Fourneyron, Benoît

Fourneyron, Benoît

(born Oct. 31, 1802, Saint-Étienne, France—died July 31, 1867, Paris) French inventor of the water turbine. He first built a small, 6-horsepower unit in which water was directed outward from a central source onto blades or vanes set at angles in a rotor, and he eventually produced a turbine capable of 2,300 revolutions per minute, 80% efficiency, and 60 horsepower, with a wheel 1 ft (30 cm) in diameter weighing 40 lbs (18 kg). Besides its more obvious advantages over the waterwheel, Fourneyron's turbine could be installed horizontally with a vertical shaft. Immediately successful, it powered industry in continental Europe and the U.S., notably the New England textile industry. In 1895 Fourneyron turbines were installed on the U.S. side of Niagara Falls to generate electric power.