Lewis Temple (c. 1810-1854), a blacksmith in New Bedford from 1830 to 1854, invented and manufactured a whaling harpoon in 1848 that has been referred to as 'the single most important invention in the history of whaling.' The Temple Toggle, as it was called, became the standard whale harpoon, and 13,000 were manufactured between 1848 and 1868. It is credited with increasing significantly the number of whales caught and with adding to the economic development of New England during the region's whaling period.