Patrick Lyon (blacksmith)

Patrick Lyon (c. 1769, Edinburgh, Scotland – April 15, 1829, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a Scottish-born American blacksmith, mechanic and inventor.

[2] Artist John Neagle's portrait of him, Pat Lyon at the Forge (1826–27), alludes to his unjust imprisonment, and is an iconic work in American art.

Lyon was still in Delaware weeks later where he learned that he was the prime suspect in the robbery, and returned to Philadelphia to clear his name.

He met with officers of the bank and the mayor of Philadelphia, but they suspected that Lyon had secretly made an extra set of keys for the robbery.

[4] Even after Davis's October 1798 confession, Philadelphia's high constable John Haines would not release Lyon, but reduced his bail from $150,000 to $2,000 (still, more than the blacksmith's net worth).

[1] The frontispiece of the publication was an engraved portrait by Philadelphia artist James Akin, and showed a 30-year-old Lyon in Walnut Street Prison, incongruously dressed as a gentleman, seated on a Chippendale chair, and holding a technical drawing and calipers.

An 1800 British review of the Narrative was dismissive of Lyon's grammar and writing style, but concluded:The picture he has drawn of the judicial exercise of justice in Pennsylvania, as well as of the Police, impartiality, and humanity, of a Philadelphia prison, well merit the attention of those Britons who are so forward, on all occasions, to proclaim the blessings of American liberty, to the disparagement of our own.

William Rawle, defense attorney for the bank, freely acknowledged that Lyon had been in southern Delaware, 150 mi (240 km) away, at the time of the robbery.

[5] The jury didn't buy Rawle's argument, found that the bankers and constable had conspired to act with malice toward Lyon, and awarded him $12,000 in damages.

"[2] Other "engine-builders were soon superseded by the famous locksmith, who invented a new and improved fire-engine, which he announced would throw more water than any other, and with a greater force.

[10] His design featured a surge tank encased in a square column at the center of the engine, vertical pump cylinders, double decks, and hinged lever bars at the ends.

In 1802, Frederick Graff "designed the first post-type hydrants in the shape of a 'T' with a drinking fountain on one side and a 4-1/2-inch water main on the other.

The box had arms at the front and back to assist in changing its position, and lanterns on either side with candles; this wonder of the age cost ninety-eight dollars.

[2] In a May 22, 1852 contest of man-versus-steam, the 32-year-old Diligent competed against the new steam-powered pumper Young America, made in Cincinnati and owned by a Baltimore fire company.

[15] Before a crowd of some 50,000, at 3rd & Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, Diligent and Young America shot streams of water against or over an early skyscraper, the 129 ft (39 m) Jayne Building.

Obituary:DIED—at Philadelphia, Patrick Lyon, hydraulic engine maker, who was one of the most ingenious workers in mettle [sic, metal], in the United States, especially as a blacksmith; so much so, that when the [B]ank of Pennsylvania was robbed many years ago, he was arrested and tried, (though acquitted), for the crime, mainly, if not almost exclusively, for the reason of a belief that he was the only man capable of unlocking the vaults, by false keys.

This was a whim of Lyon, to commemorate his unjust imprisonment in the building on the charge of picking the locks of the old Bank of Pennsylvania and robbing it of a large amount of money.

"[28] Later that year, critic William Dunlap praised the portrait when it was exhibited in New York City at the National Academy of Design:Patrick Lyon the Blacksmith.—One of the best, and most interesting pictures in the present exhibition of the National Academy at the Arcade Baths, is a blacksmith standing by his anvil, resting his brawny arm and blackened hand upon his hammer, while a youth at the bellows, renews the red heat of the iron his master has been laboring upon.This picture is remarkable, both for its execution and subject.

Mr. Neagle of Philadelphia, the painter, has established his claim to a high rank in his profession, by the skill and knowledge he has displayed in composing and completing so complicated and difficult a work.

"[28] Thomas Kelly rendered the painting as an engraving, which was published as Patrick Lyon at his Forge in The Atlantic Souvenir annual gift book volume for 1832.