biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1745–1807)
|
| biography:
| Engineer, soldier, and judge, born in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA. A self-educated cabinetmaker, land surveyor, and civil engineer, he used to walk from Woburn to Cambridge to hear lectures on mathematics at Harvard. An opponent of British rule, he fought briefly in the American Revolution, achieving the rank of colonel. He represented Woburn in the Massachusetts legislature (1778–9, 1800–4) and was high sheriff of Middlesex County. During 1794–1804 he was chief engineer of the Middlesex Canal that joined the Merrimack and Charles rivers in Massachusetts. He also developed from grafts a hardy variety of apple that is named for him. |
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