Johnson, Alba B. (Alba Boardman), 1858-1935

Oliver Evans (1755-1819) was perhaps the most talented of Philadelphia's early 19th century mechanicians. He produced two major innovations, the automated flour mill and the high-pressure, non-condensing steam engine, and experimented with or anticipated others, including four-cycle mechanical refrigeration, central heating, the steam wagon, the machine gun, and a perpetual baking oven.

Evans was born in Newport, Del., on September 13, 1755. Little is known of his early life beyond the fact that he was apprenticed to a wheelwright and worked in several other mechanical trades. Between 1780 and 1787 he conceived and perfected his plan of a fully automated flour mill using bucket elevators, screw conveyors and the hopper boy to spread, cool and dry the meal between grinding and bolting. This was the first time that anyone had conceived and executed a system of continuous, fully automatic production. The system was first installed in a mill on Red Clay Creek operated by Oliver's brothers. In 1795 Evans published THE YOUNG MILL-WRIGHT AND MILLER'S GUIDE, explaining both his own system and general principles of mill construction. Fifteen editions were published between 1795 and 1860.

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