Benjamin Chew Tilghman (1821 - 1903) was an US soldier and inventor. He is best known as the inventor of the process of sandblasting. Man sandblasting a stone wall Device used for adding sand to the compressed air (top of which is a sieve for adding the sand) Diesel powered compressor used as an air supply for sandbasting Sandblasting or bead blasting[1] is a generic term for the process of smoothing, shaping and...

Early life

He was born in Philadelphia on October 26, 1821, the third child of Benjamin and Anne Marie (McMurtie). His father was descended from Richard Tilghman, a surgeon in the British Navy. For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ... is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1821 (MDCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... “Surgeon” redirects here. ...

Tilghman was educated at Bristol College and later at the University of Pennsylvania from where he graduated in 1839; while he studied law, he never practiced this profession. With his brother, Richard, he spent much time before the war journeying through Europe, visiting laboratories, chemical works and mills.^[1] City of Bristol College is a large general further education college based in the English city of Bristol. ... The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn[3][4]) is a private, coeducational research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... 1839 (MDCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Civil War career

During the American Civil War, he served on the Union side, first as as Colonel and commander of the 29th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, then as Colonel and commander of the 3rd United States Colored Troops.^[2] He was severely wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863^[3] He was brevetted Brigadier General, US Volunteers on April 13, 1865 for "meritorious services". Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Joseph Hooker Robert E. Lee Stonewall Jackson† Strength 133,868 60,892 Casualties 17,197 (1,606 killed, 9,672 wounded, 5,919 missing)[1] 12,764 (1,665 killed, 9,081 wounded, 2,018 missing)[1] The Battle of... is the 103rd day of the year (104th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Invention of the sandblasting process

Legend has it that Tilghman had seen the effect of wind-blown sand on windows in the desert while a general in the army, and that this was the basis of his sandblasting invention.

Around 1870, he invented the Sandblasting process and filed a patent for it in the U.S. (US patent 104,408), detailing many of the applications for which this technique is uniquely suited, such as sharpening files, engraving bottles, cleaning boilers or bringing out the grain in wood. Later that year a patent was issued in the UK. 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Man sandblasting a stone wall Device used for adding sand to the compressed air (top of which is a sieve for adding the sand) Diesel powered compressor used as an air supply for sandbasting Sandblasting or bead blasting[1] is a generic term for the process of smoothing, shaping and... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...

In 1871, at the 40th Exhibition of the American Institute of the City of New York, he was awarded the institute's Great Medal of Honor for his invention; shortly after, he was also awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal by the Franklin Institute.^[4] Franklin Institute Front steps as seen from the adjacent Moore College This article is about the science museum in Philadelphia. ...

He refined the technique for various purposes, and in 1877 took out a patent (US patent 252,279) for sharpening files, which he marketed as "Liquid Grindstone".

Further patents and developments followed.

Commercial ventures

His first company was formed with his brother in Philadelphia - B. C. & R. A. Tilghman - for the production of chilled iron shot for the stone industry. Around 1879, Benjamin moved to London forming a new company, Tilghman's Patent Sand Blast Co. at Gray's Inn Road. This company used one of his patent methods for sharpening files and rasps. From London he moved to Sheffield, the centre of steel production in England at the time, and later moved to Altrincham in Cheshire, being resident there around 1885, having invested in the machine tool company "George Richards Ltd". 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... A file in a computer system is a stream (sequence) of bits stored as a single unit, typically in a file system on disk or magnetic tape. ... For other uses, see Sheffield (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Altrincham (pronounced Oltringum) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. ... Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester)[1] is a county in North West England. ...

In 1879, he opened the gates of his new works in Altrincham, which became the hub of the sand blasting industry in Great Britain. This lastly formed company, later called Wheelabrator Tilghman, and since 2005 'Wheelabrator Group' still exists.

Other inventions

While working on the sandblasting process, he was also engaged in the working of stone, which caused him to invent a production method for iron shot - pouring a stream of molten metal onto a revolving surface, from which the globlues would be propelled into cold water (US patent 187,239, 1872). This material was in great demand for the cutting of stone.

Around 1880, he invented the sulfite method of fiber reduction for paper production;^[5] this was a critical part of the production of paper from wood pulp, competing with the Kraft process. The Kraft process (also known as Kraft pulping or sulfate process) is used in production of paper pulp and involves the use of caustic sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide to extract the lignin from wood chips in large pressure vessels called digesters. ...

He also patented a design for a torpedo to be propelled "rocket fashion" by a slow burning powder. It was not successful.^[6]

He died on July 3, 1901, and is buried in Philadelphia, USA. is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ...

Known Patents

• U.S. Patent No. 104,408 - sandblasting (1870)
• U.S. Patent No. 133,501
• U.S. Patent No. 174,167
• U.S. Patent No. 187,239 - production of iron shot (1872)
• U.S. Patent no. 252,279 - sharpening of files (1877)
• U.S. Patent No. 446,988
• U.S. Patent No. RE7,499

• UK Patent no. 2147 (1870) - sandblasting
• UK Patent no. 2900 (1870) - blast wheel
• UK Patent no. 13,510 (1885) - roughening iron and steel rolls

References

• "Studies in the Land: The Northeast Corner" by David C Smith (Routlegde 2002) - quoted from Google Books [1]
• H. J. Plaster (1993). "A Tribute to Benjamin Chew Tilghman" (PDF). Conf Proc: ICSP-5: 2-9. Retrieved on 2006-10-09. 

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Footnotes

External links

• Wheelabrator Group website