John B. McCormick

John Buchanan McCormick (November 4, 1834 – August 21, 1924)[2] was an American mechanical engineer who invented the first modern mixed flow water turbine, the "Hercules", as well variants including the Holyoke-McCormick, and Achilles turbines.[3] McCormick's advances building upon James B. Francis's designs led to a new era in turbine design, resulting variants of his designs being manufactured across the United States and in Europe.[4][5] For several years he was engineer and mechanic for the Holyoke Machine Company before resigning, and switching over to work for machinist firm, J. W. Jolly.[6]

"I am here to assist in interring the old, and prepare for the welcoming of the new—the twentieth century.

I will grind a parchment from the trees of the forest, that Truths may be recorded thereon.
I will create electrical forces to carry them to the uttermost ends of the earth, that the veil of ignorance may be lifted, never again to be let down.

I will cause the busy wheels of industry to revolve more rapidly, that the burdens may be lifted from the poor and oppressed, and thus assist in fulfilling the prophecies of the great Victor Hugo."
—John B. McCormick, written as a monologue given by a personified Hercules turbine[7]
John B. McCormick
McCormick in his workshop
at J. W. Jolly, c. 1890
Born
John Buchanan McCormick

(1834-11-04)November 4, 1834
Skelp, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1]
DiedAugust 21, 1924(1924-08-21) (aged 89)
South Mahoning Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationSelf-educated
OccupationInventor, engineer, musician
Years active1868–1924
Children2

Prior to his work on waterwheels, McCormick was a music teacher, teaching classes for numerous schools in Indiana County. While two of his brothers had served in the Union Army, one dying on the battlefield, McCormick considered himself a copperhead, and regarded the abolitionist industrialists of the North as opportunists. In 1868, he would debut at the Bush Hotel in Bellefonte a satirical ballad called "The Ku-Klux-Klan", lampooning what he perceived to be a bogeyman of the Lincoln Republicans which he believed to be no more an enduring threat than the former Know-Nothing Party. He would perform this piece, with moderate success, in 4-5 counties in western Pennsylvania.[1]

After his engineering career in Holyoke, he purchased a large farmhouse in Pennsylvania in 1902 to live with his wife, 40 years his junior, and raise his 2 children. A modest farmhouse, he would expand it from 1902 to 1905, adding a large stone parapet.[1] Today the John B. McCormick House is on the National Register of Historic Places.

References
  1. Montgomery, Horace (April 1968). "John Buchanan McCormick, Ballad Singer of Many Talents". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania. XCII (2): 239–248. JSTOR 20090162.
  2. Buscovicki, John (2003). Indiana County. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia. p. 96. ISBN 9780738511818. John B. McCormick, inventor of the famous McCormick Holyoke Turbine Wheel, was born on November 4, 1834, near Altoona...
    • "10 Years Ago". The Indiana Gazette. Indiana, Penna. August 22, 1934. p. 4. Friday, August 22, 1924 - John Buchanan McCormick, prominent citizen of Indiana county, and inventor of the turbine wheel, died at his home near Georgeville Thursday afternoon at the age of 90 years.
  3. Hall, Carl W. (2008). A Biographical Dictionary of People in Engineering, From the Earliest Records Until 2000. Purdue University Press. p. 145.
  4. Safford, Arthur T; Hamilton, Edward Pierce (1922). The American Mixed-Flow Turbine and It's Setting. American Society of Civil Engineers. pp. 1265–1266.
  5. William K. Watson (September 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: John B. McCormick House" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  6. "Famous Designer Dies; John B. McCormick Was Water-Wheel Designer Well Known Here". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. August 26, 1924. p. 10.
  7. "Trade and Industrial Notes". The Electrical World. Vol. XXIII no. 12. March 24, 1894. p. 418.
External image
John B. McCormick in his workshop, c. 1893, C. R. Wilhelm Collection, Holyoke Public Library


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