What Did Benjamin Bradley Invent?
Benjamin Bradley was born a slave in Annapolis, Maryland, around 1830. He is credited with inventing the first steam engine able to power a small warship (a sloop-of-war). According to the Maryland State Archives, "improved versions of [Bradley's steam-powered] warship were in use throughout the 19th century."
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Early Prototype
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Bradley built his first model steam engine while working in a printing office. When he was a teenager, Bradley's unknown master put him to work in a printing office. At the age of 16, according to the Maryland State Archives, Bradley used scrap metal found around the office---pieces of gun-barrel, pewter, and round steel, among others---to create a model working steam engine.
Funding
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Bradley worked at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Bradley's master next put him to work at the Department of Natural and Experimental Philosophy at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, where Bradley was the first African-American to hold anything other than a menial position. While there, he found a way to fund his next invention. He sold his original steam engine to a midshipman at the academy, combining the proceeds with the wages his master allowed him to keep from his position at the academy (about $5.00 a month).
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Warship Steam Engine
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In 1856, Benjamin Bradley invented a steam engine powerful enough to run the first cutter of a sloop-of-war, described by the Maryland State Archives as "a small sailing warship with a single gun deck which carried between ten and eighteen cannons" at a speed of 16 knots. Although it was against the law for a slave to patent an invention, Bradley's master did allow him to sell the engine and use the proceeds to buy his freedom.
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References
- Photo Credit Masts of ancient battleship image by nata_rass from Fotolia.com alfabeto image by Frida from Fotolia.com Naval Academy Bridge image by dwight9592 from Fotolia.com
