Quick Facts
- Born:
- Sept. 19, 1824, Upper Darby, Pa., U.S.
- Died:
- Jan. 24, 1905, Philadelphia, Pa. (aged 80)
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
William Sellers
American engineer and manufacturer
William Sellers (born Sept. 19, 1824, Upper Darby, Pa., U.S.ādied Jan. 24, 1905, Philadelphia, Pa.) was an American engineer and manufacturer.
Sellers was born into a distinguished scientific family. The first of his firms manufactured machinistsā tools and mill gearing. His formulas for matching screw threads and nuts (1864) became the U.S. standards. In 1868 he founded Edge Moor Iron Co., which became the largest plant in the world for supplying and building iron bridges (it provided all the structural work for the Brooklyn Bridge) and other large structures. He was president from 1873 of Midvale Steel Co. (Nicetown, Pa.), which became the major metal supplier for U.S. government ordnance and small arms.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking āSign Upā, you consent to the Britannica
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use.