author
Joseph Wickham Roe
1871–1960
A mechanical engineer turned historian of technology, he wrote vividly about the people and inventions that shaped the machine-tool industry. His best-known work helps bring early industrial craftsmanship and innovation to life for modern readers.
1 Audiobook
English and American tool builders
by Joseph Wickham Roe
About the author
Born in 1871, he was an American engineer, teacher, and writer whose work connected practical industry with the history behind it. He studied at Yale's Sheffield Scientific School, worked for manufacturing companies, and later taught industrial engineering at New York University.
He is best remembered for writing about machine tools and the makers who developed them. Books such as English and American Tool Builders stand out for their clear interest in both technical detail and the human story of invention, making industrial history feel surprisingly lively.
Roe died in 1960. A suitable verified portrait was not clearly available from the sources reviewed, so no profile image is included here.