author
John Richards
b. 1834
A practical 19th-century engineering writer, this author turned workshop experience into clear, useful books for mechanics and students. His works on wood-working machinery and shop practice helped explain industrial methods in a hands-on, readable way.
1 Audiobook
About the author
John Richards was an engineering author born in 1834, best known for books such as A Treatise on the Construction and Operation of Wood-working Machines and An Engineering Student's Notes, Technical, Philosophical and Otherwise. The records found for his books consistently identify him as “J. (John) Richards, b. 1834,” and his writing centers on machinery, workshop methods, and practical engineering.
His books suggest a writer deeply interested in how things actually worked on the factory floor. Rather than writing in an abstract style, he focused on tools, machine construction, operation, and the habits of careful workmanship, making his work appealing to readers who liked practical knowledge more than theory alone.
Although detailed biographical information was not clearly confirmed in the sources I found, his published work shows him as part of the great age of industrial instruction, when engineers and skilled workers relied on manuals, treatises, and trade writing to share methods across Britain and America.