Stillman Williams Robinson was born in South Reading on this day in 1838. Robinson was “bound out” to a farmer as a laborer at an early age, but he desperately wanted an education.

When he got older, Robinson apprenticed himself to a machinest as a means to pay for school. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1863 with a degree in civil engineering.

Engineering was Robinson’s calling, and he taught at several universities. He was in demand as both a consulting engineer and an inspector of railroads and bridges. Robinson wrote influential articles and books, and registered more than 40 patents.

Image courtesy the Vermont Historical Society.