Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert), 1867-1965

Fred H. Colvin was born in Sterling, Massachusetts, on October 5, 1867. After completing grammar school in 1883, he started learning the machinists' trade as an apprentice at the Rue Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia. Colvin worked at Rue Manufacturing for ten years during which time he began writing articles for a number of technical periodicals. His talent as a writer led to a prolific career as editor, author and co-author of many publications. Colvin's tenure in technical publishing corresponded to the golden age of the machine tool industry in America. In 1894, he became the first editor of the trade journal Machinery, in New York. In 1907 he joined the Hill Publishing Company (later McGraw-Hill) as associate editor and then editor of The American Machinist and served in that position until his retirement in 1937. After retirement he continued his active connection with the paper as editor emeritus and continued contributing to the McGraw-Hill catalog of machine tool reference works. His best known work is The American Machinists' Handbook, published and revised from 1908-1945, which he co-authored with Frank Stanley. Colvin played important roles in the American armament efforts in World War I and World War II. His autobiography: Sixty Years with Men and Machines, was published in 1947. A volume of poetry: Safety Valve, was published in 1952. Illness and death in 1965 left his final work History of the American Machine Tool Industry unfinished.

From the guide to the Fred H. Colvin Papers, 1880-1965, (Case Western Reserve University Kelvin Smith Library Special Collections)

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