Stevens, Robert Livingston

Stevens, Robert Livingston
born Oct. 18, 1787, Hoboken, N.J., U.S.
died April 20, 1856, Hoboken

U.S. engineer and ship designer.

The son of John Stevens, he tested the first steamboat to use screw propellers. He designed the railway T-rail in 1830, and later the railroad spike. He found that rails laid on wooden ties, with crushed stone or gravel beneath, provided a roadbed superior to any known before; his construction remains in universal use.

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▪ American engineer
born Oct. 18, 1787, Hoboken, N.J., U.S.
died April 20, 1856, Hoboken

      U.S. engineer and ship designer who invented the widely used inverted-T railroad rail and the railroad spike. He tested the first steamboat to use screw propellers, built by his father, the noted inventor John Stevens. He also assisted his father in the construction of the “Phoenix,” on which he served during the steamboat's historic ocean voyage from New York to Philadelphia in 1809.

      Stevens became a prominent figure in naval design. He developed a “false bow” for the steamboat “New Philadelphia,” which increased its speed so that it was able to leave Albany, N.Y., in the morning and reach New York City before nightfall. In 1822 he built the ferryboat “Hoboken.”

      Stevens designed the inverted-T rail in 1830; he found that rails laid on wooden ties, with crushed stone or gravel beneath, provided a roadbed superior to any known before. His rail and roadbed came into universal use in the United States. He also added the pilot, or cowcatcher, to the locomotive and increased the number of drive wheels to eight for better traction. In 1846 Stevens, an ardent yachtsman, designed the “Maria,” for 20 years one of the fastest yachts in the world.

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  • Robert Livingston Stevens — (* 1778 in Hoboken, New Jersey; † 1856 ebenda) war ein amerikanischer Ingenieur und Konstrukteur der seine Fähigkeiten insbesondere der Eisenbahntechnik, Dampfschiffen und Fährbooten widmete. Er war Sohn von Colonel John Stevens sowie Präsident… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Robert Livingston (1746–1813) — death place=Clermont, New York party=None profession=Politician spouse=Mary Stevens Livingston nationality= United States footnotes=Robert R. Livingston (November 27, 1746 ndash; February 26, 1813), of New York, was a Federalist Party delegate to …   Wikipedia

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  • Livingston — /liv ing steuhn/, n. 1. Robert R., 1746 1813, U.S. political figure and jurist. 2. a township in NE New Jersey. 28,040. * * * (as used in expressions) Livingston Robert R. Livingston William Stevens Robert Livingston * * * ▪ Montana, United… …   Universalium

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  • Robert R. Livingston — (* 27. November 1746 in New York City; † 26. Februar 1813 in Clermont, New York) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker. Leben Er war der älteste S …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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