Howe, Frederick Webster

Frederick Webster Howe, (born Aug. 28, 1822, Danvers, Mass., U.S.—died April 25, 1891), American inventor and manufacturer. He was the son of a blacksmith. He produced classic designs of several machine tools while still in his 20s: a profiling machine, a barrel-drilling and -rifling machine, and the first commercially viable universal milling machine. Howe supervised construction of a complete set of machine tools at the Robbins & Lawrence factory in Vermont to mechanize England’s Enfield armoury. His rifles built with interchangeable parts led to his establishing his own armoury in Newark, N.J., in 1856. He perfected the manufacture of the Springfield rifle at the Providence Tool Co. during the Civil War and as president of the Brown & Sharpe Co. created new sewing machines, milling machines, lathes, and other tools.