James Bicheno Francis (1815 to 1892) was a British-American civil engineer who invented the Francis turbine. Born in South Leigh, Oxfordshire, he began as his father's apprentice on the Porth Cawl Railway and Harbour Works in South Wales, emigrated to the United States in 1833 and worked under the railway engineer George Washington Whistler, who took him to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he joined the Locks and Canals Company. He became chief engineer in 1837 and manager of locks and canals in 1845, built the Northern Canal and Moody Street Feeder, and in 1845 devised the first sprinkler system in the United States. In 1848 he and Uriah Boyden improved the turbine into what is now the Francis turbine, and in 1855 he published the Lowell Hydraulic Experiments. His Great Gate on the Pawtucket Canal saved Lowell from the flood of 1852. He was a founding member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and its president in 1880, and in 1883 completed the Francis formula for flow over weirs.
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James Bicheno Francis (May 18, 1815 – September 18, 1892) was a British-American civil engineer, who invented the Francis turbine.
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James Bicheno Francis (May 18, 1815 – September 18, 1892) was a British-American civil engineer, who invented the Francis turbine.
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1. James B. Francis (Wikipedia)
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James Bicheno Francis (May 18, 1815, September 18, 1892) was a British-American civil engineer, who invented the Francis turbine.
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James Bicheno Francis (May 18, 1815, September 18, 1892) was a British-American civil engineer, who invented the Francis turbine.
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James Francis was born in South Leigh, near Witney, Oxfordshire, in England, United Kingdom. He started his engineering career at the early age of seven as he worked as his father's apprentice at the Porth Cawl Railway and Harbor Works in South Wales.
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James Bicheno Francis (May 18, 1815, September 18, 1892) was a British-American civil engineer, who invented the Francis turbine.
Lead, nationality
James Bicheno Francis (May 18, 1815, September 18, 1892) was a British-American civil engineer, who invented the Francis turbine.
In Field: Civil Engineering, Lead, field
James Bicheno Francis (May 18, 1815, September 18, 1892) was a British-American civil engineer, who invented the Francis turbine.
Associated With: Water Turbine, Turbines
And in 1848, Francis and Boyden successfully improved the turbine with what is now known as the Francis turbine.
Associated With: Fire Sprinkler System, Fire sprinkler system
In 1845, Francis developed the first sprinkler systems ever devised in the United States.
Affiliated With: American Society of Civil Engineers, Career, membership
Francis originated scientific methods of testing hydraulic machinery, and was a founding member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and its president in 1880.
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