Eli Whitney Blake Jr. (April 20, 1836 – October 1, 1895) was an American scientist. His father and namesake was an inventor and partner of the Blake Brothers manufacturing firm. His great uncle was Eli Whitney, who changed the face of the cotton industry with the invention of the cotton gin.
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Early life
Blake was born on April 20, 1836, in New Haven, Connecticut. He was one of twelve children born to Eli Whitney Blake and Eliza Maria (née O'Brien) Blake. Through his mother, he was a descendant of the Rev. James Pierpont, one of the co-founders of Yale.
Blake graduated from Yale in 1857, after which he spent a year at Sheffield Scientific School. He was a member of Skull and Bones, class of 1857. Following his time at Sheffield, he traveled to Europe, where he studied chemistry and physics in the universities of Heidelberg, Marburg, and Berlin.
Career
On his return to America, he was made professor of chemistry and physics at the University of Vermont (1867). After less than a year, he went to Cornell University, where he was professor of physics and mechanic arts (1868–1870). During this time he also acted temporarily as professor of physics at Columbia College from 1868 to 1869. From 1870 to 1895, he filled the chair of physics at Brown University.