Davis Established Scholarship Aid To Honor Marks

Francis W. Davis '10, inventor of power steering, has given $50,000 to establish a fellowship in honor of Lionel S. Marks, Gordon MacKay Professor of Mechanical Engineering, emeritus, who died enrolls to Mexico last Thursday.

The fund for graduate study of mechanical engineering in the Division of Engineering and Applied Physics had been set up several weeks before Mark's death.

The new fellowship is modeled after England's 1851 Exposition Fellowship which brought Marks from Birmingham, England, to Cornell in 1892 for engineering studies.

Called inspiring Teacher

Davis, who studied under Marks as an engineering concentrator, called him "an inspiring teacher and a great personality, who made his students work and like it."

Marks was editor of "Mechanical Engineer's Handbook," which had had five editions and became known as "the engineer's bible." It was extensively revised in 1951.

Marks joined the University faculty in 1894, after receiving his Master of Engineering degree from Cornell the same year. He retired in 1940.

After studying under Marks, Davis worked in automotive engineering for the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company and did war work in his field for the British War Office and for the United States.

Patented Power Steering

He patented a hydraulic power steering gear in 1931, which was first applied to military trucks and tanks. Since then it has been widely adapted for use in passenger cars.

Davis is a member of the Harvard Overseers' Committee to visit the Division of Engineering and Applied Physics.