HENRY TIMKEN
Name: Henry Timken
Born: 1831
Died: 1909
Henry Timken (1831 - 1909) was an inventor who was born in Bremen, Germany. He
founded the Timken Company in 1899, which is located in Canton, Ohio. Timken was
inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame on September 19, 1998. Henry
Timkin was one of six inducted into the hall of fame at ceremonies done at the E
J Thomas Hall in Akron, OH.
William Robert Timken, Jr., Timken's great-grandson, the retired chairman and
chief executive officer of The Timken Co, and who is the current United States
Ambassador to Germany, received the award on behalf of his great-grandfather. "Tim"
Timken ushered his family's bearings and steel maker from old-school management
into manufacturing's modern era.
Henry Timken patented the tapered roller bearing in 1898. A year later, he
established the Timken Roller Bearing Axle Company which grew rapidly as the
product was in great demand by cars, trucks, and tractors. By 1923, 90% of the
country's production came from Timken. His slogan "Wherever wheels and shafts
turn", describes the widespread use for bearings—trains, conveyors, elevators,
aircraft engines, even space shuttle landing wheels.
Emigrating to America as a child with his family, he left the family's Missouri
farm to enter the wagon-making business. He opened his own company in St. Louis
in 1855, and introduced several improvements to the carriages his firm produced,
including his patented "Timken spring", which made him a fortune. Other patents
included the Timken roller bearing. He retired in 1897 and settled in California.
Name: Henry Timken
Born: 1831
Died: 1909
Henry Timken (1831 - 1909) was an inventor who was born in Bremen, Germany. He
founded the Timken Company in 1899, which is located in Canton, Ohio. Timken was
inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame on September 19, 1998. Henry
Timkin was one of six inducted into the hall of fame at ceremonies done at the E
J Thomas Hall in Akron, OH.
William Robert Timken, Jr., Timken's great-grandson, the retired chairman and
chief executive officer of The Timken Co, and who is the current United States
Ambassador to Germany, received the award on behalf of his great-grandfather. "Tim"
Timken ushered his family's bearings and steel maker from old-school management
into manufacturing's modern era.
Henry Timken patented the tapered roller bearing in 1898. A year later, he
established the Timken Roller Bearing Axle Company which grew rapidly as the
product was in great demand by cars, trucks, and tractors. By 1923, 90% of the
country's production came from Timken. His slogan "Wherever wheels and shafts
turn", describes the widespread use for bearings—trains, conveyors, elevators,
aircraft engines, even space shuttle landing wheels.
Emigrating to America as a child with his family, he left the family's Missouri
farm to enter the wagon-making business. He opened his own company in St. Louis
in 1855, and introduced several improvements to the carriages his firm produced,
including his patented "Timken spring", which made him a fortune. Other patents
included the Timken roller bearing. He retired in 1897 and settled in California.