Sylvanus Bowser
Encyclopedia
Sylvanus Freelove Bowser (8 August 18543 October 1938) is widely credited with inventing the automobile fuel pump. Bowser Avenue in his hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana
is named after him.
Bowser, marketed his patented kerosene pump starting in 1885. The introduction of automobiles, mainly powered by gasoline
, led him to develop it into the "Self-Measuring Gasoline Storage Pump", launched in 1905.
Bowser's invention operated with a manual suction pump, which dispensed the gasoline into the car through a flexible hose. The 50-gallon metal storage tank, housed in a wooden cabinet, could be set up at the curbside in front of a store.
Under the banner of his company, S. F. Bowser & Company, this activity expanded to the measurement and handling of many commercial liquids. Bowser opened branches around the world, and bowser
became a generic term for fuel dispensers, then fuel tankers (especially on airfields), then finally for any kind of self-propelled liquid tanker with the ability to dispense direct to consumers.
In New Zealand
and Australia
it is still a generic term for consumer fuel pumps, while in the United Kingdom
it refers to wheeled water tankers (either automotive or towed) used to supply fresh water to areas where normal supplies have been interrupted.
The Bowser company was acquired in 1969 by Keene Corporation; the vacuum oil purification side of the business was divested by Keene in 1978, subsequently trading under the name Enervac. Keene filed for bankruptcy in 1993 due to a large number of asbestos
-related lawsuits.
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
is named after him.
Bowser, marketed his patented kerosene pump starting in 1885. The introduction of automobiles, mainly powered by gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
, led him to develop it into the "Self-Measuring Gasoline Storage Pump", launched in 1905.
Bowser's invention operated with a manual suction pump, which dispensed the gasoline into the car through a flexible hose. The 50-gallon metal storage tank, housed in a wooden cabinet, could be set up at the curbside in front of a store.
Under the banner of his company, S. F. Bowser & Company, this activity expanded to the measurement and handling of many commercial liquids. Bowser opened branches around the world, and bowser
Bowser (tanker)
A bowser is a generic name for a tanker of various kinds.- Water :The term bowser is used by water companies in the United Kingdom to refer to mobile water tanks deployed to distribute fresh water in emergency situations where the normal system of piped distribution has broken down or is insufficient...
became a generic term for fuel dispensers, then fuel tankers (especially on airfields), then finally for any kind of self-propelled liquid tanker with the ability to dispense direct to consumers.
In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
it is still a generic term for consumer fuel pumps, while in the United Kingdom
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...
it refers to wheeled water tankers (either automotive or towed) used to supply fresh water to areas where normal supplies have been interrupted.
The Bowser company was acquired in 1969 by Keene Corporation; the vacuum oil purification side of the business was divested by Keene in 1978, subsequently trading under the name Enervac. Keene filed for bankruptcy in 1993 due to a large number of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
-related lawsuits.