Twining, the son of Stephen Twining and Almira (Catlin) Twining, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, July 5, 1801. He graduated from Yale College in 1820. He left College with the intention of entering the ministry, and soon after studied for one year in Andover Theological Seminary. In 1823 he returned to New Haven as tutor in at Yale, in which office he served for two years.
Meanwhile he had decided to become a civil engineer, and now went to West Point to prepare himself for his profession. He was first employed upon the State works of Pennsylvania, and his earliest independent work was in 1835–37 as chief of the survey for the Hartford and New Haven Railroad; he was subsequently employed either as chief or consulting engineer upon every railroad running out of New Haven (excepting possibly the Derby road). In like manner he was employed on the northern lines running up the Connecticut River valley and through Vermont, on the Lake Shore road between Buffalo and Erie, and on other roads in Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan.
From 1839 to 1848 he filled the chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Middlebury College, Vt.; this position he resigned to give himself more fully to his engineering labors. He removed from Middlebury to New Haven in 1852, and resided there for the rest of his life. From 1856 until his death he was a deacon in the First Church, in which his father had filled the same office. For several years after his return to New Haven his labor was mainly given to the development of his invention for the artificial production of ice economically on a large scale. The principle of his invention was widely adopted, but he failed to secure pecuniary recompense for it. He made valuable original investigations in astronomy, mathematics, and physics, and was equally interested in questions of theology and political science, both in their theoretical and practical aspects In connection with the remarkable meteor shower of November 1833, he deserves the credit for first suggesting the correct theory of radiation of meteor tracks from a fixed point among the stars.
Personal lifeedit
On March 2, 1829, Twining married Harriet Amelia Kinsley, of West Point, New York, who died October 12, 1871. Their children were three sons (graduates of Yale) and four daughters, including the Rev. Kingsley Twining; they survived their parents, with the exception of one son who died in the American Civil War.
Early in October 1884, he was attacked with congestion of the brain, and died at his home in New Haven on November 22, at the age of 83.
This article incorporates public domain material from the 1885 Yale Obituary Record.
Referencesedit
^Hannan, Caryn (2008-01-01). Connecticut Biographical Dictionary. State History Publications. p. 540. ISBN978-1-878592-59-0. Twining, Alexander Catlin (1801-1884) — Inventor, engineer, and astronomer, was born on July 5, 1801, in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Stephen and Almira (Catlin) Twining.
alexander, catlin, twining, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Alexander Catlin Twining news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2024 Learn how and when to remove this template message Alexander Catlin Twining July 5 1801 November 22 1884 was an American scientist and inventor 1 Alexander Catlin TwiningBorn 1801 07 05 July 5 1801New Haven Connecticut U S DiedNovember 22 1884 1884 11 22 aged 83 New Haven Connecticut U S NationalityAmericanOccupationsScientistinventorParentsStephen Twining father Almira Catlin Twining mother Twining the son of Stephen Twining and Almira Catlin Twining was born in New Haven Connecticut July 5 1801 He graduated from Yale College in 1820 He left College with the intention of entering the ministry and soon after studied for one year in Andover Theological Seminary In 1823 he returned to New Haven as tutor in at Yale in which office he served for two years Meanwhile he had decided to become a civil engineer and now went to West Point to prepare himself for his profession He was first employed upon the State works of Pennsylvania and his earliest independent work was in 1835 37 as chief of the survey for the Hartford and New Haven Railroad he was subsequently employed either as chief or consulting engineer upon every railroad running out of New Haven excepting possibly the Derby road In like manner he was employed on the northern lines running up the Connecticut River valley and through Vermont on the Lake Shore road between Buffalo and Erie and on other roads in Ohio Illinois and Michigan From 1839 to 1848 he filled the chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Middlebury College Vt this position he resigned to give himself more fully to his engineering labors He removed from Middlebury to New Haven in 1852 and resided there for the rest of his life From 1856 until his death he was a deacon in the First Church in which his father had filled the same office For several years after his return to New Haven his labor was mainly given to the development of his invention for the artificial production of ice economically on a large scale The principle of his invention was widely adopted but he failed to secure pecuniary recompense for it He made valuable original investigations in astronomy mathematics and physics and was equally interested in questions of theology and political science both in their theoretical and practical aspects In connection with the remarkable meteor shower of November 1833 he deserves the credit for first suggesting the correct theory of radiation of meteor tracks from a fixed point among the stars Personal life editOn March 2 1829 Twining married Harriet Amelia Kinsley of West Point New York who died October 12 1871 Their children were three sons graduates of Yale and four daughters including the Rev Kingsley Twining they survived their parents with the exception of one son who died in the American Civil War Early in October 1884 he was attacked with congestion of the brain and died at his home in New Haven on November 22 at the age of 83 nbsp This article incorporates public domain material from the 1885 Yale Obituary Record References edit Hannan Caryn 2008 01 01 Connecticut Biographical Dictionary State History Publications p 540 ISBN 978 1 878592 59 0 Twining Alexander Catlin 1801 1884 Inventor engineer and astronomer was born on July 5 1801 in New Haven Connecticut the son of Stephen and Almira Catlin Twining External links editAlexander Catlin Twining at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alexander Catlin Twining amp oldid 1208869551, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
