Uriah A. Boyden

Boyden turbine
Uriah A. Boyden
Uriah Boyden, c. 1845
Born
Uriah Atherton Boyden

(1804-02-17)February 17, 1804
DiedOctober 17, 1879(1879-10-17) (aged 75)
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Occupation(s)Engineer, inventor
RelativesSeth Boyden (elder brother)

Uriah Atherton Boyden (February 17, 1804 – October 17, 1879) was an American civil and mechanical engineer and inventor from Foxborough, Massachusetts best known for the development of a water turbine, that later became known as the Boyden Turbine around 1844, while working for the Appleton Company in Lowell, Massachusetts. Boyden improved upon a turbine developed by French engineer Fourneyron by adding a conical approach passage for the incoming water—submerged diffusers, guide vanes and a diverting exit passage.[1]

Uriah was also the younger brother of Seth Boyden, also a notable inventor who perfected a process for making patent leather, among other developments.