B. F. Isherwood

B. F. Isherwood (born Oct. 6, 1822, New York City—died June 19, 1915, New York City) was a U.S. naval engineer who, during the American Civil War, greatly augmented the U.S. Navy’s steam-powered fleet. The son of a physician, Isherwood attended Albany (N.Y.) Academy (1831–36) and then learned mechanics and engineering working successively on the Utica & Schenectady Railroad, on the Croton Aqueduct, on the Erie Railroad, at various U.S. Treasury lighthouses, and at the...