Thaddeus Fairbanks

Thaddeus Fairbanks
Born	(1796-01-17)January 17, 1796 Brimfield, Massachusetts
Died	April 12, 1886(1886-04-12) (aged 90)
Resting place	St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Nationality	American
Occupation	inventor
Known for	Fairbanks Scales
Spouse	Lucy Peck Barker (1798–1866)
Children	2

Thaddeus Fairbanks (January 17, 1796 – April 12, 1886) was an American inventor of heating and cook stoves, cast iron plows, and other items. His greatest success was the invention and manufacture of the platform scale that allowed the accurate weighing of large objects. He was a co-founder of St. Johnsbury Academy.

Biography

Fairbanks was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1796; his parents were Joseph Fairbanks (1763–1846) and Phebe (Paddock) Fairbanks (1760–1853).

His maternal uncle was Ephraim Paddock. In 1815, Fairbanks moved to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and set up a wheelwright's shop above his father's gristmill.

In 1820, he married Lucy Peck Barker and in 1824, he built an iron foundry and his brother Erastus—who later became Governor of Vermont—joined him in the establishment of the business partnership E. and T. Fairbanks to manufacture heating stoves, cast iron plows, and farm implements. In 1826, he patented a cast-iron plow that was extensively used.

In 1830, Fairbanks and Erastus became interested in the raising and processing of hemp. Fairbanks, being mechanically minded, made and patented a hemp-and-flax-dressing machine at this time. He became the manager of the St. Johnsbury Hemp Company and built a set of scales that would accurately weigh large loads of hemp; there were no reliable scales for this task at the time. Upon successfuly building these scales, his brothers advised Fairbanks to make and sell these as town scales. Fairbanks obtained an agent to attempt this and said:

While sitting up watching for the time to call him, the principle upon which we now build our scales suddenly came into my mind. I told the agent that he must wait a few days until I could make plans and patterns in accordance with my new discovery, and said to my wife that I had just discovered a principle that would be worth more than a thousand dollars.

The platform scale for weighing heavy objects became Fairbanks' most famous invention; it is commonly known as the Fairbanks Scale, for which he patented a design in 1830. Before its invention, accurate weighing of objects required hanging them from a balancing beam; as a result, particularly heavy and ungainly objects could not be accurately weighed. A platform scale, if large enough, could weigh an entire wagon. By placing a fully loaded wagon on the scale, unloading it, and then placing it on the scale when empty, it became possible to easily and accurately calculate the weight and value of farm produce and other loads. In 1834, Fairbanks and his brothers formed E. and T. Fairbanks and Company to manufacture and sell platform scales.

These scales became well known in the United States and around the world. The company doubled in volume every three years from 1842 to 1857. There was a temporary slow down during the American Civil War but the business recovered after the war. In 1874, the partnership was incorporated into a firm known as Fairbanks Scale Company and sold on a large scale.

The platform scale revolutionized the weighing of large loads and has been in use ever since. Portable platform scales are found in almost every hardware store, physician's office, and manufacturing factory throughout the U.S. Fairbanks was granted the first railroad-track platform scale patent on January 13, 1857, as Patent No. 16,381. In 1916, E. and T. Fairbanks and Company was purchased by Fairbanks, Morse and Company. Ownership of the earlier has since changed several times but Fairbanks scales continue to be made in St. Johnsbury.

Fairbanks received 43 patents in his lifetime, the last one being granted him at the age 91. He died on April 12, 1886, and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johnsbury.

Patents and awards

In 1826, Thaddeus Fairbanks was granted a patent on a cast-iron plow and a refrigerator. In 1830, he was granted a patent on the platform scale, which became known as the Fairbanks scale. The Fairbanks family was involved in numerous charitable and civic endeavors, including the 1842 founding of St. Johnsbury Academy, in St. Johnsbury and the surrounding towns.

Fairbanks received many foreign awards, was knighted by the Emperor of Austria, and received honors from the Bey of Tunis and the King of Siam.

A painting of Thaddeus Fairbanks can be seen in the lobby of Colby Hall at St. Johnsbury Academy.

Gallery

Fairbanks, Morse & Company national headquarters building

Fairbanks Historical Marker

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  Very large Fairbanks scale
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  Fairbanks Scale at home
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  Fairbanks platform scale
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  Various Fairbanks scales

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  Fairbanks track scale
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  Fairbanks Cotton Scale
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  Fairbanks-Morse scales
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  Fairbanks butcher's scale

Sources

• Chisholm, Hugh (1911). Encyclopedia Britannica, Edition 11, volume 10. Cambridge University Press.

• Duffy, John J., The Vermont Encyclopedia, UPNE, 2003, ISBN 1-58465-086-9
• Ingham, John N., Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders: Vol. 2, H–M, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1983, ISBN 0-313-23907-X