Wilfred Lewis

Wilfred Lewis (October 16, 1854 - December 29, 1929) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, director for the machine tool firm William Sellers & Co, and later president of the Tabor Manufacturing Company. He is known for his early work on the bending of gear teeths, and his later work on scientific management. In the late 19th century Lewis had developed a bending equation, which became standard for gear design. The Lewis stress factor for gears is named after him.
Biography.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lewis graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1875, and had spent his early career at the William Sellars and Company of Philadelphia. He had started his career as mechanic, draftsman, designer and assistant engineer, and had worked his way up to one of the director of the machine tool firm. By 1900 he moved to the Tabor Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia, PA, where he was appointed president and introduced the Taylor system of shop management. Over the years Lewis was a prolific inventors, who held over 50 patents. In his later life he became promoter of the Scientific management.
Lewis was vice-president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers from 1901 to 1903. In 1910-12 Lewis was also one of the founding members of the Taylor Society, and later its president. Lewis was a recipient of the ASME Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1927.
Lewis died a sudden death at sea in 1929 from apoplexy near Egypt, and was buried at sea. Lewis had been taking a trip around the world after he had attended the World Engineering Congress of 1929 in Tokyo, Japan. Lewis had been married to Emily Sargent Lewis, a poet and suffragette, and they had five children.
Work.
Lewis and Scientific management.
Lewis was a boyhood friend of Frederick Winslow Taylor, participated in the development of Taylor's work since the late 19th century, and became a promoter of scientific management in the first decennia of the 20th century. Taylor himself had developed his system of management at the Midvale Steel company. Afterwards he had introduced his system among others in the shops of the William Sellers and Company machine tool firm, sponsored by William Sellers himself, but this collapsed when Sellers retired. As one of its directors Lewis had become acquainted with Taylor's system, but this didn't make a lasting impression. About their further interaction Merkle (1980) summarized:
Over the years Wilfred Lewis became strong believer and promoter of scientific management. About one of his latest stands, Kyle and Nyland (1993) summarized:
About the response Kyle and Nyland (1993) summarized:
Selected publications.
Articles, a selection
Patents, a selection