How Did Oliver Evans Contribute To The Industrial Revolution

Oliver Evans’ Steam Engine During the period of the industrial revolution, lots of big changes were occurring for the benefit of people all around the world. Prior to the industrial revolution, all manufacturing was done in the individual’s home. With the coming of all of the new inventions of the revolution, higher production rates and industrialization was made possible. A large portion of the new inventions during the industrial revolution was in the American colonies. The time period of which this revolution occurred, was during the 18th and the 19th centuries. During this revolution, when one person invented something, someone else would incorporate that invention into one of their own. In the following paragraphs I will explain how Oliver Evans impacted the industrial revolution with one of his most famous inventions; the steam engine. Evans was born into a Welsh family in Newport, Delaware on September 13, 1755. The year that he was born in, happened to be the year that Josiah Hornblower invented the first steam engine for the American colonies. Oliver Evans had an early interest in inventions and becoming an inventor. At a young age of 16 he had became an apprentice to a wheelwright. There he learned basics of how to create wheels and how to get them to work properly. In doing so, this led to one of
He created his version of the steam engine by modifying a rotary crusher. The rotary crusher was used to crush limestone for agricultural purposes. When modifying the rotary crusher, he moved the cylinder closer to the crankshaft, which made the rotary crusher work much faster and also made it lighter in weight. This idea of his became very well known as the “Evans straight-line linkage” (Britannica). Oliver Evans’ idea of moving both of those parts closer together acquired him recognition for being a brilliant inventor of the industrial revolution