Background
Griffiths was born on October 6, 1809, in New York City. His father was probably John Griffiths, shipwright in an East River yard.
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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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Griffiths was born on October 6, 1809, in New York City. His father was probably John Griffiths, shipwright in an East River yard.
After a public-school education, Griffiths received a thorough training in ship carpentry under his father's direction. His special talents soon made him a draftsman.
Griffiths served for a while, apparently, at the Portsmouth, Virginia, Navy Yard and then with Smith & Dimon, prominent New York shipwrights. He first attracted attention in 1836 by a series of original articles on naval architecture in the Portsmouth Advocate, and five years later, exhibited at the American Institute in New York the model of a clipper ship embodying some of his novel theories. Early in the forties he delivered before the shipbuilders of New York and other audiences the first formal lecture on naval architecture given in America. This lecture was later expanded into A Treatise on Marine and Naval Architecture or Theory and Practice Blended in Ship-building (1849), which passed through several editions in England and America and was even translated into Dutch. It was closely followed by The Ship-builder's Manual and Nautical Referee (2 vols. , 1853). His final book was The Progressive Shipbuilder (2 vols. , 1874-1875). He was editor of the American Ship from October 1878 until his death. Through his writings Griffiths did more than any one else to put shipbuilding in America on a scientific basis, in place of the "rule of thumb" methods then in vogue. He was not only an influential theorist, however, but a practical designer of ships as well, and one of the first in the United States outside of naval constructors like Joshua Humphreys, to specialize in designing. Griffiths, with his particular inventive genius and bold originality, was content to draw the plans and let others execute them. He showed amazing versatility in that period of constant innovation, designing outstanding vessels of many sorts - sail and steam, wood and iron, war and commerce. Though the Ann McKim, built at Baltimore in 1832, is often called the pioneer clipper, Griffiths is credited with designing the first "extreme clipper ship, " the Rainbow, 750 tons, launched in 1845 for the China trade. He also designed the Sea Witch, 907 tons, launched a year later. Conservative skeptics attacked his innovations in shipbuilding, questioning the safety of such sharp, slender ships, but they proved to be the fastest afloat and strongly influenced the subsequent development of the American clipper. Griffiths then turned to steamships, where again his influence was important. The first steamships had lines very similar to those of sailing ships, but Griffiths exhibited at the Crystal Palace exposition in London a model with a straight bow and other features later generally adopted. These features were incorporated in the Arctic, Baltic, and Pacific which he is said to have designed for the ill-starred line of Edward K. Collins. During the early fifties, these were the fastest and finest steamships in the world. Griffiths later attempted to cut the transatlantic passage to seven and even to six days. He is said also to have become a special naval constructor in 1858 and as such to have designed the Pawnee, a twin screw vessel of remarkably light draft in spite of its heavy armament. His writings and the success of his ships brought him orders from all parts of the world. In addition to designing complete ships, he also developed several important special features including iron keelsons, watertight bulkheads, bilge keels, and triple screws. He developed an improved form of rivet, invented a machine for bending timber to the crooked forms necessary for shipbuilding and designed the New Era, 1, 140 tons, the first ship built with mechanically bent timbers (1870). One of his last experiments is said to have been a lifeboat steamer, in 1875. During his later years, he was active in the endeavor to revive the declining American merchant marine and was a conservative in his arguments for the use of wood instead of iron in American ships. He died at his home in Brooklyn on March 30, 1882, after a protracted illness.
Griffiths was influential in his design of clipper ships and his books on ship design and construction. He also designed steamships and war vessels and patented many inventions. Griffiths created the first extreme clipper ship, the Rainbow, which was designed to engage in the China trade. The Rainbow was launched in 1845 and began a new era in shipbuilding.
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