Inductees in Technology & Science

 
  1. Zachariah Allen

    Zachariah Allen (1795-1882)

    Inducted in 1973

    Zacharian Allen, 1795-1882, was a lawyer, inventor, and civic leader of the nineteenth century. One of his most notable inventions was the home hot-air furnace. He also originated the Providence Water Works and is credited with introducing the first vehicles to the Providence Fire Company. Allen was also instrumental in setting up the mutal fire insurance system in early America . Read more >

  2. James Burrill Angell

    James Burrill Angell (1829-1916)

    Inducted in 2008

    James Burrill Angell  had a remarkably diverse career-- Brown University graduate, professor of languages, newspaper editor, university president, and diplomat.  He is best known as the longest-serving president of the University of Michigan where he aspired to provide an 'uncommon education for the common man.'

    Born on January 7, 1829, in Scituate, Rhode Island, Angell was the eldest of eight
    children of Amy and Andrew Angell, and a member of an old-line Rhode Island family that traced its lineage to Thomas Angell who came to Providence with Roger Williams.

    Although reared on an outlying farm, Angell had an excellent early education including a
    year at the University Grammar School under the instruction of Henry Frieze, a teacher who would spend many years as professor and interim president of the University of Michigan. Read more >

  3. Joseph Brown

    Joseph Brown (1733-1785)

    Inducted in 1999

    Brown, Joseph, 1733-1785

    Joseph Brown was a noted businessman, scientist, and architect, was the son of James Brown and Hope Power and one of the famous Brown brothers who dominated civic life in Providence during the second half of the 18th century. Although he was a successful merchant, his heart and mind were also occupied by more learned enterprises. Brown is best known for his role in making observations of the transit of the planet Venus across the suns face in 1769, a project in which he collaborated with other astronomers around the world. By comparing transit measurements made at different sites, scientists were able to determine the parallax of the sun and from this, the dimensions of the solar system. Read more >

  4. Daniel O. Cargill

    Inducted in 1972

    Daniel Cargill was a native of Cumberland who served the state for forty-six years as a bridge engineer and Chief Engineer of the Division of Roads and Bridges. He played a major role in developing Rhode Island's interstate highway system and developed bridge preservation techniques that have been utilized in many states. Read more >

  5. Dr. Leon Cooper

    Dr. Leon Cooper (1930-)

    Inducted in 1974

    Dr. Leon Cooper, a physicist at Brown University, won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1972, with two other U.S. scientists. Read more >

  6. George H. Corliss

    George H. Corliss (1817-1888)

    Inducted in 1973

    George H. Corliss, 1817-1888,  was the developer of the steam engine. The famous gigantic engine built by Corliss won a first prize at the Paris Exposition of 1867 as well as many other awards. Read more >

  7. Dr. John Knauss

    Dr. John Knauss (1925-2015)

    Inducted in 1983

    Dr. John Knauss, 1925-2015, was among the world's foremost oceanographers. He served as Dean of the University of Rhode Island's famed Graduate School of Oceanography and Vice President for Marine Affairs. A key participant in the creation of the United States highly successful Sea Grant Program, this Saunderstown, RI, resident served as Chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere, and had developed one of the strongest marine programs in the world here in Rhode Island. Read more >

  8. Dr. Harry Kroll

    Inducted in 1983

    Dr. Harry Kroll worked as one of the world's leading scientist and research chemists. He holds fifty-one world patents issued by the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, and France. As senior scientist for Technic, Inc. Read more >

  9. Dr. Renato E. Leonelli

    Inducted in 1996

    Dr. Leonelli, formerly of Providence, advanced the education of RI youth through his 39 year tenure as Professor of Physical Science and Science Education at Rhode Island College, as well as through a weekly, live, local television program entitled ‘Small Fry Science’.  He also served on the Boards of numerous civic and cultural organizations and as a member of the Providence Human Relations Commission. Read more >

  10. Dr. Joseph J. Loferski

    Inducted in 2002

    Loferski, J. J. (Joseph John)

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