{{Short description|American inventor}} {{Infobox person | name = Herbert Merrick | image = Herbert Merrick.jpg | caption = Portrait of Herbert Merrick | birth_name = Herbert Lansing Merrick | birth_date = April 16, 1873 | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, US | death_date = May 2, 1938 (aged 65) | death_place = Passaic, New Jersey, US | occupation = {{hlist|Engineer|inventor|entrepreneur}} | known_for = Beltweigher | political_party = Republican | spouse = {{marriage|Katherine Selleck|July 20, 1898}} | children = Alice E. Merrick | parents = Charles Merrick<br/>Anna Marie Pinkham | relatives = Henry P. Merrick (brother)<br/>Arthur Merrick (brother) | education = Stevens Institute of Technology | signature = Herbert Merrick signature.png }} '''Herbert Lansing Merrick''' (April 16, 1873 – May 2, 1938) was an American engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur. He invented the first<ref name="Stevens Indicator">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Stevens Indicator |url= https://stevensarchives.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/StevensNP02/id/15454/rec/2|location=Hoboken, New Jersey |magazine=The Stevens Indicator |publisher=Stevens Institute of Technology |date=1938}}</ref><ref name="newspaper">{{cite news |title=H.L. Merrick, Inventor, Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/525333234/ |work=The Herald-News |agency=Associated Press |date=May 3, 1938}}</ref><ref name="patent 1">{{cite patent |country=US |number=954869A |status=patent}}</ref><ref name="patent 2">{{cite patent |country=US |number=954870A |status=patent}}</ref><ref name="patent 3">{{cite patent |country=US |number=1018068A |status=patent}}</ref> beltweighers, which automatically weigh bulk materials as they are passed along a conveyor belt without stoppage.<ref name="book">{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=William |title=History of Passaic and Its Environs: Volume 3 |date=1922 |publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Company |pages=301, 302 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNEwAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA301 |language=en}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Merrick was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 16, 1873, to Anna Marie Pinkham and Charles Merrick, a businessman in New York City. Herbert Merrick had two brothers, Henry P. and Arthur, who died in infancy.<ref name="book" /> He attended Bergen County public schools before graduating from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1892 with a Mechanical Engineering degree.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Furman |first1=Franklin De Ronde |title=Morton Memorial: A History of the Stevens Institute of Technology with biographies of the Trustees, Faculty, and Alumni, and a record of the achievements of the Stevens Family of Engineers |date=1905 |publisher=Stevens Institute of Technology |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |page=492 |url=https://archive.org/details/mortonmemorialhi00furm/page/492}}</ref> After graduation he would work as an engineer and draftsman at various companies before starting his own manufacturing company.<ref name="newspaper" />
== Career == Intrigued by the need for simple conveyor scales that can accurately record weight, Merrick sought to invent a device that could fulfill that demand. In 1907, he designed an experimental conveyor scale called the 'Conveyor Weightometer' for Fraser & Chalmers, Ltd., who introduced the new device at a mining machinery exhibition in London the next year. After examinations and tests by British government officials, the Weightometer was issued a certificate of allowance for use as a legal weighing instrument in trade.<ref name="belting">{{cite book |title=BELTING: A Journal Devoted to the Manufacture, Installation and Maintenance of Belting, Pulleys, Shafting, Clutches and Accessories in Mills, Factories, Industrial Plants, Mines and Quarries |date=1919-11-20 |publisher=International Trade Press, Incorporated |location=Chicago |page=136 |edition=Vol. 15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kkExAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA9-PA136}}</ref>
Later in 1908, Merrick would rent a shop in Passaic, NJ, and immediately begin work on manufacturing the first Weightometers. Due to increased demand, Merrick expanded his factory in 1911 and incorporated his new business under the name Merrick Scale Manufacturing Company.<ref name="belting" /> Merrick's company is still in operation today under the name Merrick Industries, Inc., located in Florida, USA.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Merrick's operations |url=https://merrick-inc.com/about |website=merrick-inc.com |access-date=2024-04-24}}</ref>
== Personal life == In 1898, Merrick married Katherine Selleck. They had one daughter together named Alice. A member of the Republican Party, Merrick was active in politics.<ref name="book" /> He was also a member of the First Reformed Church of Passaic and director of the People's Bank and Trust Company. He was an avid sailor and owned the 'Kathal,' a cruiser named after his wife and daughter.<ref name="newspaper" /> On May 2, 1938, Herbert Merrick died at his home after a long illness. He was 65 years old.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=1938-05-04 |title=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/05/04/98130963.html?pageNumber=23 |location=New York, N.Y. |access-date=2023-12-04}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrick, Herbert}} Category:1873 births Category:1938 deaths Category:American engineers