Name Mansfield Merriman | Role Civil engineer | |
Died 1925, New York City, New York, United States Education Sheffield Scientific School, Yale University Books A text book on the method of, The figure of the earth, A Text‑Book on Roofs, Elements of Precise Surveyin, An Introduction to Geodet | ||
Mansfield Merriman (March 27, 1848 – June 7, 1925) was an American civil engineer, born at Southington, Conn. He graduated at Yale's Sheffield Scientific School in 1871, was assistant in the United States Corps of Engineers in 1872-73, and instructor in civil engineering at Sheffield from 1875 to 1878. He was professor of civil engineering in Lehigh University from 1878 to 1907 and thereafter a consulting civil and hydraulic engineer. From 1880 to 1885 he was also assistant on the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. His researches in hydraulics, bridges, strength of materials, and pure mathematics are important. His chief publications, many of them widely used as textbooks, are:
In addition, he was editor in chief of the American Civil Engineers' Pocket Book (1911).
He published Recreations in Mathematics in 1917 under the pseudonym H. E. Licks, which included a story, "The Diaphote Hoax", a republication of a detailed newspaper report from February 10, 1880 which purported to describe the scientific demonstration of a device that transmitted images by electricity. The report is peppered throughout with scientific jokes including mentions of "Dr. H. E. Licks" ('helix'), "Prof. M. E. Kannick" ('mechanic'), "Col. A. D. A. Biatic" ('adiabatic'), and "Prof. L. M. Niscate" ('lemniscate').