Nasmyth, James

Nasmyth, James

(born Aug. 19, 1808, Edinburgh, Scot.—died May 7, 1890, London, Eng.) Scottish engineer. Son of the artist Alexander Nasmyth (1758–1840), he is known mainly for his invention of the steam hammer (1839), an important metallurgical tool of the Industrial Revolution. He also devised tools such as a planing machine, a steam pile driver, and a hydraulic punching machine, and he manufactured more than 100 steam locomotives. He retired at 48 to devote himself to his hobby, astronomy.

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Nasmyth, James 

Born Aug. 19, 1808, in Edinburgh; died May 7, 1890, in London. English machine builder.

Nasmyth received a classical school education; from 1829 to 1831 he studied under H. Maudslay. He established his own machine-building enterprise in Manchester (beginning in 1834). In 1839 he designed a steam hammer, for which he received a patent in 1842. He built shaping and milling machines for work on the side planes of nuts. In 1843 he traveled to St. Petersburg; he later supplied steam hammers and machine tools to Russia. He published a treatise in which he drew conclusions from his experience in designing metalworking machines (1841).