Stories of Inventors: The Adventures of Inventors and Engineers

Excerpt: There are many thrilling incidents—all the more attractive because of their truth—in the study the trials the disappointments the obstacles overcome and the final triumph of the successful inventor. Every great invention afterward marvelled at was first derided. Each great inventor after solving problems in mechanics or chemistry had to face the jeers of the incredulous. The story of James Watts sensations when the driving-wheels of his first rude engine began to revolve will never be told; the visions of Robert Fulton when he puffed up the Hudson of the fleets of vessels that would follow the faint track of his little vessel can never be put in print. It is the purpose of this book to give in a measure the adventurous side of invention. The trials and dangers of the builders of the submarine; the triumphant thrill of the inventor who hears for the first time the vibration of the long-distance message through the air; the daring and tension of the engineer who drives a locomotive at one hundred miles an hour. The wonder of the mechanic is lost in the marvel of the machine; the doer is overshadowed by the greatness of his achievement. These are true stories of adventure in invention.