Baldwin, Matthias William (1795-1866), was an American inventor and philanthropist. In the early 1830’s, he built Old Ironsides, one of the first American-made locomotives. Baldwin designed and built the locomotive with tools he had made especially for the task. He built it in six months. Made of iron and wood, the locomotive weighed 6 tons (5.4 metric tons). It could pull 30 tons (27 metric tons) at a speed of 28 miles (45 kilometers) per hour, an amazing speed at that time.
Baldwin’s accomplishments were not limited to his work on locomotives. In 1819, he invented a simplified process of plating gold. He entered a manufacturing business in 1825. Later, he designed a process for printing designs on cloth and built a noiseless engine.
In 1832, Baldwin established the Baldwin Locomotive Works. From then on, he devoted his time to improving and building locomotives and stationary engines. In 1842, he patented a locomotive design that solved the problem of moving around curves.
Baldwin was born on Dec. 10, 1795, in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. He became interested in tools and mechanical devices when he was apprenticed to a jeweler during his youth. Baldwin helped found what is now the Franklin Institute and a school for African American children. He died on Sept. 7, 1866.
