SAXTON

SAXTON 22.03. 1799 Huntington PA/USA 26.10. 1873 Washington DC/USA Joseph Saxton was a famous American inventor. He was a watchmaker at Philadelphia PA from 1817 to 1828, made then until 1837 the clock for the Belfry of Independence Hall in England, having invented in the meantime a magneto-electric machine as also a fountain pen, and a locomotive differential pulley. From 1838 to 1843 he was constructor and curator of the standard weighing apparatus of the US Mint, Philadelphia PA. He designed the standard balance used in government assays and coining offices and also was until his death the superintendent of weights and measures for the US Coast Survey, Washington DC. He further had invented a fusible metal seal and an ever-sharp pencil. Saxton was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. Saxton was particularly known for the current meter built and rated in 1832 at Adelaide Gallery flume, London UK. These meters provide the local river velocity and finally the river discharge at a certain section. Crude current meters resembling paddle wheels were invented centuries ago, but the meters received new importance in the 19th century because of scientific interest in river flow, and the associated hydraulic knowledge. The current meter was first designed in the USA by Saxton, based on the proposals of the German Reinhard Woltman (1757-1837). His apparatus appears like a cross between a weather vane and an anemometer, but it was not well-suited for application in rivers. Under supervision of Andrew A. Humphreys (1810-1883), a new double-float system was developed to measure river currents, yet also this method was erroneous. In the 1870s Theodore G. Ellis (1829-1883), among others, considerably improved the early meters. Saxton also invented in 1854 a self-registering tide gauge that is believed to have been the first gauge to record an earthquake. His papers and notebooks contain detailed information on his experiments and also the social life in London. Anonymous (1963). Joseph Saxton. Who was who in America 1607-1896: 466. Marquis: Chicago. Henry, J., Saxton Pendleton, J. (1935). Joseph Saxton 1799-1873. Pengelly: Reading PA. P Kolupaila, S. (1961). Saxton. Journal of the Hydraulics Division ASCE 87(HY3): 178. P Saxton, J. (1873). Joseph Saxton Papers. Record Unit 7056. Smithsonian Institution Archives: Washington DC. https://museum.nist.gov/object.asp?ObjID=29 P https://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/HistoricalVignettes/CivilEngineering/013InCommon.aspx

SAYRE A.N. 28.01. 1901 Granville OH/USA 12.10. 1967 Zürich/CH Albert Nelson Sayre graduated in 1921 from Doane Academy, Granville OH, obtaining there the BS degree from Denison University in 1923, the MS degree from Kansas University, Lawrence KA, and the PhD degree in 1928 from University of Chicago, Chicago IL. He was assistant instructor in geology at Kansas University until 1924, from 1926 to 1929 instructor in geology at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA, from 1946 to 1959 from assistant geologist to chief geologist of the US Geological Survey USGS, acting as chief of its Groundwater Branch. He was in parallel from 1944 to 1945 water supply consultant for the US Army. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom for work in Leyte, the Philippines, after World War II, and obtained the degree D.Sc. from Denison University in 1949. He was Fellow of the Geological Society of America, and of the American Geophysical Union AGU, whose general secretary he was from 1956. Sayre contributed to the science of hydrogeology, of which the foundations were laid in the mids of the 20th century. In the absence of infiltration, water flow would be reduced to the precipitation, overland runoff, and evapotranspiration. Subsurface geology would then have a small effect on hydrology and water resources, and the science of hydrogeology would not have been founded. Whereas Oscar E. Meinzer (1876-1948) may be considered the father of hydrogeology, at least in the USA, Sayre identified the origins and rise of qualitative groundwater hydrology. He was in 1967 stricken in a heart attack at Zürich, and died after his extended trip through Europe, Asia Minor, and Africa. Anonymous (1963). Sayre, A. Nelson. Who’s who in America 32: 2737. Marquis: Chicago. Anonymous (1968). Dr. Nelson Sayre. IAHS Bulletin 13(1): 112-113. Bennett, R.R., Sayre, A.N. (1962). Geology and groundwater resources of Kinney County TX. US Geological Survey: Washington DC. Sayre, A.N. (1937). Geology and groundwater resources of Duval County TX. Water Supply Paper 776. USGS: Washington DC. Sayre, A.N. (1942). Relation of ground water and surface runoff to total precipitation in the East Nueces River basin. Water Resources Bulletin (May 10): 100-102. Sayre, A.N. (1954). Water levels and artesian pressures in observation wells in the United States. US Government Printing Office: Washington DC. Smith, W.E. (1968). A. Nelson Sayre. Trans. AGU 49(2): 445-447. P Smith, W.O., Sayre, A.N. (1964). Turbulence in groundwater flow. GPO: Washington DC.