Benjamin Chew Tilghman
Encyclopedia
Early life
He was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, on October 26, 1821, the third child of Benjamin and Anne Marie (McMurtie). His father was descended from Richard Tilghman, a surgeon
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
in the British Navy; he was related to William Tilghman
William Tilghman
William Tilghman was an American lawyer, jurist and statesman from Maryland. He served as the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court from 1805 to 1827....
, Chief Justice of Philadelphia.
Tilghman was educated at Bristol College
Bristol College, Pennsylvania
Bristol College, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was an Episcopal college founded in 1833 by the Epsicopal Education Society and chartered in 1834. It was based on the "manual labour system", combining education with agricultural work. The founding principal was Revd Chauncey Colton and Caleb Sprague...
and later at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, where he was graduated in 1839; while he studied law, he never practiced this profession. With his brother, Richard, he spent much time before the war journeying through Europe, visiting laboratories, chemical works and mills.
Civil War career
At the outbreak of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he volunteered as a Captain in the 26th Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, rising to Colonel and commander of the 29th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry,He was severely wounded in the thigh at the Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
in 1863 and sent home to recover; on recovery, he accepted the role of Colonel and commander of the 3rd United States Colored Troops
United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops were regiments of the United States Army during the American Civil War that were composed of African American soldiers. First recruited in 1863, by the end of the Civil War, the men of the 175 regiments of the USCT constituted approximately one-tenth of the Union...
. He was brevetted
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Brigadier General, US Volunteers on April 13, 1865 for "meritorious services".
Invention of the sandblasting process
Legend has it that Tilghman had seen the effect of wind-blown sand on windows in the desert while a general in the army, and that this was the basis of his sandblasting invention.Around 1870, he invented the Sandblasting process and filed a patent for it in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(US patent 104,408), detailing many of the applications for which this technique is uniquely suited, such as sharpening files, engraving bottles, cleaning boilers or bringing out the grain in wood. Later that year a patent was issued in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
In 1871, at the 40th Exhibition of the American Institute of the City of New York, he was awarded the institute's Great Medal of Honor for his invention; shortly after, he was also awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal
Elliott Cresson Medal
The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848...
by the Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
.
He refined the technique for various purposes, and in 1877 took out a patent (US patent 252,279) for sharpening files, which he marketed as "Liquid Grindstone".
Further patents and developments followed.
Commercial ventures
His first company was formed with his brother in Philadelphia—B. C. & R. A. Tilghman—for the production of chilled iron shot for the stone industry. Around 1879, Benjamin moved to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
forming a new company, Tilghman's Patent Sand Blast Co. at Gray's Inn Road. This company used one of his patent methods for sharpening files
File (tool)
A file is a metalworking and woodworking tool used to cut fine amounts of material from a workpiece. It most commonly refers to the hand tool style, which takes the form of a steel bar with a case hardened surface and a series of sharp, parallel teeth. Most files have a narrow, pointed tang at one...
and rasps. From London he moved to Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, the centre of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
production in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the time, and later moved to Altrincham
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, being resident there around 1885, having invested in the machine tool company "George Richards Ltd".
In 1879, he opened the gates of his new works in Altrincham, which became the hub of the sand blasting industry in Great Britain. This lastly formed company, later called Wheelabrator Tilghman, and since 2005 'Wheelabrator Group' still exists.
Other inventions
While working on the sandblasting process, he was also engaged in the working of stone, which caused him to invent a production method for iron shot - pouring a stream of molten metal onto a revolving surface, from which the globlues would be propelled into cold water (US patent 187,239, 1872). This material was in great demand for the cutting of stone.Around 1880, he invented the sulfite method of fiber reduction for paper production; this was a critical part of the production of paper from wood pulp, competing with the Kraft process
Kraft process
The kraft process describes a technology for conversion of wood into wood pulp consisting of almost pure cellulose fibers...
.
He also patented a design for a torpedo to be propelled "rocket fashion" by
He died on July 3, 1901, and is buried in the churchyard of St. James the Less Episcopal Church in Philadelphia.
Known Patents
- U.S. Patent No. 104,408 - sandblasting (1870)
- U.S. Patent No. 133,501, "Improvement in cutting in stone and other hard substances" (1872) - cutting stone by means of steel shot
- U.S. Patent No. 174,167, "Improvement in process of producing designs upon hard surfaces" (1875)
- U.S. Patent No. 187,239 - production of iron shot (1872)
- U.S. Patent no. 252,279 - sharpening of files (1877)
- U.S. Patent No. 446,988
- U.S. Patent No. RE7,499
- U.S. Patent no. 702,040, "Sand-blast tumbling barrel" (attributed to "Benjamin C. Tilghman Jr.")
- UK Patent no. 2147 (1870) - sandblasting
- UK Patent no. 2900 (1870) - blast wheel
- UK Patent no. 13,510 (1885) - roughening iron and steel rolls