James B. Francis
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James Bicheno Francis (May 18, 1815 – September 18, 1892) was a British-American engineer.
He was born in Southleigh, Oxfordshire in England and emigrated to the United States at age 18. In 1834 he got a job at the Locks and Canal Company of Lowell, Massachusetts and became Chief Engineer in 1837. He remained at the company for his entire career.
He originated scientific methods of testing hydraulic machinery. He was a founding member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and its president in 1880.
He invented the Francis turbine, which was a more efficient successor to the Boyden turbine of Uriah A. Boyden.
He also ordered the construction of the Great Gate over the Pawtucket Canal in Lowel in 1850. "Francis' Folly" as it was known, has saved the city of Lowell from devastating floods in 1852, 1936, and 2006 by preventing the Merrimack River from entering the canal system.
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