Richard james inventor biography

American naval engineer and inventor of the Slinky helical spring (1918–1974)

For another person, see Richard T. James (politician).

Richard Thompson James^[2] (March 27, 1918 – July 13, 1974)^[3] was an American navalengineer, best known for inventing the Slinky spring toy with his wife Betty James in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania in 1943.

Education

James was born on March 27, 1918. In 1935, he graduated from Westtown School, a Quakerboarding school located in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Richard james inventor biography wikipedia

In 1939, he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.^[4]

Career

In 1943 James was trying to develop a means for suspending sensitive shipboard instruments aboard naval vessels, even in rough seas, and was working with torsion springs when he accidentally dropped one.

Seeing how the spring kept moving after it hit the ground, the idea for a toy was born. He bought a coil-winding machine an