Charles S.L. Baker

Charles S. L. Baker (1859–1926) was an American inventor, who patented the friction heater.

Charles S.L Baker
This is a picture of Charles S.L Baker
Born(1859-08-03)August 3, 1859
Savannah, Missouri
Died5 May 1926(1926-05-05) (aged 66)
St. Joseph, Missouri
NationalityAmerican
OccupationInventor, engineer
Years active67 years
Known forFriction Heater

Early life

Charles S. Lewis Baker was born into slavery on August 3rd, 1859, in Savannah, Missouri. His mother, Betsy Mackay, died when he was three months old, leaving him to be brought up by the wife of his owner, Sallie Mackay, and his father, Abraham Baker.[1] He was the youngest of five children, Susie, Peter, Annie, and Ellen, all of whom were freed after the Civil War. Baker later received an education at Franklin College. His father was employed as an express agent, and once Baker turned fifteen, he became his assistant.[1] Baker worked with wagons and linchpins, which sparked an interest in mechanical sciences.

Invention
Black and white photograph showing inventor Charles S.L Baker and his assistant demonstrating heating/radiator system.

Baker worked over the span of decades on his product, attempting several different forms of friction, including rubbing two bricks together mechanically, as well as using various types of metals. After twenty-three years, the invention was perfected in the form of two metal cylinders, one inside of the other, with a spinning core in the center made of wood, that produced the friction.[1] Baker started a business with several other men to manufacture the heater. The Friction Heat & Boiler Company was established in 1904, in St. Joseph, with Baker on the board of directors.[2] The company worked up to 136,000 dollars in capital, equal to nearly 4 million dollars in 2018.[3][4]

Mr. Baker claims that the particular mode of power used in creating the friction is not essential. It may be wind, water, gasoline, or any other source of energy. The most difficult part of the inventor's assertions to prove is that his system will light or heat a house at about half the cost of methods now in use.[5]

Personal life

At 21, Baker married the 19 year old Carrie Carriger on 12 December 1880, in Adams County, Iowa. [6]They had one child, born on 3 January 1882, named Lulu Belle Baker.[7] Baker died of pneumonia 5 May 1926, in St. Joseph, MO. [8]

See also

References
  1. Brown, Thomas W (12 August 1911). "The Story of the Wonderful Friction Heater". Michigan Manufacturer. 7 (7). Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  2. Weston, Alonzo (6 January 2014). "Honoring Our Heroes". www.newspressnow.com. NEWS-PRESS & GAZETTE CO. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  3. "Steel and Iron". Steel and Iron. 74. 1904. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  4. “$136,000 in 1904 → 2018 | Inflation Calculator.” U.S. Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 3 Sep. 2018, https://www.officialdata.org/1904-dollars-in-2018?amount=136000
  5. "The Draftsman, Volumes 3-4". The Draftsman. p. 280: The Draftsman. 1904. Retrieved 21 August 2018.CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. Iowa Department of Public Health; Des Moines, Iowa; Series Title: Iowa Marriage Records, 1880–1922; Record Type: Textual Records
  7. "Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XVDR-4JK : 11 March 2018), Charles Lewis Baker in entry for Baker, 03 Jan 1882; citing Corning, Adams, Iowa, United States; county district courts, Iowa; FHL microfilm 1,035,096.
  8. Missouri Death Certificates 1910-1967; Missouri Digital Heritage; Death Certificate of Charles SL Baker, #15499. (https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1926/1926_00016236.PDF).
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