Eliphalet Williams Bliss

E. W. Bliss Company

In 1867, Bliss founded the machine shops which would become the E. W. Bliss Company. He also acquired the United States Projectile Company and the Stiles and Parker Press Company. His interest in mechanical matters diverged along two lines, the manufacture of machine tools, presses, and dies for use in sheet metal work, and the manufacture of shells and projectiles. Bliss had numerous patents taken out, many of which were his own inventions; machines for manufacturing and soldering metal cans and for shaping and casting sheet metal. Bliss' company also supplied part of the material used in building the Brooklyn Bridge.

The E. W. Bliss Company obtained rights to manufacture the Whitehead torpedo used by the US Navy, while the United States Projectile Company would later manufacture most of the shells used in its large guns. The company's experience with building the Whiteheads proved valuable in the development of the Bliss-Leavitt torpedo, which was also acquired by the US Navy.

Other endeavors Aside from owning the E. W. Bliss Company and the United States Projectile Company, Bliss was also involved in numerous other business endeavors. He was Vice President of the Brooklyn Heights Railroad, and was Director of the Brooklyn Gas Fixture Company and the Kings County Trust Company.

E. W. Bliss was a prominent member of the Peary Arctic Club, which funded the Arctic expeditions led by the explorer and U.S. naval officer Robert Peary. Peary named Bliss Bay in Greenland after him.

Death Bliss died on July 21, 1903, in Brooklyn, New York. At the time of his death, the E. W. Bliss Company's plant covered eighty-five city lots and employed 1,300 men; in 1884, it was the largest factory in the world.