Page 6 - Gleason 160
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The Beginnings
A Man with a Vision
William Gleason was born in Ireland on April 4,
1836. Before his service in the Civil War, he was
an accomplished mechanic at Colt’s Armory in
Harftord, Connecticut. Gleason’s anticipation of
post-war railroad expansion in the U.S. fueled
his belief in metal-working and machinery as
keys to the future.
The first Gleason machine is still in
existence, preserved at the Henry Ford
Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. Another restored
machine is shown at the National Museum of American History
in the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, DC, USA.
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