FARWELL, Fay Oliver

FARWELL, Fay Oliver. (Pecatonica, IL, 1859-Toledo, OH, May 24, 1935). Inventor. While employed by the ADAMS COMPANY, Farwell led efforts to develop the ADAMS-FARWELL AUTOMOBILE. He perfected the air-cooled engine used in the car, an engine later adapted by the French for use in their airplanes. Farwell's experimentation with cars led to one of the first automobiles in the United States that could be driven year-round.

Farwell's inventiveness with automobiles was but one example of products developed by this creative genius. A list of Farwell's patents includes: Item Patented camp chair ……………………October 10,1887 camp chair support ……………July 14, 1890 cash carrier ……………………March 10, 1891 stove back ……………………March 23, 1892 stove damper …………………April 27, 1892 combined anvil and vise………April 5, 1894 non-conducting handle………June 7, 1894 stovepipe damper……………August 21, 1894 molding machine……………September 16, 1895 front grate……………………October 25,1895 oven shelf……………………November 4,1895 milling machine………………February 25, 1896 sand press……………………August 28,1897 current controller/igniting devices for hydrocarbon engines…….. October 21,1904 lubricator……………………November 17, 1904 milling machine……………December 9, 1908 molding machine……………November 4, 1910 internal combustion motor …February 28, 1911 gear-hobbing machine………June 10, 1911

Lesser known was Farwell's development of a timing device that allowed machine gun bullets to be fired through the whirling propellers of airplanes without striking the blades. Near the time of World War I, Farwell was called to Washington, D.C. by the War Department to further refine his ideas.

Farwell left Dubuque in 1921 to demonstrate a merry-go-round he had patented. He returned to the gear-cutting business in Toledo. Three sons-Jay, Ray, and Fay survived him.