Henry Voigt

This article is about the first Superintendent and Chief Coiner of the United States Mint. For the American rugby union player, see Guy Voight. For the Prussian-born American cigar maker, see Henry Vogt.

Henry Voigt or Henry Voight (1738–1814) was a clockmaker, mathematical instrument maker, machine and steam engine builder, and Chief Coiner of the first United States Mint. He operated a wire mill in Reading Pennsylvania and repaired clocks and watches for Thomas Jefferson, who knew him well.[1] In Philadelphia he participated in the development and production of the first practical steamboat with John Fitch that in 1790 that traveled in a commercial operation between 1,300 and 3,000 miles at speeds estimated from 6 to 8 miles per hour.[2] He is credited with some of the first U.S. coin designs and participated in the 1770 production (as one of the "hands" or helpers) and 1806 repair and extension of David Rittenhouse's Orrery.[3]

  1. ^ Voyages of discovery: Essays on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. James P. Ronda. Montana Historical Society, 1998. p.164
  2. ^ Steamboats Come True: American Inventors in Action. James Thomas Flexner. Fordham University Press, 1944, 1992. p.187
  3. ^ The Rittenhouse orrery: Princeton's Eighteenth-century Planetarium, 1767-1954. A commentary on an exhibition held in the Princeton University Library. Howard Crosby Rice. Princeton University Library, 1954