Coleman Sellers II

Coleman Sellers II (1827–1907) was a prominent American engineer and inventor.

Sellers was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 28, 1827. He was the youngest son of Coleman and Sophonisba (Peale) Sellers and a direct descendant of Samuel Sellers, who in 1682 received one of the first grants of land in Pennsylvania. His father and a number of paternal ancestors had been engineers; his maternal grandfather was Charles Willson Peale. He was educated at common schools and studied for five years with Anthony Bolmar at his academy in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

In 1846, Sellers became draughtsman in the Globe Rolling Mill in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was operated by his two older brothers, Charles and George Escol Sellers. Here his mechanical ingenuity quickly asserted itself and under his direction the wire mill belonging to the plant was rebuilt and improved. He remained there for three years, serving part of the time as superintendent. Because of his prompt and thorough investigation of scientific discoveries, he became the mentor of a group of intellectual men in Cincinnati and frequently gave lectures, illustrated by practical experiments, on chemistry, physics, and electricity. In 1850-1851, he undertook the design and construction of locomotives for the Panama Railroad and upon the completion of this contract, took charge of the locomotive works of James and Jonathan Niles in Cincinnati. He served for five years as foreman in the works of Niles and Company.

In 1856, Sellers moved to Philadelphia, where he became chief engineer of William Sellers & Co. (the senior partner of which was his second cousin, William Sellers), makers of machinists' tools, and general millwrights. In this capacity he obtained patents for a variety of inventions, some of which are listed below. In 1873, he became a partner of the firm.

Failing health led Sellers to resign his position as chief engineer of William Sellers & Co. in 1886, but subsequently he was induced to engage in active practice as a consulting engineer. Probably his greatest work in this capacity was in connection with the hydroelectric power development of Niagara Falls. Sellers was a consulting engineer of the Cataract Construction Company, a corporation formed to execute the Niagara Falls project, and served on the International Niagara Commission, which determined the types of turbines and generators and the methods of power transmission finally adopted. Sellers designed the first large dynamos installed in the Niagara Falls power plant.

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