention of the Movietone sound-on-film sound film system, was born into a prominent family in Auburn, New York.-Family history:...
of AuburnAuburn, New YorkAuburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
is known for the invention of the MovietoneMovietone sound systemThe Movietone sound system is a sound-on-film method of recording sound for motion pictures that guarantees synchronization between sound and picture. It achieves this by recording the sound as a variable-density optical track on the same strip of film that records the pictures...
sound-on-filmSound-on-filmSound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
sound filmSound filmA sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
system. - Harry CooverHarry CooverHarry Wesley Coover, Jr. was the inventor of Eastman 910, commonly known as Super Glue.-Life and career:Coover was born in Newark, Delaware, and received his Bachelor of Science from Hobart College before earning his Master of Science and Ph. D. from Cornell University...
, inventor of Krazy Glue - Ezra CornellEzra CornellEzra Cornell was an American businessman and education administrator. He was a founder of Western Union and a co-founder of Cornell University...
- Erastus CorningErastus CorningErastus Corning I , American businessman and politician, was born in Norwich, Connecticut. Corning moved to Troy, New York at the age of 13 to clerk in the hardware store of an uncle; six years later he moved to Albany, New York, where he joined the mercantile business under James Spencer...
- George CrumGeorge CrumGeorge "Speck" Crum , son of "a mulatto jockey and an Indian maid", according to a menu used at Moon's Lake House, was the cook at Moon's Lake House, a resort at the south end of the lake in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA...
, the head chef of Moon's Lake House, a resort in Saratoga SpringsSaratoga Springs, New YorkSaratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
, and the inventor of the potato chipPotato chipPotato chips are thin slices of potato that are deep fried...
. - Glenn CurtissGlenn CurtissGlenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
- Abner DoubledayAbner DoubledayAbner Doubleday was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg was his finest hour, but his...
- Charles F. DowdCharles F. DowdCharles F. Dowd was a co-principal of the Temple Grove Ladies Seminary in Saratoga Springs, New York. He was the first person to propose multiple time zones for any country, those for the railways of the United States...
of Saratoga Springs, who first proposed standard time zones for American railroads - Frederick W. Eames of Watertown, inventor of a vacuum brake for railroad cars. His company was reorganized as the New York Air BrakeNew York Air BrakeThe New York Air Brake Corporation, located in Watertown, New York, is a manufacturer of air brake and train control systems for the railroad industry worldwide.-History:-Establishment 1876-1900:...
company, which continues to operate.http://books.google.com/books?id=dasMbOShnJEC&pg=PA550&lpg=PA550&dq=eames+air+brake&source=web&ots=F-OY1FCJGf&sig=zEbSkVfUVVANQY1PwLCxHFyUb9g&hl=enhttp://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/dictionary/eamesbrakes.htm - George EastmanGeorge EastmanGeorge Eastman was an American innovator and entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and invented roll film, helping to bring photography to the mainstream...
- Joseph EllicottJoseph EllicottJoseph Ellicott was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Ellicott ....
- William FargoWilliam FargoWilliam George Fargo , pioneer American expressman, was born in Pompey, New York. From the age of thirteen he had to support himself, obtaining little schooling, and for several years he was a clerk in grocery stores in Syracuse....
, Mayor of Buffalo and founder of the American Express Company - Dr. Konstantin Frank, viticulturalist
- Carl Frink of ClaytonClayton (village), New YorkClayton is a village located in the Town of Clayton in Jefferson County, New York, USA. The population was 1,821 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the name of the town....
, an innovator in the snow plow manufacturing industry http://www.thousandislandslife.com/ClaytonOpensUp.htmlhttp://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3718/is_200006/ai_n8917320 - Robert FultonRobert FultonRobert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
, whose steamboat the Clermont (steamboat) served the Hudson RiverHudson RiverThe Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
between New York City and AlbanyAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River... - Stephen GordonStephen GordonStephen Gordon, Steven Gordon or Steve Gordon is the name of:*Stephen Paul Gordon , Security Specialist, class of 1977*Stephen J. Gordon , English chess grandmaster*Stephen P...
, Plattsburgh native and founder of Restoration HardwareRestoration HardwareRestoration Hardware is an American furniture chain of home furnishings, bath fixtures and bathware, functional and decorative hardware and related merchandise. The company defines its wares as classic and authentic American. Restoration Hardware, Inc. sells its merchandise offering through its... - Jay GouldJay GouldJason "Jay" Gould was a leading American railroad developer and speculator. He has long been vilified as an archetypal robber baron, whose successes made him the ninth richest American in history. Condé Nast Portfolio ranked Gould as the 8th worst American CEO of all time...
of RoxburyRoxbury, New YorkRoxbury is a town in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 2,509 at the 2000 census.The Town of Roxbury is at the eastern end of the county.- History :...
, a financier who became a leading American railroad developer and speculator. - William Henry Gunlocke, http://www.answers.com/topic/the-gunlocke-company?cat=biz-fin http://www.gunlocke.com/ furniture manufacturer
- Wilson GreatbatchWilson GreatbatchWilson Greatbatch was an American engineer and inventor whois most widely known as the inventor of the implantable cardiac pacemaker...
, who advanced the development of the pacemakerPacemakerAn artificial pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses to regulate the beating of the heart.Pacemaker may also refer to:-Medicine:... - Seth GreenSeth Green (Pisciculture)Seth Green was a pioneer in fish farming . He established the first fish hatchery in the United States in the Town of Caledonia....
, pioneer in fish farming, inventor of the fish hatchery - Jesse HawleyJesse Hawley (merchant)Jesse Hawley was a flour merchant in Geneva, New York who became an early and major proponent of building of the Erie Canal.Struggling to receive shipments and make deliveries over the wretched roadways of the era, Hawley imagined the canal as early as 1805...
of Geneva, influential proponent of the Erie Canal - Herman HollerithHerman HollerithHerman Hollerith was an American statistician who developed a mechanical tabulator based on punched cards to rapidly tabulate statistics from millions of pieces of data. He was the founder of one of the companies that later merged and became IBM.-Personal life:Hollerith was born in Buffalo, New...
, born in BuffaloBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, a statistician who developed a mechanical tabulator based on punched cards. His company was eventually merged into others to form IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
. - Birdsill HollyBirdsill HollyBirdsill Holly 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.-Life:...
- the Houghton familyHoughton familyThe Houghton Family is a prominent New England and Upstate New York business family. Members of the family are founders of Corning Glass Works.- Family members and decendents:Their family includes:...
of the Corning Glass Works - Elbert HubbardElbert HubbardElbert Green Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he met early success as a traveling salesman with the Larkin soap company. Today Hubbard is mostly known as the founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, an...
- John B. JervisJohn B. JervisJohn Bloomfield Jervis was an American civil engineer. He was America's leading consulting engineer of the antebellum era . Jervis was a pioneer in the development of canals and railroads for the expanding United States...
- John D. Larkin of the Larkin Soap Company, who commissioned the Larkin Administration BuildingLarkin Administration BuildingThe Larkin Building was designed in 1904 by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1906 for the Larkin Soap Company of Buffalo, New York. The five story dark red brick building used pink tinted mortar and utilized steel frame construction. It was noted for many innovations, including air conditioning,...
from Frank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture... - Edwin Albert LinkEdwin Albert LinkEdwin Albert Link was a pioneer in aviation, underwater archaeology, and ocean engineering. He is most remembered for inventing the flight simulator, commercialized in 1929, called the "Blue Box" or "Link Trainer", which started the now multi-billion dollar flight simulation industry...
- Darwin D. MartinDarwin D. MartinDarwin D. Martin was an early 20th Century New York State businessman best known for the house he commissioned from Frank Lloyd Wright.-Early life:...
- David Maydole, blacksmith and inventor of adz-eye hammer construction method. He founded the Maydole Hammer Factory, once the largest hammer factory in the nation, in NorwichNorwich (city), New YorkNorwich is a city in Chenango County, New York, United States. Surrounded on all sides by the Town of Norwich, the city is the county seat of Chenango County. The name is taken from Norwich, Connecticut. Its population was 7,355 at the 2000 census.Lt...
. - William Henry Miner, railroad equipment manufacturer, philanthropist, founder of the Miner Institute at Heart's Delight Farm in ChazyChazy, New YorkChazy is a town in northeastern Clinton County, New York, in the United States. The population was 4,284 at the 2010 census. The closest city is Plattsburgh, to the south. Chazy is from Canada. The zip code is 12921 and it is in area code 518.- History:...
- Hannah Lord Montague of TroyTroy, New YorkTroy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, inventor of the detachable shirt collar - Robert MoogRobert MoogRobert Arthur Moog , commonly called Bob Moog was an American pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer.-Life:...
, who invented the music synthesizer while a graduate student at Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. He founded his company Moog MusicMoog MusicMoog Music is an American company based in Asheville, North Carolina which manufactures electronic musical instruments. The current Moog Music is the second company to trade under that name.-R.A. Moog Co. and the original Moog Music:...
in TrumansburgTrumansburg, New YorkTrumansburg is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 1,581 at the 2000 census. The name is a variant spelling of the surname of the founder, Abner Treman...
. - Edward John NobleEdward John NobleEdward John Noble was an American broadcasting and candy industrialist originally from Gouverneur, New York. He co-founded the Life Savers Corporation in 1913...
, born in GouverneurGouverneur (village), New YorkGouverneur is a village in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 4,263 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Gouverneur Morris, one of the authors of the Constitution of the United States, as well as a prominent landowner and part-time resident of the area.The...
, founder of the Life SaversLife SaversLife Savers is an American brand of ring-shaped mints and artificially fruit-flavored hard candy. The candy is known for its distinctive packaging, coming in aluminum foil rolls....
Candy Company and the American Broadcasting CompanyAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... - Karl Peterson, founder of the Crescent Tool CompanyCrescent (brand)Crescent, originally called the Crescent Tool Company, is a brand of hand tools. Founded in 1907, the Crescent brand has changed ownership multiple times. It is currently owned by Cooper Industries as part of its Cooper Hand Tools division...
of Jamestown, New YorkJamestown, New YorkJamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. The population was 31,146 at the 2010 census.The City of Jamestown is adjacent to Town of Ellicott and is at the southern tip of Chautauqua Lake...
, maker of Crescent wrenches.http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/crescent-tool.html#adjust - Robert C. PruynRobert C. PruynRobert Clarence Pruyn , of Albany, New York, was an influential American inventor, banker, businessman, and politician....
- Eliphalet RemingtonEliphalet RemingtonEliphalet Remington designed the Remington rifle.He was born in 1793 in the town of Suffield, Connecticut, to parents whose origins lay in Yorkshire, England...
, firearms and typewriter manufacturer. The Remington typewriter, later manufactured by Remington RandRemington RandRemington Rand was an early American business machines manufacturer, best known originally as a typewriter manufacturer and in a later incarnation as the manufacturer of the UNIVAC line of mainframe computers but with antecedents in Remington Arms in the early nineteenth century. For a time, the...
, was the first typewriter to use the QWERTYQWERTYQWERTY is the most common modern-day keyboard layout. The name comes from the first six letters appearing in the topleft letter row of the keyboard, read left to right: Q-W-E-R-T-Y. The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to Remington in the...
keyboard layout - Ben SerottaSerottaSerotta is an American bicycle builder located in Saratoga Springs, New York. Named for founder Ben Serotta, the company has been making custom road and competition bicycles since the 1970s....
, builder of custom racing bicycle - Isaac SingerIsaac SingerIsaac Merritt Singer was an inventor, actor, and entrepreneur. He made important improvements in the design of the sewing machine and was the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company...
, founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company - L. C. Smith, typewriterTypewriterA typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
innovator and founder of the company that became Smith-Corona - Charles Proteus SteinmetzCharles Proteus SteinmetzCharles Proteus Steinmetz was a German-American mathematician and electrical engineer. He fostered the development of alternating current that made possible the expansion of the electric power industry in the United States, formulating mathematical theories for engineers...
- Walter S. Taylor, founder of Bully Hill VineyardsBully Hill VineyardsBully Hill Vineyards is a vineyard and winery located in Hammondsport, New York, United States, in the Finger Lakes American Viticultural Area.-History:...
- Spencer TraskSpencer TraskSpencer Trask was an American financier, philanthropist, and venture capitalist. Beginning in the 1870s, Trask began investing and supporting entrepreneurs, including Thomas Edison's invention of the electric light bulb and his electricity network...
, Saratoga Springs venture capitalist and philanthropist, who backed Thomas EdisonThomas EdisonThomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
, rescued the New York Times and founded the artists' colony YaddoYaddoYaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."... - Webster WagnerWebster WagnerWebster Wagner was a postmaster, state official and inventor. He was born near Palatine Bridge, New York and worked as a wagon maker alongside of other family members....
, an inventor of the railroad sleeping car and the parlor car. Born in Palatine BridgePalatine Bridge, New YorkPalatine Bridge is a village in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 706 at the 2000 census. The basis of the name is the community's location in a region settled by Palatinate Germans....
, he founded the Webster Palace Car Company in BuffaloBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
http://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/builders/wagner.htm. - Henry WellsHenry WellsHenry Wells was an American businessman important in the history of both the American Express Company and Wells Fargo & Company.-Early life:...
, founder of American Express, Wells Fargo, and Wells College - George WestGeorge WestGeorge West was a U.S. Representative from New York. Born in Bradninch, England, West attended the common schools. West immigrated to the United States in February 1849 and settled at Ballston Spa, New York...
, the "The Paper Bag King" - George WestinghouseGeorge WestinghouseGeorge Westinghouse, Jr was an American entrepreneur and engineer who invented the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry. Westinghouse was one of Thomas Edison's main rivals in the early implementation of the American electricity system...
, born in Central Bridge. - Samuel WilsonSamuel WilsonSamuel Wilson was a meat-packer from Troy, New York whose name is purportedly the source of the personification of the United States known as "Uncle Sam"....
, namesake of Uncle SamUncle SamUncle Sam is a common national personification of the American government originally used during the War of 1812. He is depicted as a stern elderly man with white hair and a goatee beard... - Jethro WoodJethro Wood HouseJethro Wood House was the home of Jethro Wood, inventor of a cast-iron plow with replaceable parts, that was the first commercially successful iron plow. He received a patent for this in 1814 which was extended in 1819...
, inventor of a cast-iron plow with replaceable parts - Frank Winfield Woolworth
- Benjamin WrightBenjamin WrightBenjamin Wright was an American civil engineer who served as Chief Engineer of both the Erie Canal and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. In 1969 he was declared the "Father of American Civil Engineering" by the American Society of Civil Engineers.Wright was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut to Ebenezer...
- Linus Yale, Jr.Linus Yale, Jr.Linus Yale, Jr. was an American mechanical engineer and manufacturer, best known for his inventions of locks, especially the cylinder lock. His locks are still widely distributed in today’s society, and constitute a majority of personal locks and safes. Linus Yale, Jr. was born in Salisbury, NY....
, Inventor of the Yale Lock