Notable people · Military · Inventor
William Crozier
Born in Carrollton, Ohio, Crozier graduated from West Point and spent most of his career in Army ordnance. With Adelbert Buffington he developed the disappearing gun carriage used in United States coastal forts, and he served as Chief of Ordnance from 1901 to 1918.
At a glance
- Born
- 1855-02-19
- Died
- 1942-11
- Education
- US Military Academy, West Point, NY, to 1876, graduate
- Known as
- Military, Inventor
- Organizations
- US Army Ordnance Department
Life story
William Crozier was born in Carrollton, Ohio, in 1855, the son of Robert Crozier, who later became a Kansas chief justice and U.S. senator. He entered West Point and graduated in 1876 as a second lieutenant of artillery.
After about three years on the western frontier he came back to West Point to teach mathematics, then ran the Watertown Arsenal in Massachusetts. In 1888 he studied European artillery, and in 1893 he and Adelbert Buffington brought out a gun carriage that let a heavy coastal gun drop out of sight behind a wall after each shot.
He became Chief of Ordnance in 1901 and held the post until 1918, through the Spanish-American War era and World War I. During his years in charge the Army adopted the M1911 pistol, the M1903 Springfield rifle and the Browning Automatic Rifle, and he worked with efficiency expert Henry Gantt on wartime production charts.
He retired in 1919 and died in Washington, D.C., in 1942. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Timeline
- 1855-02-19: Born (Carrollton, OH) source
- 1876: Graduates from West Point (West Point, NY) source
- 1879: Begins teaching mathematics at West Point (West Point, NY) source
- 1884: Takes charge of Watertown Arsenal (Watertown, MA) source
- 1893: Co-invents the Buffington-Crozier disappearing carriage (United States) source
- 1899: American delegate to the Hague Peace Conference (The Hague) source
- 1901: Becomes Chief of Ordnance and brigadier general (Washington, DC) source
- 1913-10-31: Marries Mary Hoyt Williams (England) source
- 1918-07: Promoted to major general (Washington, DC) source
- 1919-01-01: Retires (Washington, DC) source
- 1942-11: Dies (Washington, DC) source
What William is known for
- Co-inventor of the Buffington-Crozier disappearing gun carriage (1893)
- Chief of Ordnance, US Army, 1901-1918
- Buffington-Crozier disappearing gun carriage, 1893
Inventions and firsts
Honors and things named for them
- Chief of Ordnance for 17 years
- His crystal collection went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Family
- father: Robert Crozier
- wife: Mary Hoyt Williams
Ohio places
Where William Crozier was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Carrollton, Carroll County ZIP 44615 · Carrollton · Carroll County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: William Crozier (artillerist) birth, education, career, family, burial
- Wikipedia: Disappearing carriage Buffington-Crozier carriage 1893
