COLBURN, IRVING WIGHTMAN

born May 16, 1861, Fitchburg, Mass., U.S. died Sept. 4, 1917 American inventor and manufacturer whose process for fabricating continuous sheets of flat glass formed the basis of the Libbey-Owens Sheet Glass Company. After an unsuccessful manufacturing venture, Colburn sold his patents to financial interests in Toledo, Ohio, in 1912. He continued to work under their auspices, finally perfecting his process the year before his death.