Record #:

8225

Author(s):

Arthur, Billy

Abstract:

Born near Scotland Neck, Halifax County, in 1829, Peter Evans Smith became an ingenious inventor. He developed a new drill bit that decreased the time it took to cut through iron, a new cotton planter, a spark arrestor for wood-burning locomotives, and a railcar switching device. His most famous invention was a lighted buoy which was patented in 1876. Smith placed lighted buoys in New York's harbor but never received the one hundred thousand dollars promised to him. Throughout his life, Smith always kept the Sabbath and never worked on projects on Sundays. Because of his Christian beliefs, he did not sue the state of New York over unpaid royalties.

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 52 Issue 7, Dec 1984, p14-15, por

Subject(s):

Inventors--Scotland Neck