science

Michael Joseph Owens

Michael Joseph Owens is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Michael Joseph Owens rather than just read about it. In short: Michael Joseph Owens (January 1, 1859 – December 27, 1923) was an inventor of machines to automate the production of glass bottles. Early life and education Owens was born on January 1, 1859, in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, to Joseph Owens and Mary Owens (née Chapman), both destitute immigrants from County Wexford, Ireland.

Key takeaways

Michael Joseph Owens belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Michael Joseph Owens to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Michael Joseph Owens from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Michael Joseph Owens (January 1, 1859 – December 27, 1923) was an inventor of machines to automate the production of glass bottles.

Early life and education Owens was born on January 1, 1859, in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, to Joseph Owens and Mary Owens (née Chapman), both destitute immigrants from County Wexford, Ireland. His father was a coal miner. He left school at the age of 10 to start a glassware apprenticeship at J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Career

In 1888 he moved to Toledo, Ohio, and worked for the Toledo Glass Factory owned by Edward Drummond Libbey. He was later promoted to foreman and then to supervisor. In 1891 Libbey opened a new plant in Findlay, Ohio, and Owens was put in charge of making the glass bulbs for Edison General Electric’s electric lights. There he simplified the process by inventing a mould-opening device which could be operated by a glassblower by foot and came up with a paste that prevent the bulbs from sticking to the moulds. This lowered the cost of bulbs by 90%, making them much more available for people. He formed the Owens Bottle Machine Company in 1903. His machines could produce glass bottles at a rate of 240 per minute, and reduce labor costs by 80%. Owens and Libbey entered into a partnership and the company was renamed the Owens Bottle Company in 1919. In 1929 the company merged with the Illinois Glass Company to become the Owens-Illinois Glass Company.

Personal life Owens married Mary E. McKelvey in 1890. They had two children;

Hazel Augusta Owens (1890-1969), who married Daniel Joseph McGettigan (1886-1942) John Raymond Owens (1894-1947), who married Florence Grace Whalen (b. 1897), and had one daughter. He would later remarry and have a second family with Mollie Owens (b. 1873) with two children;

Ray Owens (born 1899) Florence Owens (born 1899) He died on December 27, 1923, aged 64 at his residence in Toledo, Ohio.

Patents U.S. patent 534,840 Apparatus for blowing glass U.S. patent 548,587 Machine for blowing glass U.S. patent 548,588 Machine for blowing glass U.S. patent 766,768 Glass Shaping Machine U.S. patent 774,690 Glass Shaping Machine

References

External links

Biographical Sketch with portrait

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Michael Joseph Owens

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Michael Joseph Owens claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Michael Joseph Owens before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Michael Joseph Owens ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Michael Joseph Owens

In research: Michael Joseph Owens appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Michael Joseph Owens in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Michael Joseph Owens is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1859 births, 1923 deaths, American inventors, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Michael Joseph Owens outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Michael Joseph Owens in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Michael Joseph Owens means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Michael Joseph Owens out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Michael Joseph Owens in simple terms?

Michael Joseph Owens (January 1, 1859 – December 27, 1923) was an inventor of machines to automate the production of glass bottles. Early life and education Owens was born on January 1, 1859, in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, to Joseph Owens and Mary Owens (née Chapman), both destitute immigrants f…

Why does Michael Joseph Owens matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Michael Joseph Owens?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Michael Joseph Owens.