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{{Short description|British-American civil engineer (1815–1892)}}
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{{Infobox scientist
|name              = James B. Francis
|image             = James Bicheno Francis.png
|image_size        = 150px
|caption           = James Francis, around 1887
|birth_date        = {{Birth date|1815|05|18}}
|birth_place       = [[South Leigh]], Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom
|death_date        = {{Death-date and age|September 18, 1892|May 18, 1815}}
|death_place       =
|citizenship       =
|nationality       = British-American
|field             = Engineer
|work_institutions =
|alma_mater        =
|doctoral_advisor  =
|doctoral_students =
|known_for         =
|author_abbrev_bot =
|author_abbrev_zoo =
|influences        =
|influenced        =
|prizes            =
|footnotes         =
|signature         = Signature of James Bicheno Francis.png
}}
'''James Bicheno Francis''' (May 18, 1815 &ndash; September 18, 1892) was a British-American civil engineer, who invented the [[Francis turbine]].

==Early years==
[[File:1836 map of canal system in Lowell, Massachusetts.jpg|250px|right|thumb|The Lowell canal system as it appeared when Francis joined the [[Proprietors of Locks and Canals|Proprietors of Locks and Canals on the Merrimack River]] in 1836]]
James Francis was born in [[South Leigh]], near [[Witney]], Oxfordshire, in England, United Kingdom.  He started his engineering career at the early age of seven as he worked as his father's apprentice at the Porth Cawl Railway and Harbor Works in [[South Wales]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Lowell National Historic Park publication</ref> When he turned 18, he decided to emigrate to the United States, in 1833.  His first job was in [[Stonington, Connecticut]], as an assistant to the railway engineer [[George Washington Whistler|George Washington Whistler Jr.]], working on the [[New York and New Haven Railroad]].  A year later, James and his boss, Whistler, travelled north to [[Lowell, Massachusetts]],<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica</ref> where at the age of 19, he got a [[draftsman]] job with the [[Proprietors of Locks and Canals|Locks and Canal Company]], and Whistler became chief engineer.

A few years later, in 1837, Whistler resigned, and went to work on Russia's major railroads. Before departing, he appointed Francis chief engineer, and sold him his house on Worthen Street. In same year, James married Sarah W. Brownell in Lowell on July 12.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Middlesex/Lowell/MarriagesF.shtml |title=Vital Records of Lowell, MA – 1826 to 1849 – Marriages |access-date=2010-05-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718110011/http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Middlesex/Lowell/MarriagesF.shtml |archive-date=2012-07-18 }}</ref>  Their first son, James Jr., was born March 30, 1840, and then they had five more children.

In 1841 came his first major project for the company.  Francis was to analyse how much water each mill factory was using from the company's channel system.  Impressed by his abilities, the company named him "Manager of Locks and Canals" in 1845.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

As manager and chief engineer, Francis was responsible for the construction of the [[Lowell Power Canal System and Pawtucket Gatehouse|Northern Canal and Moody Street Feeder]].  These two canals, built in the late 1840s and early 1850s, completed the 5.6 mile long Lowell canal system, and greatly increased the industrial power of the thriving industrial city's mill complexes.

During his work on the Lowell systems, Francis was also consulted on many other water projects nationwide.  When New York needed to increase their water supply, he consulted on the construction of the [[Quaker Bridge Dam]] on the [[Croton River]] in New York.  He also consulted on the dam at [[Saint Anthony Falls]] on the [[Mississippi River]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Their son James fought in the [[American Civil War]] as a [[second lieutenant]] in 1861.  He was wounded in the hand at the [[Battle of Antietam]] as a [[Captain (land)|captain]], and finished the war in July 1865 as [[lieutenant colonel]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://reocities.com/Pentagon/2126/officers.html |title=2nd Massachusetts Infantry |access-date=2010-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725102028/http://reocities.com/Pentagon/2126/officers.html |archive-date=2011-07-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Francis was elected as a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1865.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1865&year-max=1865&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-04-19|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

==Fire sprinkler system==
In 1845, Francis developed the first sprinkler systems ever devised in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/lowe/learn/historyculture/james-b-francis.htm|title=James B. Francis, Lowell National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)|website=www.nps.gov|language=en|access-date=2019-10-11}}</ref> However, any use of the system would flood the entire structure and its contents.  It was not until 1875 that [[Henry S. Parmelee]] invented a sprinkler head that activated only one head at a time.<ref name="ReferenceB">THE EARLY HISTORY OF GRINNELL CORPORATION AND THE FIRE SPRINKLER INDUSTRY, Compiled By; Jerome S. Pepi Vice President, Research and Development Fire Protection Products, January 25, 1996</ref>

==Turbines==
Francis became fascinated with and tinkered with turbine designs, after [[Uriah A. Boyden]] first demonstrated his Boyden turbine in Lowell.  The two engineers worked on improving the turbine.  And in 1848, Francis and Boyden successfully improved the turbine with what is now known as the [[Francis turbine]].  Francis's turbine eclipsed the Boyden turbine in power by 90%.  In 1855, Francis published these findings in the "Lowell Hydraulic Experiments".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whistlerhouse.org/history_residents.php |title=Whistler House Museum of Art - Lowell, Massachusetts |access-date=2010-05-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125005913/http://www.whistlerhouse.org/history_residents.php |archive-date=2010-01-25 }}</ref>

==Flood control==
[[File:The Great Gate, aka Francis' Folly, Lowell, Massachusetts.JPG|250px|right|thumb|The Great Gate, also known as Francis' Folly]]
In 1850, Francis ordered the construction of the Great Gate over the [[Pawtucket Canal]] to protect the downtown mills from any devastating floods.  This project quickly became known as "Francis's Folly", given that no one believed it would work, let alone ever be needed.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} But less than two years later, in 1852, the gates saved the city of Lowell from the devastating floods of 1852, and again in [[1936 Northeast Flood|1936]], [[1938 New England hurricane|1938]], [[2006 New England flood|2006]], and 2007 by preventing the Merrimack River from entering the canal system. However, arson damage to the wooden gate in the 1970s, and the difficult method of dropping it (by breaking a large chain link) prompted the city to use a more modern steel-beam bulkhead in its place in 2006.  For his efforts in saving the city from great disaster Francis was awarded a massive silver pitcher and a [[salver]] by the City of Lowell.<ref name="ReferenceC">Appletons' annual cyclopaedia and register of important events, Volume 17</ref>

{{maplink|type=point|id=Q48986651|frame-align=right|frame=yes|zoom=14|marker=dam|title=Francis Gate|text=Francis Gate}}
In 1886, Francis teamed up with two other civil engineers; Eliot C. Clarke and [[Clemens Herschel]] to study and publish their findings in the "Prevention of Floods in the Valley of Stony Brook"  which laid out a flood prevention system for the city of [[Boston]].  The detailed study reviewed the [[Forest Hills, Boston|Forest Hills]], [[Hyde Park, Boston|Hyde Park]], [[Franklin Park (Boston)|Franklin park]] and [[Roslindale]] sections of the city that were subject to flooding.<ref>"Prevention of floods in the valley of Stony Brook: a report by a Commission" by Boston (Mass.). Stony Brook Commission, James Bicheno Francis</ref>

==Later years==
Francis stayed active on all levels of involvement in the city of Lowell, and served as an [[alderman]] from 1862 to 1864.<ref>''Contributions of the Old Residents' Historical Association, Lowell ...'', Volume 1, Old Residents' Historical Association of Lowell (Mass.)</ref>

In 1865, Francis researched and published his findings on cast iron, and its use in structural columns in "The Strength of Cast-Iron Columns".

In 1874, Francis served on the American Society of Civil Engineers committee to investigate the cause of the breach of the Mill River dam in [[Massachusetts]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=In the Shadow of the Dam, The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874|last=Sharpe|first=Elizabeth M.|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4165-7264-0}}</ref>  Also on the committee were engineers Theodore Ellis and William Worthen. The investigation proceeded quickly and its report was published within a month of the disaster. It concluded that no engineer was responsible for the design and that it was the “work of non-professional persons”. “The remains of the dam indicate defects of workmanship of the grossest character.”<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Francis|display-authors=etal|first=James B.|date=1874|title=The failure of the dam on Mill River|journal=ASCE Transactions|volume=3 |issue=4|pages=118–122}}</ref>

Francis originated [[scientific method]]s of testing [[hydraulic]] machinery, and was a founding member of the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]] and its president in 1880.

===Francis formula===
In 1883, Francis completed his calculation standards for water flow rates, now known as the ''Francis equation'' or ''Francis formula'', usually used in [[fluid dynamics]] in conjunction with calculating [[weir]]s. The equation is

<math display="inline">Q = 3.33 h_1^{3 /2} (L-0.2h_1)</math> 

where:
 
Q is the discharge in cubic feet per second over the weir, 

L is the length of the weir in feet, and 

h<sub>1</sub> is the height of the water above the top of the weir.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/hydraulics_lab/pubs/wmm/chap07_09.html |title=USBR Water Measurement Manual – Chapter 7 – WEIRS, Section 9. Standard Contracted Rectangular Weirs |access-date=2010-05-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613142721/http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/hydraulics_lab/pubs/wmm/chap07_09.html |archive-date=2011-06-13 }}</ref><ref name="wsp200">{{Cite tech report |last=Horton |first=Robert E. |author-link=Robert E. Horton |date=1907 |title=Weir experiments, coefficients, and formulas – Revision of Paper No. 150 |language=en |doi=10.3133/wsp200 |doi-access=free |publisher=Government Printing Office |publication-place=Washington, DC |series=Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper 200}}</ref>{{Explain|date=October 2019}}

He remained at the [[Proprietors of Locks and Canals|Locks and Canal Company]] for his entire career, until retirement in 1884 at the age of 69, and remained on as a consultant right up until his death.  His son James took over as chief engineer.  The rest of his life he spent with his wife Sarah, and their six children in their home on Worthen Street, which was Whistler's old home and now is the [[Whistler House Museum of Art]].

Francis was called to duty in 1889 as a member of an ASCE committee to examine the cause of the [[Johnstown Flood]] disaster when the [[South Fork Dam]] in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, broke, killing over 2,200 people.<ref name="ReferenceC" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Coleman, Neil M., U. Kaktins, S. Wojno|date=2016|title=Dam-Breach hydrology of the Johnstown flood of 1889 – challenging the findings of the 1891 investigation report|journal=Heliyon|volume=2|issue=6|pages=e00120|doi=10.1016/j.heliyon.2016.e00120|doi-access=free |pmid=27441292|pmc=4946313|bibcode=2016Heliy...200120C }}</ref>  Although the report was completed by January 1890, it was immediately suppressed and not released to other ASCE members or the public until mid-1891, two years after the 1889 flood.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Francis|display-authors=etal|first=James B.|date=1891|title=Report of the Committee on the cause of the failure of the South Fork dam|journal=ASCE Transactions|volume=XXIV| issue = 477|pages=431–469}}</ref>  Francis himself presented the results of the investigation at the ASCE convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  The other three committee members did not attend.  Although Francis’ name headed the report, the ''de facto'' chairman of the committee was Max Becker, a railroad engineer based in Pittsburgh with virtually no experience in dams or hydraulic engineering.  According to Francis, it was Becker who delayed the release of the report.  A detailed discussion of the South Fork investigation, the participating engineers, and the science behind the 1889 flood was published in 2018.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Johnstown's Flood of 1889 – Power Over Truth and the Science Behind the Disaster|last=Coleman|first=Neil M.|publisher=Springer International Publishing AG|year=2018|isbn=978-3-319-95215-4}}</ref>

Francis died on September 18, 1892, at the age of 77, and is buried at [[Lowell Cemetery (Lowell, Massachusetts)|Lowell Cemetery]] under a massive pillar of cut granite stones, symbolizing the stones used to make the canals.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/lowe/historyculture/upload/JB%20Francis_%20Lowell%20Notes.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=May 12, 2010 |archive-date=March 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321102951/http://www.nps.gov/lowe/historyculture/upload/JB%20Francis_%20Lowell%20Notes.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Honors==
For all his contributions to the world of engineering and his personal generosity, the following are named in his honor:
* James B. Francis College of Engineering at the [[University of Massachusetts Lowell]]; Masters, Ph.D and D.Eng. Engineering degrees and research in over seven Engineering programs, including Plastics and Nuclear Engineering.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uml.edu/college/Engineering/ |title=UMass Lowell College of Engineering: UML |access-date=2010-05-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20061201221135/http://www.uml.edu/college/Engineering/ |archive-date=2006-12-01 }}</ref>
* Francis Gate, Lowell, Massachusetts
* [[Francis turbine]]
* Francis system: an early fire protection [[Fire sprinkler system|sprinkler]] system
* Francis formula: describes water as it goes over dams. It is used today in [[fluid mechanics]] as an equation for the calculation of water flow rate over a rectangular [[weir]] in terms of length and head.

==Notable uses of the Francis turbine==
[[File:Water turbine grandcoulee.jpg|thumb|A [[Francis turbine]] runner, rated at nearly one million [[horsepower|hp]] (750 MW), being installed at the [[Grand Coulee Dam]], United States]]
Today, the Francis turbine is the most widely used [[water turbine]] in the world, including China's new [[Three Gorges Dam]] as the world's second largest hydroelectric power station in the world, with a future installed capacity of 22,500 MW.  With the incorporation of the Francis turbine into almost every [[hydroelectric dam]] built since 1900, it is responsible for generating almost one fifth of all the world's electricity:

* [[Älvkarleby Hydroelectric Power Station]] 1911, in [[Sweden]] – early hydroelectric plant in country
* [[Hoover Dam]] 1936, [[Nevada]]/[[Arizona]] – 2,080 MW, world-renowned and once the largest hydroelectric power station in the world
* [[Grand Coulee Dam]] 1942, in [[Washington (state)|Washington]] – 6,809 MW, largest power station in country
* [[Dez Dam]] 1963, in [[Iran]] – 520 MW, major project in country at time of construction
* [[Gordon Dam]] 1978, in Tasmania – 432 MW, tallest dam in country
* [[Dalešice Hydro Power Plant]] 1978, in [[Czech Republic]] – 480 MW, tallest dam in country
* [[Jinping-I Dam]] 2013, in [[China]] – 3,600 MW, tallest dam in the world
* [[Robert-Bourassa generating station]] 1981, in Canada – 5,616 MW, largest power station in country
* [[Itaipu Dam]] 1984, in [[Brazil]]/[[Paraguay]] –14,000 MW, largest power station in the Americas
* [[Victoria Dam (Sri Lanka)|Victoria Dam]] 1985, in [[Sri Lanka]] – 210 MW, tallest dam in country

==See also==
* [[1868 Massachusetts legislature]]

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* Layton, Edwin T. "From Rule of Thumb to Scientific Engineering: James B. Francis and the Invention of the Francis Turbine," NLA Monograph Series. Stony Brook, NY:  Research Foundation of the State University of New York, 1992.
* Francis Obituary in Engineering News, Volume XVII, January–June 1887, [https://books.google.com/books?id=USpKAQAAMAAJ&dq=Journal+of+the+Association+of+Engineering+Societies+Whistler&pg=PA14 p. 14]
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.asme.org/Communities/History/Landmarks/Lowell_Power_Canal_System.cfm Lowell Power Canal System] – ASME

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{{Presidents of the American Society of Civil Engineers|state=collapsed}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, James B.}}
[[Category:1815 births]]
[[Category:1892 deaths]]
[[Category:People from West Oxfordshire District]]
[[Category:19th-century American inventors]]
[[Category:American civil engineers]]
[[Category:English inventors]]
[[Category:English emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Textile engineers]]
[[Category:People of the American Industrial Revolution]]
[[Category:People from Lowell, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Fluid dynamicists]]