In the late 1800s, Cornell Engineering awarded the nation’s first doctorates in Industrial Engineering and electrical engineering
Category: Timeline Stories
Robert Thurston, the first director of the Sibley College of Engineering in 1885, held two patents: one an autographic recording testing machine for material in torsion and the other a machine for testing lubricants. In 1875, he also developed the three-coordinate solid diagram for testing..Read More
Kate Gleason was the first woman to study engineering at Cornell. She left the engineering program after two years to work for her family’s business. She was later known as the “First Lady of Gearing” and perfected a technique for making beveled gears.
One of the first courses of study in electrical engineering in the world was introduced at Cornell. In 1889, Cornell established an electrical engineering department which was then incorporated into the College of Engineering
Elmer Sperry, a Cornell engineering student from 1878 to 1879, invented many navigation and stabilization devices for ships and airplanes. His compasses and stabilizers were adopted by the US Navy and used in both world wars. They all used gyroscopes.
John Sweet, one of the first professors to ever teach engineering courses at Cornell, in 1873 built the first micrometer caliper for making tools in the United States. He also invented a nail-making machine that made the hand production of nails obsolete
Hiram Sibley, one of the 10 incorporators of Cornell, provides funds to house and support the Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanic Arts.
At the official dedication of Cornell University and the inauguration of Andrew Dickson White as its first president, Ezra Cornell says, “I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.”
Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White win passage of the bill that charters Cornell University as the land-grant educational institution for New York, establishing the university.