H. Fort Flowers Collection

Henry Fort Flowers (H. Fort Flowers) was a mechanical engineer, an inventor, and a manufacturer. He was born on October 6, 1887, near Adairville, KY. Flowers graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1912 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, and in 1915 with a master’s degree in engineering. He is remembered for his creation of the Differential electric side-dumping car—his first invention which was conceptualized during his time at Vanderbilt, when he wrote a description of the car for his master’s thesis. The differential electric dumping car designed by Flowers featured a train car that allowed the body to shift to either side--aiding in loading and unloading. The invention was a massive success, many railway workers noting it as revolutionizing the railway’s transport of loose materials.

In early 1917, at only 30 years old, Flowers established financial connections and incorporated his business as the Differential Car Co. Though the main office of the company moved from Nashville to New York, Flowers ultimately settled in Findlay, Ohio, after purchasing the Grant Car Company factory in 1920. The company’s name was then changed to the Differential Steel Car Co.

H. Fort Flowers held more than 80 patents in his life and sold his inventions to various mining and railroad companies throughout the world. He married Sara Mather Niles in 1919 and had 5 children. The Flowers family lived in Findlay for more than 35 years, but they later moved to Houston, TX, after purchasing the Federal Royalty Co.

H. Fort Flowers passed away on March 4, 1975, in Houston. He was an active alumnus of Vanderbilt University, and, through an endowment, the university built the H. Fort Flowers Graduate Wing of the Joint University Libraries. After his death, Flowers was named the 1975 recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, presented by the Engineering Alumni Association.