Thomas Blanchard was born in Sutton, Massachusetts back in 1788. Sorry I don’t have any information about his parents, early childhood and so on. In fact, I don’t have any information about him until 1806, that’s when he received his first patent. He sold the right to that for $5,000.00 a hefty sum in those days.
He went to work for the Springfield Armory, while there he invented another machine in 1822. By the 1850’s his invention was the standard for arms manufacturing. In 1851, he was still going strong inventing another machine that could bend dense and strong wood. He wasn’t finished for he also invented a machine for cutting and folding envelopes at a single operation.
What you may not know about Thomas is that he pioneered the assembly line style of mass production in America. He invented the first machining lathe for interchangeable parts. In 1825, he invented America’s first car, which he called a “horseless carriage”. Now you know where that term came from. All in all, he was awarded over 25 patents for his creations. BTW, that first one he sold for $5,000.00 was a machine he invented for the manufacture of tacks. Before then they were done by hand.
Until tomorrow give someone the free gift of a smile
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