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Benjamin F. Isherwood

Benjamin Franklin Isherwood
Benjamin F. Isherwood.jpg
Benjamin F. Isherwood, c. 1860s
Born (1822-10-06)October 6, 1822
New York City
Died June 19, 1915(1915-06-19) (aged 92)
New York City
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch Union Navy
Years of service 1844–1884
Rank USN Rear Admiral rank insignia.jpg Rear Admiral
Battles/wars

Benjamin Franklin Isherwood (October 6, 1822 – June 19, 1915) was an engineering officer in the United States Navy during the early days of steam-powered warships. He served as a ship's engineer during the Mexican–American War, and after the war did experimental work with steam propulsion. Rising to the rank of rear admiral, as Engineer-in-Chief of the Navy during the Civil War, he helped to found the Navy's Bureau of Steam Engineering.

Isherwood was born in New York City. He worked for the Utica and Schenectady Railroad and trained under William C. Young, one of the most prominent engineers of that period. Isherwood then worked on the Croton Aqueduct, followed by an engineering job on the Erie Canal. Designing and constructing lighthouses for the Treasury Department was Isherwood's last employment before joining the Navy.

At the age of 22, Isherwood was appointed First Assistant Engineer in the Navy May 23, 1844, serving aboard General Taylor in 1846–47. During the Mexican–American War, he served in the steam warship Princeton, and later was senior engineer of the gunboat Spitfire.

When the Mexican–American War ended, Isherwood was assigned to the Washington Navy Yard, where he assisted Charles Stuart in designing engines and experiments with steam as a source of power for propelling ships. Throughout the 1850s, Isherwood compiled operational and performance data from steam engines in U.S. and foreign commercial vessels and warships. He used these empirical data to analyze the efficiency of engine types then in use.


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