Holley, Alexander Lyman

Holley, Alexander Lyman

(1832–82) mechanical engineer, metallurgist; born in Lakeville, Conn. While still in college he devised improvements for steam locomotives; after working in locomotive plants, he published (1855–57) Holley's Railroad Advocate. He wrote many technical articles (usually under the name "Tubal Cain"). In 1863 he went to England to purchase the American rights to the Bessemer process, and then supervised construction of the first such U.S. plant at Troy, N.Y. For his work in engineering other steel plants, he became known as "the father of modern American steel manufacture" and his statue was placed in New York's Washington Square.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.