Foxborough, Mass, USA
Uriah Boyden

Uriah, a younger brother to Seth Boyden (born 27 Feb 1804), was educated in the schools of Foxborough. He donated money to improve schools which was later used to purchase books for the start of a public library which bears his name Boyden Public Library in Foxborough. He assisted his father Seth and joined his brother Seth in Newark, New Jersey when he was of age. He remained there until about 1828 when he returned to Massachusetts and was engaged under James Hayward on the first surveys of the Boston and Providence Railroad; he was afterwards employed, under Loammi Baldwin, in the construction of the stone dry dock in Charleston Navy Yard, of several mills at Lowell, and of the Boston & Lowell Railroad. He and others invented a much more efficient water wheel turbine in Lowell. In 1936-38 the Nashua & Lowell Railroad was built by him as engineer. In 1837 he opened an office in Joys's Building, on Washington Street, Boston, as a civil engineer, and at the date of his death he occupied nine rooms for business purposes; his bachelor home was in Young's Hotel, across the court.

He invented and patented improvements on the turbine water-wheel, and in philosphical and electrical apparatus, which gave him a large income, and enabled him to devote much time to scientific pursuits for several years.

He attained distinction as a mathematician and was honored and esteemed by his professional brethren. Harvard college conferred upon him the honorary degree of A.M. in 1853.

He inspired James Francis to design efficient water turbines as well.

His garments were always of Quaker color and style; he was a vegetarian in diet, never drank tea, coffee, wine or spirits, was an early riser , and daily took a long walk at a rapid gait before breakfast, rain or shine. He bequeathed nearly his entire estate in trust for "scientific investigation of the properties of caloric and phenomena relating thereto." This has been invested as the Boyden Fund, which in 1901 amounted to $240,000 - Harvard University being the trustee, - and the income is used, in accordance with the provisions of the will, largely in connection with Harvard's Boyden Observatory orginally in Peru that was moved to South Africa in 1926.

Additional information is available at the Foxborough Historical Commission and at the Lowell Massachusetts Historical Society. Additionally there is 18 linear feet of information at the National Museum of History in Washington D.C. Two scrapbooks are also located at the University of Massahusetts, Lowell.