Henry Beecher Dierdorff

Henry Beecher Dierdorff (1851 – 1935) was an American inventor in the field of mining.

Henry Beecher Dierdorff was an inventor of mining equipment, most notable for the first successful application of electricity to power mining equipment under the surface of earth.

While an engineer with Jeffery Mining and Manufacturing Company of Columbus, Ohio, Dierdorff developed insulation that could be packed around electric motor housings to suppress sparking found on early electrical motors. This technology allowed the first safe electric seam cutting tool in underground mining. This tool was capable of cutting anthracite coal and was known as the the Congo Coal Cutter [https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/1811/32677/1/OH_MIN_JNL_v23_125.pdf] after its success for the Congo Mining Company, of Corning, Ohio.

Dierdorff also worked on developing reliable power systems to deliver electricity to miners underground.

Dierdorff was born near Seville in Medina County, Ohio in 1851. He died in Columbus, Ohio in 1935 and is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.

ources

* "Jeffery Service" Magazine, March 1935.
* Taylor, William Alexander, "Centennial Hisorty of Columbus & Franklin County Ohio", The S. J. Clarke Puiblishing Company, 1909, Henry Beecher Dierdorf, Page 558.
* The Ohio State Journal, "DEATH CLAIMS H. BEECHER DIERDORFF" January 26, 1935.