Born March 3 1818 – Died July 24 1894 Improvement in Rock-Drills
Patent No. 112,254 Simon Ingersoll's practical powered drill
played an important role in construction and excavation for more
than a century. Percussion drills derived from Ingersoll's
design have been used in excavation, mining, tunneling, and
highway construction. By 1870, Ingersoll had invented a drill
that replaced hand drilling, making mining and tunneling much
faster and cheaper. Before Ingersoll’s drills, underground
drilling was done by striking a length of steel rod repeatedly
with a sledgehammer. Ingersoll's drill surpassed earlier drills
because it rotated the drill after each strike, automatically
advancing the steel. Ingersoll's design also featured an
innovative tripod, and was significantly lighter than other
drills. His first design Born in Stanwich, Connecticut,
Ingersoll received an informal grade school education. He
received his first patent in 1858 for a steam engine shaft. He
developed other inventions over the next ten yea