BENJAMIN THOMPSON . . . AKA COUNT RUMFORD

...pray come and see your kind mother--make us a visit if you do no more ~ letter from Loammi Baldwin to Benjamin Thompson

Ben in London

We have three prior posts featuring our cousin BenjaminThompson (3C7X), "A Loyalist and a Patriot, Two Friends from Woburn," "Ben and Loammi Continued" and "Ben's Dragoons." In 1775, Ben had given up his birth country and thrown his lot in with the British. When he arrived in London in 1776, after the British evacuation of Boston, he had been immediately taken into the fold. He was taken under the wing of Lord George Germain, the British Secretary of State in charge of the Revolutionary War. Benjamin was soon "daily in the habit of breakfasting, dining, and supping with him (Lord Germain) in his quarters."

While in London, Ben made himself useful procuring weapons for the Hussars and continuing his work in developing better forms of gunpowder. In 1778, he spent time on Lord Germain's country estate where he carried out experiments "to measure the velocities of bullets and the recoil under various circumstances." When his work was noticed by Sir Joseph Banks, president of the British Royal Society, Benjamin had the honor of being elected a member. According to Sanborn Brown, Ben's biographer, he "became one of the most active and honored members of the Society. . ."

Towards the end of the war, in 1780, Ben's place in British Society was firmly cemented when he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Northern Department. The appointment gave him oversight of all "practical details for recruiting, equipping, transporting, and victualing the British forces. . ." Though this was quite a coup for him, Benjamin did give up this post in favor of commanding his beloved Dragoons. We wrote about Ben's military stint in America in our "Ben's Dragoons" post.

After the war ended, Benjamin left his Dragoons in Nova Scotia and was doing quite well for himself living in London. In 1783, he had the honor of being the only American-born man to have his portrait painted by Thomas Gainsborough. Below is the portrait which was done when Ben was 30 years old.

The fickle, restless and opportunistic Benjamin, however, would soon trade his good fortune in England for even better fortune in the small Electorate of Bavaria which is now a state in southern Germany. At the time, Bavaria stretched from Nuremberg to the Austrian border.

Note: Elector states were members of an electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

(1) London (2) Bavaria

Ben's fortunes in Bavaria began when he met Prince Maximillian on a visit to that country in 1784. The Prince was evidently "struck by his (Ben's) regal figure on horseback." And it seems that the elector of Bavaria, Charles Theodor, had an equally favorable impression of him. When a Bavarian appointment seemed promising, Ben worked fast to heighten his own appeal. He somehow finagled not only a commission as full colonel in the British army but also one of the the highest of English honors, a knighthood. Shortly before Ben left for Bavaria, King George dubbed him Sir Benjamin Thompson.

And so it was that Ben, a full colonel and a knight, made plans to leave England and find fame and fortune in Bavaria.

in Bavaria

When all was said and done, Benjamin would spend fifteen years in Bavaria. In his 61 years of life, he spent twenty-four in America, eight in England, fifteen in Bavaria and fourteen in France.

In Bavaria, Benjamin served as a aide-de-camp with the rank of colonel. His main interest, however, became a program of public works. According to Frederick H. Young, author of the article "Count Rumford, 'The International Egotist'" Ben "was especially successful in abolishing beggary which had become the most acute problem of the Government."

His plan involved, first, the arrest of 2,600 beggars. Instead of having them jailed, however, they were sent to Benjamin's newly formed House of Industry where "warm food, training, and productive work awaited them." The experience had a profound effect. "Many were returned to respectable private employment. The others earned a satisfactory living at the same time that they produced shoes and clothing for the army at a profit to the state."

Of his plan, Benjamin said “It has always been assumed that vicious and abandoned persons must be reformed before they can be made happy. Instead, why not make them happy before trying to reform them?”

While reforming beggars on the street, Benjamin kept his hand in many pots, including the cooking pot. He came up with a concoction which became known as Rumford's Soup which was initially invented to provide the least expensive, highest nutrition food for the poor. Made with barley, potatoes, yellow peas and sour beer, the soup was also used as inexpensive military rations in Central Europe for much of the nineteenth and twentieth century.

Over the next few years, the honors and appointments just kept piling up. Some of the most notable were Privy Counselor of State, head of the War Department and member of "nearly every important learned society in Europe." In 1789, he designed and created a garden in Munich on behalf of Prince Charles of Bavaria. Today known as the Englischer Garden, it is one of the largest urban parks in the world.

Below is a monument that was later dedicated at the park in Benjamin's honor. The inscription, loosely translated, reads:

Pause, saunterer! The enjoyment here is heightened by gratitude. A suggestive hint of Charles Theodore, seized on with genius, taste and love, by Rumford, the friend of mankind, has transformed this once waste spot into what thou now seest about thee.

Fittingly, it was shortly after this that the Count received a letter from his daughter Sarah (4C6X), who had been born in the town of Rumford before the name change. Benjamin hadn't seen Sarah since she was a baby. They would soon reunite and form a close bond.

scientific contributions

According to Wikipedia, "Rumford's most important scientific work took place in Munich, and centered on the nature of heat. . ." His experiments with a cannon led him to correctly believe that the "supply of frictional heat was seemingly inexhaustible." While his theory was not accepted at the time, "it was subsequently important in establishing the laws of conservation of energy later in the 19th century."

Benjamin's interest in heat led him to study different methods of cooking, heating, and lighting. His experiments in that field "led to the creation of the branch of science known as thermodynamics." He went on to invent many domestic appliances that are still used today such as the cast-iron "Rumford Stove" which controlled temperature better than an open hearth. He also developed a pressure cooker and a drip coffee maker.

Some of his most important work was in designing energy-efficient fireplaces. He created a damper, a throat and a smoke shelf that vastly improved the air quality in homes where his fireplace designs were used.

Though many in America had mixed feelings about Benjamin given his Loyalists leanings during the Revolutionary War, his work in the scientific field was admired and ultimately rewarded in 1789 with honorary membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an organization in which his cousin and friend Loammi Baldwin (3C7X) was already a member.

Ben's contributions in the scientific field led President Franklin Roosevelt to contend that "Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Count Rumford are the greatest minds that America has produced.”

a few chaotic years

In 1795, Benjamin returned to England to publish a collection of his essays. This publication helped to cement his reputation in the world of science. His return to Britain had another far reaching benefit. While there, Ben was able to reunite with his long lost daughter who had made a trip across the Atlantic to see him.

In the midst of a mad whirl of English society and long visits with his daughter, Ben received a "frantic" message from the Elector requesting that he return to Munich immediately. Bavaria was being threatened by and impending war between France and Austria. Charles Theodor fled the country leaving Benjamin to close the gates to the city and do his best to calm the two nations. He was successful in avoiding an attack on Munich.

Still, despite all he had done for Bavaria and the general acclaim he had received, Ben's personality seemed to create enemies everywhere he went. By 1798, the Count's unpopularity had become so great among other Bavarian officials that the Elector decided it was time for Ben to return to Britain. To retain ties to his old friend, however, Charles Theodor asked the British government to appoint Ben the Bavarian minister to England. England refused the ministry and Ben returned to his adopted country as an ordinary citizen.

Below is a portrait of Ben which was drawn in 1798 shortly after his return to England

ruminations on America

That Benjamin still thought about his early days in America can be seen in a watercolor he painted in 1800 entitled Harpsichord Recital at Count Rumford's, Concord, New Hampshire. It's interesting that Ben juxtaposes past and future with the setting in his old home in Concord when he was still Benjamin Thompson but he refers to himself as Count Rumford.

Benjamin and his old pal Loammi Baldwin had kept up their correspondence over the years. In 1793, Ben had written to Loammi asking about the possibility of his returning to America for a visit. Loammi's answering letter to Ben three years later makes it clear that Ben's plans had changed. Instead of visiting his old home, he had made arrangements for his daughter to join him in Europe indefinitely.

Below is a copy of the first page of that letter:

Loammi, however, was not entirely satisfied with Ben's decision. Before closing he wrote:

In answer to your inquiry, I can say that it is my opinion that you can freely return to America, either with or without official leave from the State, as you may choose; and that you would realize a hearty welcome from all your old friends and citizens in general. I can say for one, that there is not a person on earth that I should rejoice so much to see. . .Pray, come and see your kind mother. Make us a visit, if you do no more.

The same year of Loammi's letter, Ben made matching donations of £5,000 to the Royal Academy of Great Britain and the American Academy of Arts and Science, asking that the money be used establish awards for scientific work in heat and light to be given out every other year. It wasn't until 40 years later that the first Rumford Prize in America was awarded to Robert Hare for his development of the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe. For his efforts, Hare was given a gold medal with Benjamin's likeness on it:

In 1798, when Benjamin returned to England from Bavaria, he found himself, for the first time, a man without employment. At loose ends, he began to look seriously toward his old homeland to remedy the situation. The new Military Academy at West Point was due to open soon and Ben was interested in the position of superintendent to that institution. According to James Bradley's article "The Reprieve of a Loyalist: Count Rumford's Invitation Home:"

. . .the proposition for the Count's return to America originated with Rumford himself. . .This proposal was "warmly" received by the United States government, a sign that any stigma attached to his name in his native country was now removed.

In the end, however, the fickle Benjamin rejected the West Point position in favor of continuing his work founding the Royal Institution of Great Britain. That project seemed to put to rest all further thoughts of returning to America and, in spite of repeated requests from his faithful friend Loammi, Benjamin never saw his homeland again.

off to France

Two things can be said for sure about our cousin Count Rumford. He led an "irrepressibly restless existence" and he had difficulty getting along with his fellow man. Within a year of founding the Royal Institution, he had a falling out with various other members. All of a sudden France, which he had been visiting on and off for three years, looked increasingly attractive.

In 1801, Benjamin made the move, with his daughter in tow, to his new home country where he would live for the rest of his life. One of his first orders of business was to meet a great admirer of his work, Napoleon Bonaparte, garnering a dinner invitation with the emperor to boot.

In 1804, Ben met the widow of noted chemist Antoine Lavoisier, a man who had been sent to the guillotine during the French Revolution. Possibly recognizing a golden opportunity, Benjamin took the plunge for the second time. One biographer of the day coined their marriage "the union of the two most glamorous figures of the day." Not everyone was of that opinion. One witty newspaper item made light of Ben's noted heat experiments:

Married: In Paris, Count Rumford to the widow of Lavoisier; by which nuptial experiment he obtains a fortune of 8,000 pounds per -- the most effective of all the Rumfordizing projects for keeping a house warm.

The marriage, sadly and predictably, was not a happy one. According to E. Alexander Powell in his article "The Remarkable American Count:"

The Count’s eccentricities would have made any marriage difficult, but it was quite impossible to harmonize his desire for quiet with her need for a full social life. After four years they separated. He withdrew to a pleasant home in Auteuil, a suburb of Paris, where he continued his scientific writing.

death and legacy

Benjamin died at Auteuil in 1814 at age 61. General George Washington's old pal the Marquis de Lafayette was one of the witnesses to his will. While Ben left the bulk of his estate to his daughter, his only other sizable bequests perhaps indicated where his heart had always remained. To the government of the United State, he left his military library to be housed in their Military Academy at West Point. His other bequest was to Harvard College for the establishment of a new professorship.

Benjamin was buried at the cemetery at Auteuil. Below is a drawing– of his gravesite:

In "The Remarkable American Count," Alexander Powell sums up the character of our enigmatic Cousin Ben:

Unquestionably a genius and benefactor of mankind, Rumford died a troubled man who knew he had brought little happiness to those with whom he had been most intimate. Baron Cuvier, one of the few who had good to say of him, confessed that although he rendered many “services to his fellowmen, he had no real love or regard for them.” Even Loammi Baldwin admitted that he was “too much attached to greatness and splendor.”

This strange, restless man has been, as he should be, honored for his attainments and for his contributions. He can only be pitied for his failings. It was perhaps in this spirit that Woburn, which witnessed his early genius and expelled him for his early transgressions, has also erected a bronze statue of her most illustrious son, Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford.