Weston Fulton

Weston Miller Fulton (August 3, 1871 – May 16, 1946) was an American meteorologist, inventor, and entrepreneur, best known for his invention, the "sylphon," a seamless metal bellows used in thermostats, switches, and other temperature-control devices.

[1][2] His company, now called Fulton Bellows after numerous ownership changes, still operates in Knoxville,[3] as part of the United Flexible Group, which acquired it in 2016.

[3] He briefly attended Howard College (modern Samford) in Birmingham before enrolling at the University of Mississippi, where his uncle, Robert Burwell Fulton, was chancellor.

[5] To eliminate this daily walk, Fulton designed an automatic gauge mechanism, which was essentially a float-actuated device that kept a continuous record of river levels.

[1] While studying the effects of lightning on the atmosphere, Fulton designed a seamless metal container that could trap vapor while allowing for its expansion and contraction as the pressure changed.

In 1904, he left the Weather Bureau, and with financial backing from businessman John Scruggs Brown, he launched the Fulton Company to market sylphon-based products.

[6] During World War I, Fulton developed the firing mechanism for the depth charge, a weapon used by surface ships to destroy submarines.

[5] In 1986, the British engineering firm Siebe purchased Robertshaw, and used the Fulton plant to manufacture car parts.

[3] In the mid-1990s, Siebe began selling off its American holdings, and the Fulton factory was purchased by financier Robert Greaves.

[3] In 1928, Fulton donated his house (built in 1913) at 820 Temple Avenue (now 900 Volunteer Boulevard) to the University of Tennessee as a memorial to his son, Weston, Jr., who died from injuries sustained in a car crash that year.