Perkins, Jacob

Jacob Perkins, (born July 9, 1766, Newburyport, Mass. [U.S.]—died July 30, 1849, London, Eng.), American inventor who produced successful innovations in many fields.

About 1790 Perkins built a machine to cut and head nails in one operation, but the plant he opened to exploit it was ruined by an extended lawsuit over the invention. He subsequently devised a method of bank-note engraving that made counterfeiting extremely difficult. Failing to attract American interest in the process, Perkins and his partner set up a factory in England and in 1819 began printing notes for local banks; after 1840 the factory was also authorized to print Britain’s first penny postage stamps.

Perkins also experimented with high-pressure steam boilers and in 1823 devised means to attain working steam pressure of 800–1400 psi. He built a Woolf-type steam engine (1827), designed an improved paddle wheel (1829), and invented a means for the free circulation of water in boilers (1831), which led to the design of modern water-tube boilers. He was awarded a medal by the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts for his method of ventilating ships’ holds.