Winans, Ross (1796–1877)

US inventor and manufacturer. Born in Sussex County, New Jersey, he had his first exposure to railroads while selling horses to the Baltimore & Ohio in 1828, and he soon designed an improved wheel for rail cars that set the standard for a full century. Winans worked for the B&O for a time before establishing his own railroad machinery business. He later produced a streamlined hull design for steamships. He acquired some local fame as a philanthropist and as the author of a series of unorthodox works on religion.