Background
Roosevelt, Hilborne Lewis was born on December 21, 1849 in New York City. Son of Silas Weir and Mary (West) Roosevelt.
Roosevelt, Hilborne Lewis was born on December 21, 1849 in New York City. Son of Silas Weir and Mary (West) Roosevelt.
He was thus a cousin of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Doctorate. Roosevelt. Roosevelt did not take to either business or politics, the traditional Roosevelt family occupations. Instead, he was musically and mechanically inclined and wanted to be an organ builder from early childhood, entering an apprenticeship at an organ factory.
He later traveled to Europe for further training in the field
His relatives frowned upon a mechanical occupation, but when he began to make money, his family was reassured. Roosevelt was particularly interested in the electric action organ, and was one of the first to study the application of new electrical devices to the manufacture of organ actions.
He took out the first patent in the United States for an electric action for the pipe organ when he was 20, and built the first electric action organ in the United States for the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Though primarily interested in the technical aspects, he had a good deal of business acumen as well, establishing factories in New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.
Roosevelt was also widely known among electricians for inventing several details of the telephone including the automatic switch-hook, for which he received royalties for many years, and held an interest in the Bell Telephone Company.
Married Kate Watson, February 1, 1883.