The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-04

ing companies find suitable to the demands
of 4 profitable business. Coaling stations
ana ia, docking faculties at distant points are are
need not be discussed.
THE BATTLE SHIP DESIGNER.
Following the above article the New York
Herald has the following:
In this connection a brief sketch OF the
designer of the Oregon, which was built by
Scott in San Francisco, will be of interest.
Mr.. Nixon was born in Leesburg, Va, in
1861. At seventeen he was appointed cadet
midshipman at the Naval Academy. Ann
apolis, by General Eppa Hunton. then rep
resentative and later senator from Virginia.
Mr.. Nixon was graduated at the head OF
his class in 1882 and ordered by the Navy
Department to the Royal Naval College,
Greenwich, England, to take a special cou. Sc
at the worlds greatest engineering school
in naval architecture, engineering and ord
nance. He was also detailed on tours or
observation on the continent and through
out Great Britain, to visit and study the
workings of the great European docks,
dockyards, arsenals and steel and armor
plants.
He was appointed assistant naval con-
structor in the United States navy in 1884.
Chester, Pa, where the Chicago, Boston,
Atlanta and Dolphin were building, and was
thus put in touch with the first work done
for the new steel navy of the United states.
Thenceforward he was actively employed on
work in connection with rebuilding the
navy. He served on technical boards ana
commissions having to do with the most
difficult problems arising out of this great
work.
Mr.. Nixon served on the staff of Chief
Constructor Wilson and the present chief
constructor, Philip Hichborn, in the Bureau
of Construction, Navy Department, as q
constructor at the Brooklyn navy yard, ana
as experimenting constructor at Cramp'
ship yard, Philadelphia.
In 1890 he Vas ordered to prepare plans FOR
the battle ships of the oregon and Indiana
class, under the general directions OF Chier
Constructors Wilson and Hichborn, and in
ninety days designed these powerful hghting
monsters, which carry an enormously
greater battery than the English battle
ships designed at the same time although
the English vessels have 40 per cent.
greater displacement.
When the contracts were let for these YES
sells the Messrs. Cramp made Mr.. Nixon an
offer and he resigned from the navy to be-
great Cramp Snipbuilding Company, and
continued with them while they built the
New YORK, Indiana, Massachusetts, Column
bia, Minneapolis and St Louis, besides nu-
merOuS other vessels.
In December, 1894, he resigned his position
with the Cramp company, although he is
still retained in a consulting capacity, and
leased the Crescent shipyard from the
of Elizabeth N. ]. Here Mr.. Nixon has
built miles of boats of all kinds, for all
countries. among mem the Holland torpedo
boat and the Annapolis. the first composite
gunboat ever constructed for the navy. Her
speed was so much in excess of the con-
tract figures that Dewey, who was preSi-
dent of the trial board, telegraphed the
Navy Department in praise of her before
leaving the boat. remarking: 1T is not Gus
tomary to use adjectives in such dispatches,
but really this time it cannot be helped.
The boat deserves them" Dewey has since
proved that he knows good boats all around
the world.