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Wright Flyer III
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Air and Space Transportation Era: 1900-1909 DateCreated: 1905 Aviation Heritage Natl Hist Park Dayton State: OH Zip: 45409 Country: USA Website: https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/224-wright-flyer-iii, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/3764d124-ce32-4335-bbac-24836c780066/224-Wright-Flyer-III.aspx Creator: Wright, Wilbur, Wright, Orville

The 1905 Wright Flyer III, built by Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville (1871-1948) Wright, was the world's first airplane capable of sustained, maneuverable flight. Similar in design to their celebrated first airplane, this machine featured a stronger structure, a larger engine turning new "bent-end" propellers, and greater control-surface area for improved safety and maneuverability.

YearAdded:
2003
Image Credit: Public Domain (Copyright Expr.) Image Caption: Wright Flyer III Era_date_from: 1905
Corliss steam engine
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Steam Era: 1960-1969 DateCreated: 1964 1300 Frenchtown Rd East Greenwich State: RI Zip: 02818 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/electric-power-production-steam/-164-new-england-wireless-and-steam-museum, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/311b4c58-18b4-4842-9f8b-18a866e6ad13/164-New-England-Wireless-and-Steam-Museum.aspx Creator: Merriam, Robert

Stationary steam engines, once the prime movers of industry, powered trains, ships, and mills in an age when there was no electric power. By the 19th century, American industry, especially in England, was rapidly outgrowing the capacity of the ater power that had been its principal prime mover. The need for a new power source inspired an intense development of the steam engine, the work of inventors directed mainly at imporving fuel efficiency by reducing steam consumption. The leader in this effort was George H.

YearAdded:
1992
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikicommons/The-daffodil (CC BY-SA 4.0) Image Caption: Corliss steam engine Era_date_from: 1964
Williams-Miles History of Chemistry Collection
Society: ACS Main Category: Chemical Sub Category: Cradles of Chemistry Era: 1890-1899 DateCreated: Brackett Library Searcy State: AR Zip: 72143 Country: USA Website: http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_SUPERARTICLE&node_id=760&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=f42addef-aaae-4d38-a0d9-841ae6f3cc1d, https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/williams-milescollection/williams-miles-chemistry-collection-at-harding-university-commemorative-booklet.pdf Creator: Miles, Wyndham , National Institutes of Health

The Williams-Miles History of Chemistry Collection, established in 1992, is one of the leading historical collections of chemistry books in the southern United States. It represents a combined 70 years of scholarly collecting by Wyndham D. Miles, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, and William D. Williams, Professor of Chemistry at Harding University. More than 2,000 volumes published between 1600 and 1900 are preserved here; the collection is particularly strong in 19th-century works.

YearAdded:
1996
Image Credit: Courtesy ACS Image Caption: Williams-Miles History of Chemistry Collection at Harding University Era_date_from:
Williamsburg Bridge
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Bridges Era: 1900-1909 DateCreated: 1903 Williamsburg Bridge Brooklyn State: NY Zip: 11211 Country: USA Website: http://www.asce.org/Project/Williamsburg-Bridge/ Creator: Buck, Leffert , Lindenthal, Gustav

When opened in 1903, the 1,600 foot long main span of the Williamsburg Bridge was the world's longest suspension span, surpassing the nearby Brooklyn Bridge by only 4.5 feet. The Williamsburg Bridge remained the world's longest suspension bridge span for 21 years until the opening of the Bear Mountain Bridge in 1924. The Williamsburg Bridge has two unsuspended side spans of 596.5 feet, each supported from below by trussed towers, giving the bridge an overall length of 2,793 feet. The four main suspension cables are 18.75 inches in diameter and each composed of over 10,000 wires.

YearAdded:
2009
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Kev Gilmour (CC BY 2.0) Image Caption: Williamsburg Bridge Era_date_from: 1903
Wilkinson Mill
Society: SME (manufacturing) Main Category: Manufacturing Sub Category: Manufacturing Era: 1800-1829 DateCreated: 1810 67 Roosevelt Avenue Pawtucket State: RI Zip: 02860 Country: USA Website: http://www.sme.org/ Creator: Wilkinson, David , Wilkinson, Oziel

The Wilkinson Mill, situated on the west bank of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, was built between 1810 and 1811 by machinist Oziel Wilkinson. Constructed in stone rubble, three and one-half stories high, the mill played a critical role in the history of textile technology, in steam power generation, and in the development of the machine tools industry. The Wilkinson family came to Pawtucket in the 1780s and set up a shop to forge anchors, build presses for oil works, and mold iron screws used in paper pressing machinery.

YearAdded:
1977
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/H.C. Williams (CC BY 2.0) Image Caption: Wilkinson Mill Era_date_from: 1810
Wilkinson Mill
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Manufacturing Era: 1800-1829 DateCreated: 1810 67 Roosevelt Avenue Pawtucket State: RI Zip: 02860 Country: USA Website: https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/30-wilkinson-mill, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/30a934f4-2025-47f2-ae87-760d94fe33d3/30-Wilkinson-Mill.aspx Creator: Wilkinson, David , Wilkinson, Oziel

The Wilkinson Mill, situated on the west bank of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, was built between 1810 and 1811 by machinist Oziel Wilkinson. Constructed in stone rubble, three and one-half stories high, the mill played a critical role in the history of textile technology, in steam power generation, and in the development of the machine tools industry.

 

YearAdded:
1977
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/H.C. Williams (CC BY 2.0) Image Caption: Wilkinson Mill Era_date_from: 1810
White River Concrete Arch Bridge
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Bridges Era: 1930-1939 DateCreated: 1930 White River Cotter State: AR Zip: 72626 Country: USA Website: http://www.asce.org/Project/White-River-Concrete-Arch-Bridge/ Creator: Marsh, James Barney

When this 1,850-foot concrete-arch highway bridge was built on the White River in a remote region of northern Arkansas - prior to the construction of upriver, flood-control dams - flash floods occurred frequently, sometimes causing the water to rise as much as one foot per hour. Construction under these conditions presented a clear danger, so project managers specified both a design and an innovative construction method appropriate to the problem of building across a perilous stretch of unpredictable river.

YearAdded:
1986
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/jaystout (CC BY 2.0) Image Caption: White River Concrete Arch Bridge Era_date_from: 1930
Whipple Truss Bridge
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Bridges Era: 1850-1859 DateCreated: 1855 Schenectady State: NY Zip: Country: USA Website: http://www.asce.org/Project/Whipple-Truss-Bridge/ Creator: Whipple, Squire

The Whipple Bowstring Truss Bridge was built from a design patented in 1841 by Squire Whipple. Whipple was the first person to understand the stresses in truss members and he developed the first theoretical formula to calculate stresses in the articulated truss. His bowstring truss was the first to use cast iron for compression and wrought iron for tension membranes.

YearAdded:
1981
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikicommons/Rehrenberg Image Caption: A Whipple Bowstring Arch/Truss style bridge, built by S. DeGraff in Albany, NY Era_date_from: 1855
Westmoreland Iron Works
Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Manufacturing Era: 1850-1859 DateCreated: 1850 50 Station Road Westmoreland State: NY Zip: 13490 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/manufacturing---2/-126-westmoreland-iron-works-%281850%29 Creator: Clark, Erastus , Buell, Abel

The history of this foundry, which was the oldest malleable iron company in continuous operation in the United States for many years, was inseparable from that of the small town of Westmoreland, where neighbors and workers kept time by the foundry bell. The firm was founded as Oakhill Malleable Iron Company in 1833 and was established under its present name in Westmoreland in 1850. Erastus W. Clark, who along with his brother-in-law Abel Buell brought the foundry to Westmoreland, ran the ironworks until 1871 and was the first of six generations who still own and manage it.

YearAdded:
1987
Image Credit: Courtesy ASME Image Caption: Westmoreland Iron Works Era_date_from: 1850
West Baden Springs Hotel
Society: ASCE Main Category: Civil Sub Category: Buildings Era: 1900-1909 DateCreated: 1901 West Baden Springs Orange County State: IN Zip: 47469 Country: USA Website: http://www.asce.org/Project/West-Baden-Springs-Hotel/ Creator: Albright, Harrison , Westcott, Oliver

The steel dome stretches 200 feet in diameter and rises 100 feet at its top. To accommodate thermal expansion, the inverted bowl-shaped structure originally rested on rollers that sat on the flat tops of six-story columns

There was a time when Americans from the Eastern seaboard braved long rail trips to southern Indiana in hopes that the water at the French Lick natural mineral springs could bring relief from alcoholism, pimples, gallstones and a host of other ailments and illnesses.

YearAdded:
2000
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Bulldog23 (CC BY-ND 2.0) Image Caption: West Baden Springs Hotel Era_date_from: 1901
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Voyager Spacecraft Interplanetary Explorers

The Voyager explorers, which provided scientists and the world with the first detailed pictures of faraway planets, were designed and tested during 1972 to 1977. The two most intelligent machines ever built in the NASA space program, the explorers were launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in 1977…

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Vulcan Street Plant

The plant began operation only twenty-six days after Thomas Edison's first steam plant began operating on Pearl Street in New York (NL 46). On September 30, 1882, an Edison "K" type dynamo produced electricity from a water-powered turbine to light three buildings (two paper mills and the H.J.…

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Waldo-Hancock Suspension Bridge

Designed by David B. Steinman, of Robinson & Steinman, New York City, the Waldo-Hancock suspension Bridge is a significant example of Steinman's work. David Steinman is considered among the most important suspension bridge designers of the 20th century. He earned an engineering degree from…

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McCormick Reaper

McCormick was born on the 620-acre farm known historically as “Walnut Grove Farm” in 1809.  He built the first practical grain reaper, which was successfully demonstrated in a field of oats owned by John Steele in nearby Steeles Tavern in 1831.  

Patented in 1834, the reaper is credited…

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Walnut Street Bridge

The structure has two segments: an East Channel bridge consisting of four 175-foot spans and three 240-foot spans crossing from Harrisburg to City Island; and a West Channel bridge, consisting of seven 175-foot spans crossing from City Island to Wormleysburg.

With 15 truss spans totaling…

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Ward House

It is a large, imposing structure (over a dozen rooms and spacious halls) dominated by a four-story octagonal tower at one corner and a second shorter square tower at another corner containing tanks for potable and fire-fighting water supply.

The Ward House, named for its builder William…

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Washington Monument

Upon its dedication in 1885, the Washington Monument was the tallest structure in the world. Begun in 1848 to honor George Washington, the structure wasn't completed for over 36 years. Construction and financing problems slowed progress and the Civil War halted it completely.

In 1876,…

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Watertown Arsenal

The Watertown Arsenal was the first major engineering testing laboratory in America. It was created to store and manufacture cutting-edge military technology and weaponry. The United States Army Research and Materials Laboratory continued to use the site until 1989, employing soldiers and…

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Watkins Woolen Mill

The Watkins Woolen Mill is among the best preserved examples of a Midwest woolen mill in nineteenth-century United States. Its machinery for preparing, spinning, and weaving wool reflects the existence of well-established textile industry in the country. It was designed and built by Waltus L.…

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West Baden Springs Hotel

The steel dome stretches 200 feet in diameter and rises 100 feet at its top. To accommodate thermal expansion, the inverted bowl-shaped structure originally rested on rollers that sat on the flat tops of six-story columns

There was a time when Americans from the Eastern seaboard braved…

Read More
Westmoreland Iron Works

The history of this foundry, which was the oldest malleable iron company in continuous operation in the United States for many years, was inseparable from that of the small town of Westmoreland, where neighbors and workers kept time by the foundry bell. The firm was founded as Oakhill Malleable…

Read More
Whipple Truss Bridge

The Whipple Bowstring Truss Bridge was built from a design patented in 1841 by Squire Whipple. Whipple was the first person to understand the stresses in truss members and he developed the first theoretical formula to calculate stresses in the articulated truss. His bowstring truss was the first…

Read More
White River Concrete Arch Bridge

When this 1,850-foot concrete-arch highway bridge was built on the White River in a remote region of northern Arkansas - prior to the construction of upriver, flood-control dams - flash floods occurred frequently, sometimes causing the water to rise as much as one foot per hour. Construction…

Read More
Wilkinson Mill

The Wilkinson Mill, situated on the west bank of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, was built between 1810 and 1811 by machinist Oziel Wilkinson. Constructed in stone rubble, three and one-half stories high, the mill played a critical role in the history of textile technology, in steam power…

Read More
Wilkinson Mill

The Wilkinson Mill, situated on the west bank of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, was built between 1810 and 1811 by machinist Oziel Wilkinson. Constructed in stone rubble, three and one-half stories high, the mill played a critical role in the history of textile technology, in steam power…

Read More
Williamsburg Bridge

When opened in 1903, the 1,600 foot long main span of the Williamsburg Bridge was the world's longest suspension span, surpassing the nearby Brooklyn Bridge by only 4.5 feet. The Williamsburg Bridge remained the world's longest suspension bridge span for 21 years until the opening of the Bear…

Read More
Williams-Miles History of Chemistry Collection

The Williams-Miles History of Chemistry Collection, established in 1992, is one of the leading historical collections of chemistry books in the southern United States. It represents a combined 70 years of scholarly collecting by Wyndham D. Miles, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland…

Read More
Corliss steam engine

Stationary steam engines, once the prime movers of industry, powered trains, ships, and mills in an age when there was no electric power. By the 19th century, American industry, especially in England, was rapidly outgrowing the capacity of the ater power that had been its principal prime mover.…

Read More
Wright Flyer III

The 1905 Wright Flyer III, built by Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville (1871-1948) Wright, was the world's first airplane capable of sustained, maneuverable flight. Similar in design to their celebrated first airplane, this machine featured a stronger structure, a larger engine turning new "bent-end…

Read More

Tracing its history to the earliest days of powered flight – to the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss – the site began as the research laboratory of the Curtiss-Wright Aircraft Company. After World War II, it was donated to Cornell University, and in January 1946 opened its doors as the Cornell…

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