The Biographical Dictionary of America/Allen, Zachariah

ALLEN, Zachariah, manufacturer, was born in Providence, R. I., Sept. 15, 1795. In 1813 he was graduated from Brown university, and after studying law and medicine was, in 1815, admitted to the bar. He engaged in manufacturing in 1822, and his genius and mechanical skill contributed greatly to develop and advance the industries of Rhode Island. He invented many ingenious applications of motive power, in steam and other machinery, and devised the mutual insurance plan afterward generally adopted by New England manufacturers. He is the author of several practical volumes on science. He calculated the mechanical force of the fall at Niagara to be equal to seven million horse-power. Among his inventions were, in 1821, the first furnace for heating dwellings, and in 1833, an automatic cut-off valve for steam engines, extension rollers, an improved fire-engine, and a storage reservoir for water-power. He was for many years president of the Rhode Island historical society, and a trustee of Brown university for fifty-six years. His family connections, the strong regard cherished for his upright and attractive character, and his many distinguished public services, made him for years to be looked upon as the most prominent and representative person in his state. He was the adviser and benefactor of all educational, charitable, and religious efforts. He published "The Practical Tourist"; "Practical Mechanics"; "Philosophy of the Mechanics of Nature" (1851); "Solar Light and Heat" (1879), and other valued works. Brown university conferred on him the degree of LL.D. in 1851. (See memoir by Amos Perry.) He died March 17, 1882.