Innovations
In 1790 at the age of 24 in Byfield, he created machines for cutting and heading nails. In 1795 he was granted a patent for his improved nail machines and started a nail manufacturing business on the Powwow River in Amesbury, Massachusetts.
He created some of the best steel plates (as noted from English Engravers) for engraving, and started a printing business with engraver Gideon Fairman. They started with school books (The Running Hand, eight pages long), and also made currency that was not being forged. In 1809 he bought the stereotype technology (prevention of counterfeit bills) from Asa Spencer, and registered the patent, and then employed Asa Spencer.
During the War of 1812 he worked on machinery for boring out cannons. He also started working on water compression and invented a bathometer or piezometer to measure the depth of the sea by its pressure.
In 1816 he moved to Philadelphia and worked on steam power with Oliver Evans, and concurrently set up a printing shop and bid on the printing of currency for the Second National Bank in Philadelphia. With his printing business partner, Gideon Fairman, they employed Asa and went to England at Charles Heath's urging in an attempt to win the £20,000 reward for "unforgable notes". They set up shop in England, and spent months on example currency, still on display today. Unfortunately for them, Sir Joseph Banks thought that "unforgable" also implied that the inventor should be English by birth. Sir Joseph Banks successors awarded future contracts to the English printing company started with Charles Heath. They made some books and later currency and stamps. Their stamps were the first known preglued stamps. Also concurrently, Jacob's brother ran the American printing business, and they made money on important fire safety patents. Charles Heath and Jacob Perkins worked together and independently on some concurrent projects. Jacob Perkins bought some technology, and patented it himself in multiple countries, and employed the true inventors (as was the case with Asa Spencer and Oliver Evans).
He also has patents for Heating and Air Conditioning technology.
Read more about this topic: Jacob Perkins
Famous quotes containing the word innovations:
“Great innovations should not be forced on slender majorities.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“By such innovations are languages enriched, when the words are adopted by the multitude, and naturalized by custom.”
—Miguel De Cervantes (1547–1616)