Hezekiah Augur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hezekiah Augur | |
|---|---|
 Oliver Ellsworth bust, by Hezekiah Augur | |
| Born | February 21, 1791 |
| Died | January 10, 1858 (aged 66) |
| Known for | Sculpture |
Hezekiah Augur (February 21, 1791 – January 10, 1858) was an early American sculptor and inventor. He was a self-taught sculptor and, unlike many other 19th-century American sculptors, did not travel to Europe, but spent his entire career in New Haven.
Augur was born in New Haven, Connecticut.[1] The son of a carpenter, he learned his trade as a woodcarver, carving table legs and other furniture ornament. Borrowing $2,000 from his father, he was invited to join a grocery store business venture. Three years later he discovered, to his shock and amazement, that not only was his money gone, but that he owed his partners $7,000. While thus engaged he invented a lace-making machine that lifted the financial burdens that he had assumed and thus allowed him to take up carving full-time. Around that time he also invented a machine for carving piano legs. He switched to marble later in his career, being among the first native born Americans to do so. Chauncey Ives studied briefly with Augur.[2]
