Author: Earle Buckingham
Born: 1887
Died: 1978
Bio: Prof. Earle Buckingham is one of the founders of the theory of gearing and
gear design and made significant contributions to this area. His monographs
gained him international recognition in addition to the great respect he had
already earned in English-speaking countries.
Earle Buckingham was born in 1887 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He
attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland from
1904 to 1906 and then began to work in industry. In 1919, he directed his
research and science interests to the field of gears, initially as a gear
consultant for the Niles-Bement-Pond Company (now Pratt & Whitney) and
then from 1925 to 1954 as a professor of mechanical engineering at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After
retirement, he continued his research activity as a gear consultant.
Prof. Earle Buckingham’s books (e.g., Analytical Mechanics of Gears,
1963) laid the foundation for the theory of gearing and became references for
at least two generations of engineers and researchers. The engineering
community recognized his contributions to the design and theory of gears by presenting him these prestigious awards: the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Worcester Reed Warner Medal, 1944; the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) Edward P. Connel Award, 1950; the American Society of Test Engineers (ASTE) Gold Medal, 1957; the Gold Medal of the British Gear Manufacturers Association, 1962; and the Golden Gear Award of Power Transmission Design magazine in commemoration of the AGMA 50th Anniversary. Also in recognition of his contributions, Buckingham lectures are delivered at the USA
Power Transmission and Gearing conferences.

Retrieved from . Development of gear Technology and Theroy of Gearing.  Faydo L. Litvin.  Nasa Reference Publication 1406.  ARL-TR-1500