William Bullock, Web Rotary Press
William Bullock (1813 - April 12, 1867) was an American inventor. Orphaned at an early age, he worked with his brother as a machinist and iron-founder. His fascination with books led him to acquire much knowledge of mechanics. He designed a cotton and hay press, a seed planter, a lathe cutting machine, and a grain drill. In 1863, Bullock perfected a printing press called the web rotary press. Richard March Hoe had invented the rotary press in 1843, but Bullock's press was an improvement over Hoe's design. Bullock's press allowed for continuous large rolls of paper to be automatically fed through the rollers, eliminating the laborious hand-feeding system of earlier presses. The press was self-adjusting, printed on both sides, folded the paper, and a sharp serrated knife that rarely needed sharpening cut sheets with rapid precision. The press could print up to 12, 000 sheets an hour; later improvements raised the speed to up to 30, 000 sheets an hour. In a bizarre accident, Bullock was killed by his own invention. In 1867 he was making adjustments to one of his new presses that was being installed for the Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper. Bullock tried to kick a driving belt onto a pulley. His leg was crushed when it became caught in the machine. After a few days, he developed gangrene. On April 12, 1867, Bullock died during an operation to amputate the leg
