Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 05.djvu/406

 UOWE

HOWE

HOWE, Charles Sumner, educator, was born in NasluKi, N.H., Sept. 'Jy, IboS; son of William Raius.lell and Sus;in Dorcas (Woods) Howe. He attended the i>ablic schools of Boston, and the Franklin. Mass., High school; was graduated from Massacluisetts State college and Boston university, B.S.. 1878. and was a graduate student at Johns Hopkins university, 1882-83. He was principal of Albuquerque (N.M.) academy, 1879-81; ad- junct professor of mathematics at Buchtel col- lege, Akron. Ohio, 1883-84; professor of mathe- matics and astronomy there, 1884-89, and was appointed professor of mathematics and astron- omy at the Case Scliool of Applied Science, Cleveland, Oliio, in 1889. He was elected a mem- ber of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science in 1885 and fellow of same in 1891, and a member of the American ^lathema- tical society in 1891. He was married, May 23, 1882. to Abbie Amelia Waite, of North Amherst, Mass. He received from Wooster university the degree of Ph.D. in 1887.

HOWE, Elias, inventor, was born in Spencer, Mass.. .Inly 9. l'^19; son of Elias Howe, a farmer and miller. He assisted his father in summer and attended the district school in winter. In 1835 he went to Lowell, where he worked in a machine shop, and in 1837 he removed to a shop in Cambridge, and soon after to one in Boston. While there he conceived the sewing-machine that made his name famous. He experi- mented continuously for five j'ears, com- pleting his first in- vention in May. 1845. He had meantime re- turned to Cambridge, wliere his father had a machine shop. In making his first machine he received financial aiii from (Jeorge Fislier, an old schoolmate. In September, 1^40, he patented the first sew- ing-macliine, but the opposition to labor-sav- ing machines rendered the introduction dif- Hcult, and he engaged as a railroad engineer until liis heal til failed. As the artisans of America were unwilling to receive his invention, he went to England in 1847, hoping to introduce it there, but met with no better succes.s. He then worki.-d his w.iy home as a common sailor, having disposed of his English rights to William Thom:m, after a<^lapting the maciiine to stitching valises, umbrellas and corsets. On reaching home he found Ids sewing-maciiine imitated by

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rival inventors and extensively introduced by parties who had money to advertise and show the working of tiie machine. This was d(me regard- less of Howe's patents. In 1854 he succeeded, by the lielp of wealtliy friends, in establishing the priority of his in- vention, and he re- purchased the pat- ents, which he had parted with during his adversity. This enabled him to col- lect royalty on every maclune produced in the United States> and his income soon reached $200,000 per annum. When-

, . ., . J THt HOWt /»AACHI/^E, I 846.

his patents expired

in 18G7 he had received in royalties from the sale of macliines over $2,000,000, and after that he engaged in the manufacture of sewing-mach- ines. In the civil war he served as a private in the 17tli Connecticut volunteers. He was de- corated with the cross of the Legion d'Honneur by the French government, and received for his invention various other medals and honors, in- cluding the gold medal at the Paris exposition in 1867. In the selections of names for the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, New York univer- sity, made by the board of electors in October, 1900, Howe stood fourth in " Class D, Inventors,"' receiving forty-seven votes, Fulton, Morse and Whitney only securing places with eighty-five, eighty and sixty-seven votes, respectively. He died in Brooklyn, N.Y., Oct. 3, 1867.

HOWE, Henry, historian, was born in New Haven, Conn., Oct. 11, 1816; son of Gen. Heze- kiali and Sarah (Townsend) Howe; graiuLson of Hezekiah and Hannah (Beers) Howe and of Ebenezer and Eunice (Atwater) Townsend, and a descendant of James Howe, who came to America from Essex county, England, in 1637, and settled in Ipswich. Mass. Gen. Hezekiah Howe was the first publisiier of Webster's dic- tionary. Henry learned the book business from his father, and publislied his fir.st book, " Eminent Meclianics,"' in 1839, followed b}-: " Historical Collections" of New York in 1841, of New Jer- sey in 1843, of Virginia in 1845, and of Ohio in 1847. In 1891, after six years of extended travel, he published "Historical Collections of Ohio. Centennial Edition," in three large volumes, the plates and copyright of which were purchased by the state of Ohio. He was elected to honora- ry membersliip in the various state and national historical societies, and received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Otterbein university. Oliio, in 1889. Besides his Historical Collections he