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THOMAS OSBORNE PERRYLong* and Effective Career of Distinguished Scientist and Inventor Is Ended in DeathTVThomas Osborne Perry of 324 North Euclid passed away on Tuesday after an illness of two weeks. Mr. Perry was noted as an inventor, being the father of the steel air motor and the air motor windmill, seen on thousands of farms in all parts of the world. He had made Oak Park his home for the last twenty years.Mr. Perry was born on February 28, 1847, at Tecumseh, Mich., the son of Gideon B. and Margaret Perry. He was a graduate of the University of Michigan in the class of ’69, completing his engineering course in ’72. He came to Chicago to follow his chosen profession as a mechanical engineer in 1887 In the following year he married Mary E. Keeney of his native city.Mr. Perry was interested in aviation, so much so that he took out a patent on a helicopter he had invented. He was the first man to fly over Oak Park in a heavier-than-air machine, accom-lishing this feat on August 31, 191/1, when flying was still in its infancy. _ j.As regards his best-known invention, the air windmill, he was regarded in this country, if not in the world, as its highest authority, and in 1899 his experiments on the windmill were published by the United States geological sjnrvey. His work is written up in many encyclopedias and the results of his/experiments with this machine are contained inKent’s Mechanical Engineer’s Pocket Book.In the last years Mr. Perry developed a scientific interest in astronomy and the hobby commanded a great deal of his thought and time. Shortly before his death he plotted a chart of our planetary system, with Neptune as the farthest body from the earth, his scale of drawing being 92,897,000 miles to the inch. His methodical mind is evidenced also in the series of diaries he kept ever since coming to Oak Park, and besides matters of personal interest they contain such scientific details as the daily temperature, the condition of the weather and other observations.That his inventive genius continued unabated almost to the time of his death is shown by the fact that as late as November he took out letters patent on an intricate device designed to control a series of valves. The plan§ are little masterpieces of intricate drawing and minute calculation. Not only did he apply his talent to broad fields in the world beyond his home, but within the home itself Mr. Perry perfected numerous devices for the amelioration of manual labor.Altho not, in the accepted sense, a religious man, his mind refusing to harbor the limitations of sectarianism or the common interpretation of deity, Mr. Perry on Sunday, the day before his death, asked his wife for pencil and paper and wrote down these words. Life is infinite and in need of infinite care.” He had also completed the manuscript of a book which he called “Life in the Universe,” a scientific consideration of natural phenomena, organic and inorganicproperties, and man’s relations to the universe.t A few hours before he breathed his last Mr Perry received a communication from the Chicago Engineering club of the University of Michigan wishing him a speedy recovery. He regularly attended the reunion of his class at Ann I Arbor held every five years and was considered one of its most distinguished members by the younger men.| Funeral services were held at 10 1 o’clock on Thursday morning at the residence and the remains were conveyed to Tecumseh for interment. Pallbearers were John Blatchford, Owen Roberts, Chapin Roberts, Franklin Keeney, Lionel J. Phillips and Will Heap.Mr. Perry is survived by his widow, three sisters, Mrs. Frank Dickey of Marshall, Mich.; Mrs. James Norris of Boston, and Mrs. Newton Satterthwaite of Tecumseh, and a nephew, Franklin Perry Keeney of Chicago, and a niece, Mrs. Lionel Phillips, also of Chicago.ii11£1 11
Newspaper Details
Oak Park Oak Leaves
Oak Park, Illinois, US
Sat, Jan 29, 1927
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Nick N.
NA, 24 Jul 2024
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