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1 john
n AmE sl1)2)She was waiting for her john to come out of prison — Она ждала, когда ее сожитель выйдет из тюрьмы
3)The hustlers sat on the steps and called to their johns as they passed by — Проститутки сидели на ступеньках и окликали своих клиентов, когда те проходили мимо
She led the john into a dark passage where the guys mugged him — Она завела клиента в темный переулок, где его грабанули парни
4)He's pretty smart at figgerin' out what a john'll pay — Он сразу может прикинуть, на какую сумму можно расколоть того или иного охламона
The john went straight to the cops and told the whole thing — Чувак, которого насадили, сразу обратился в полицию и все рассказал
5)John or no john I don't take that kind of stuff — Полицейский ты или нет, я не позволю так разговаривать со мной
Some john was around asking for you — Здесь про тебя спрашивал один тип, по-моему, оттуда
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2 the
ði: (полная форма) ;
(редуцированная форма, употр. перед гласными), (редуцированная форма, употр. перед согласными)
1. определенный артикль
1) употребляется для указания на определенный, конкретный объект
2) перед прилагательным - для образования собирательного существительного the poor ≈ бедные
2. нареч. чем... тем (при сравнении) ;
the sooner the better ≈ чем больше, тем лучше выделяет определенный, конкретный предмет, определенное, конкретное существо, лицо или явление из группы однородных предметов, существ или явлений: - the roof of the house крыша (этого) дома - the arrival of the guests приезд гостей - the voice of the people голос народа - at the corner на углу - on the other side of the street по другую сторону улицы - the chair is hard, don't take it не бери это кресло, оно жесткое - the day has just started день только начинался - the right to strike право бастовать - to follow the directions given следовать данным указаниям указывает на то, что данный предмет, данное существо, лицо, явление известны слушающему: - the father and the mother отец и мать - how many windows has the room? сколько окон в (этой) комнате? - the book is on the table (эта) книга (лежит) на столе - you may take the book можешь взять (эту) книгу - where is the man? где этот человек? - I spoke to the driver я обратился к водителю (нанятого такси и т. п.) - give the letter to the maid отдай письмо горничной - I was absent at the time меня в то время не было - what I want at the moment то, что мне нужно сейчас - on the Monday he fell ill в тот понедельник, когда он заболел - how is the score? какой сейчас счет? - how is the wife? (разговорное) как поживает (твоя) жена? - where is the kid sister? (разговорное) где (моя или твоя) сестренка? придает существительному значение представителя определенного класса предметов, существ или явлений - часто при сопоставлении с другими классами - the cow is a domestic animal корова - домашнее животное - the dog is stronger than the cat собака сильнее кошки - who invented the telegraph? кто изобрел телеграф? указывает на то, что данный предмет, данное лицо или явление является единственным в своем роде, уникальным: - the prodigal son( библеизм) блудный сын - the Alps Альпы - the sun солнце - the moon луна - the Roman Empire Римская империя - the Thames Темза - the Black Sea Черное море указывает на то, что данный предмет, данное лицо или явление является самым лучшим, наиболее выдающимся, знаменитым или наиболее подходящим для чего-л.: - Dr. Smith is the specialist in kidney trouble доктор Смит - самый крупный специалист по заболеваниям почек - he is the man for you он самый подходящий для вас человек - he is not the person to do that он не тот человек, который сможет это сделать - he is the better man of the two он лучший человек из них двоих - this is the place to dine вот где надо обедать;
вот где можно как следует пообедать указывает на то, что данный предмет или свойство рассматривается относительно его обладателя: - to hit smb. in the leg попасть кому-л. в ногу - to cluth at the sleeve of one's father цепляться за рукав отца - he's got the toothache у него болит зуб употр. с именем собственным: в ед. ч. для обозначения хорошо известных деятелей: тот самый - the poet Keats Kитс, поэт - a certain Charles Dickens - not the Charles Dickens некий Чарльз Диккенс - не знаменитый писатель Чарльз Диккенс - on board the ship are Bernard Shaw, the writer and Jack Smith, an actor на борту корабля находятся (известный) писатель Бернард Шоу и Джек Смит, актер в ед. ч. при наличии у имени ограничивающего определения: - the Shakespeare of the great tragedies Шекспир - автор великих трагедий - the Paris of my youth Париж моей юности - the Italy of the past Италия прошлого, прежняя Италия - you must be the Mr. Smith вы, должно быть, тот самый мистер Смит (о котором он так часто говорил) в ед. ч. перед прилагательным или существительным - частью титула: - the Emperor Neron император Нерон - the Duke of Wellington герцог Веллингтонский - the Reverend John Smith его преподобие Джон Смит - Peter the Great Петр Великий - Edward th Seventh Эдуард Седьмой во мн. ч. для обозначения всей семьи: - the Smiths came early семья Смитов пришла рано, Смиты пришли рано во мн. ч. для обозначения династии: - the Burbons Бурбоны - the Tudors Тюдоры оформляет субстантивацию прилагательных, причастий, числительных и местоимений: - the good добро - the evil зло - the beautiful прекрасное - the poor бедные, бедняки - the rich богатые, богачи - words borrowed from the French слова, заимствованные из французского (языка) - the learned ученые - the wounded раненые - the oppressed угнетенные - the ten (me) десятеро - the one тот самый, та самая - she's the one как раз та самая женщина, именно она - the second второй - the who субьект - the what объект - the where место - the when время - the how метод, способ - the why причина, повод оформляет название народа, племени и т. п.: - the Russians русские - the Americans американцы - the Greeks греки - the Mohicans могикане, индейцы племени могикан - the French французы - the English англичане оформляет метонимический перенос значения: - the stage сценическая деятельность - the gloves бокс - the bottle пьянство - from the cradle to the grave от колыбели до могилы, от рождения до смерти оформляет превосходную степень качественных прилагательных и порядковые прилагательные: - the largest building самое большое здание - the most interesting book самая интересная книга - from the earliest times с древнейших времен - it's twelve o'clock at the latest сейчас самое позднее двенадцать часов - the first row первый ряд в устойчивых сочетаниях: - by the day поденно - to the dollar на доллар - to the gallon на галлон - to the mile на милю - on the whole в целом - to have the cheek to say smth. иметь наглость сказать что-л. в эллиптических оборотах: - six pence the pound шесть пенсов за (весь) фунт - 6 the lot шесть фунтов за все - 15 the coat and skirt пятнадцать фунтов за жакет и юбку (вместе) в грам. знач. нареч.: тем - I like him the more for it за это он мне еще больше нравится - so much the less тем меньше, настолько меньше - so much the worse for him тем хуже для него - that will make it all the worse это будет только хуже - it will be the easier for you тем легче тебе будет, тебе будет еще легче - the better to see you with чтобы( еще) лучше тебя видеть - the... the... чем... тем... - the more the better чем больше, тем лучше - the more he has the more he wants чем больше у него есть, тем больше он хочет - the less said about it the better чем меньше говорить об этом, тем лучше - the more I practise the worse I play чем больше я упражняюсь, тем хуже я играю ~ определенный артикль, употр. перед сущ. для выделения предмета или явления внутри данной категории, данного класса предметов и явлений: the book you mention упоминаемая вами книга the: (of all the men I know) he is the man for the position( из всех, кого я знаю,) он самый подходящий человек для этого поста how is ~ score? какой сейчас счет? I'll speak to ~ teacher я поговорю с преподавателем (тем, который преподает в нашем классе) the: (of all the men I know) he is the man for the position (из всех, кого я знаю,) он самый подходящий человек для этого поста ~ определенный артикль, употр. перед сущ. для выделения предмета или явления внутри данной категории, данного класса предметов и явлений: the book you mention упоминаемая вами книга ~ тем;
чем;
the more the better чем больше, тем лучше ~ less said ~ better чем меньше слов, тем лучше;
(so much) the worse for him тем хуже для него ~ less said ~ better чем меньше слов, тем лучше;
(so much) the worse for him тем хуже для него -
3 the
[θi: (полная форма); ðı (редуциованная форма перед гласными); ðə,ð (редуцированные формы перед согласными)]определённый член, артикль1. 1) выделяет определённый, конкретный предмет, определённое, конкретное существо, лицо или явление из группы однородных предметов, существ или явлений:the chair is hard, don't take it - не бери это кресло, оно жёсткое
the right to strike - право бастовать /забастовок/
2) указывает на то, что данный предмет, данное существо, лицо, явление известны слушающему:how many windows has the room? - сколько окон в (этой) комнате?
where is the man? - где этот человек?
I spoke to the driver - я обратился к водителю (нанятого такси и т. п.)
what I want at the moment - то, что мне нужно сейчас /в данный момент/
on the Monday he fell ill - в тот понедельник, когда он заболел
how is the score? - какой сейчас счёт?
how is the wife? - разг. как поживает (твоя) жена?
where is the kid sister? - разг. где (моя или твоя) сестрёнка?
2. придаёт существительному значение представителя определённого класса предметов, существ или явлений - часто при сопоставлении с другими классами:who invented the telegraph? - кто изобрёл телеграф?
3. 1) указывает на то, что данный предмет, данное лицо или явление является единственным в своём роде, уникальным:the prodigal son - библ. блудный сын
2) указывает на то, что данный предмет, данное лицо или явление является самым лучшим, наиболее выдающимся, знаменитым или наиболее подходящим для чего-л.:Dr. Smith is the specialist in kidney trouble - доктор Смит - самый крупный специалист по заболеваниям почек
he is not the person to do that - он не тот человек, который сможет это сделать
he is the better man of the two - он лучший /более подходящий/ человек из них двоих
this is the place to dine - вот где надо обедать; ≅ вот где можно как следует пообедать
3) указывает на то, что данный предмет или свойство рассматривается относительно его обладателя:to hit smb. in the leg - попасть кому-л. в ногу
to clutch at the sleeve of one's father [at the skirts of one's mother] - цепляться за рукав отца [за юбку матери]
he's got the toothache [the measles] - у него болит зуб [он болен корью]
4. употр. с именем собственным1) в ед. ч. для обозначения хорошо известных деятелей тот самыйthe poet Keats - Китс, поэт
a certain Charles Dickens - not the Charles Dickens - некий Чарльз Диккенс - не знаменитый писатель Чарльз Диккенс
on board the ship are Bernard Shaw, the writer and Jack Smith, an actor - на борту корабля находятся (известный) писатель Бернард Шоу и Джек Смит, актёр
2) в ед. ч. при наличии у имени ограничивающего определения:the Shakespeare of the great tragedies - Шекспир - автор великих трагедий, Шекспир периода великих трагедий
the Italy of the past - Италия прошлого, прежняя Италия
you must be the Mr. Smith (about whom he has so often talked) - вы, должно быть, тот самый мистер Смит (о котором он так часто говорил)
3) в ед. ч. перед прилагательным или существительным - частью титула:4) во мн. ч. для обозначения всей семьи:the Smiths came early - семья Смитов пришла рано, Смиты пришли рано
5) во мн. ч. для обозначения династии:5. оформляет субстантивацию прилагательных, причастий, числительных и местоимений:the poor - бедные, бедняки
the rich - богатые, богачи
words borrowed from the French - слова, заимствованные из французского (языка)
the one - тот самый, та самая
she's the one - как раз та самая женщина, именно она
the how - метод, способ
the why - причина, повод
6. оформляет название народа, племени и т. п.:the Mohicans - могикане, индейцы племени могикан
from the cradle to the grave - от колыбели до могилы, от рождения до смерти
8. оформляет превосходную степень качественных прилагательных и порядковые прилагательные:the first [the second, the tenth] row - первый [второй, десятый] ряд
9. 1) в устойчивых сочетаниях:to have the cheek [the courage] to say smth. - иметь наглость [мужество] сказать что-л.
£6 the lot - шесть фунтов за всё
£15 the coat and skirt - пятнадцать фунтов за жакет и юбку (вместе)
10. в грам. знач. нареч.1) темI like him the more for it - за это он мне ещё больше /тем более/ нравится
so much the less - тем меньше, настолько меньше
that will make it all the worse [all the more cruel] - это будет только хуже [ещё более жестоко]
it will be the easier for you - тем легче тебе будет, тебе будет ещё легче
2):the... the... - чем... тем...
the more [the sooner] the better - чем больше [чем скорее], тем лучше
the more he has the more he wants - чем больше у него есть, тем больше он хочет
the less said about it the better - чем меньше говорить об этом, тем лучше
the more I practise the worse I play - чем больше я упражняюсь, тем хуже я играю
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4 the
[θi: (полная форма); ðı (редуциованная форма перед гласными); ðə,ð (редуцированные формы перед согласными)]определённый член, артикль1. 1) выделяет определённый, конкретный предмет, определённое, конкретное существо, лицо или явление из группы однородных предметов, существ или явлений:the chair is hard, don't take it - не бери это кресло, оно жёсткое
the right to strike - право бастовать /забастовок/
2) указывает на то, что данный предмет, данное существо, лицо, явление известны слушающему:how many windows has the room? - сколько окон в (этой) комнате?
where is the man? - где этот человек?
I spoke to the driver - я обратился к водителю (нанятого такси и т. п.)
what I want at the moment - то, что мне нужно сейчас /в данный момент/
on the Monday he fell ill - в тот понедельник, когда он заболел
how is the score? - какой сейчас счёт?
how is the wife? - разг. как поживает (твоя) жена?
where is the kid sister? - разг. где (моя или твоя) сестрёнка?
2. придаёт существительному значение представителя определённого класса предметов, существ или явлений - часто при сопоставлении с другими классами:who invented the telegraph? - кто изобрёл телеграф?
3. 1) указывает на то, что данный предмет, данное лицо или явление является единственным в своём роде, уникальным:the prodigal son - библ. блудный сын
2) указывает на то, что данный предмет, данное лицо или явление является самым лучшим, наиболее выдающимся, знаменитым или наиболее подходящим для чего-л.:Dr. Smith is the specialist in kidney trouble - доктор Смит - самый крупный специалист по заболеваниям почек
he is not the person to do that - он не тот человек, который сможет это сделать
he is the better man of the two - он лучший /более подходящий/ человек из них двоих
this is the place to dine - вот где надо обедать; ≅ вот где можно как следует пообедать
3) указывает на то, что данный предмет или свойство рассматривается относительно его обладателя:to hit smb. in the leg - попасть кому-л. в ногу
to clutch at the sleeve of one's father [at the skirts of one's mother] - цепляться за рукав отца [за юбку матери]
he's got the toothache [the measles] - у него болит зуб [он болен корью]
4. употр. с именем собственным1) в ед. ч. для обозначения хорошо известных деятелей тот самыйthe poet Keats - Китс, поэт
a certain Charles Dickens - not the Charles Dickens - некий Чарльз Диккенс - не знаменитый писатель Чарльз Диккенс
on board the ship are Bernard Shaw, the writer and Jack Smith, an actor - на борту корабля находятся (известный) писатель Бернард Шоу и Джек Смит, актёр
2) в ед. ч. при наличии у имени ограничивающего определения:the Shakespeare of the great tragedies - Шекспир - автор великих трагедий, Шекспир периода великих трагедий
the Italy of the past - Италия прошлого, прежняя Италия
you must be the Mr. Smith (about whom he has so often talked) - вы, должно быть, тот самый мистер Смит (о котором он так часто говорил)
3) в ед. ч. перед прилагательным или существительным - частью титула:4) во мн. ч. для обозначения всей семьи:the Smiths came early - семья Смитов пришла рано, Смиты пришли рано
5) во мн. ч. для обозначения династии:5. оформляет субстантивацию прилагательных, причастий, числительных и местоимений:the poor - бедные, бедняки
the rich - богатые, богачи
words borrowed from the French - слова, заимствованные из французского (языка)
the one - тот самый, та самая
she's the one - как раз та самая женщина, именно она
the how - метод, способ
the why - причина, повод
6. оформляет название народа, племени и т. п.:the Mohicans - могикане, индейцы племени могикан
from the cradle to the grave - от колыбели до могилы, от рождения до смерти
8. оформляет превосходную степень качественных прилагательных и порядковые прилагательные:the first [the second, the tenth] row - первый [второй, десятый] ряд
9. 1) в устойчивых сочетаниях:to have the cheek [the courage] to say smth. - иметь наглость [мужество] сказать что-л.
£6 the lot - шесть фунтов за всё
£15 the coat and skirt - пятнадцать фунтов за жакет и юбку (вместе)
10. в грам. знач. нареч.1) темI like him the more for it - за это он мне ещё больше /тем более/ нравится
so much the less - тем меньше, настолько меньше
that will make it all the worse [all the more cruel] - это будет только хуже [ещё более жестоко]
it will be the easier for you - тем легче тебе будет, тебе будет ещё легче
2):the... the... - чем... тем...
the more [the sooner] the better - чем больше [чем скорее], тем лучше
the more he has the more he wants - чем больше у него есть, тем больше он хочет
the less said about it the better - чем меньше говорить об этом, тем лучше
the more I practise the worse I play - чем больше я упражняюсь, тем хуже я играю
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5 Smalley, John
SUBJECT AREA: Textiles[br]b. c. 1729 Englandd. 28 January 1782 Holywell, Wales.[br]English helped Arkwright to build and finance the waterframe.[br]John Smalley of Preston was the second son of John, a chapman of Blackburn. He was a distant relative of Richard Arkwright through marrying, in 1751, Elizabeth Baxter, whose mother Ellen was the widow of Arkwright's uncle, Richard. In the Preston Guild Rolls of 1762 he was described as a grocer and painter, and he was also Landlord of the Bull Inn. The following year he became a bailiff of Preston and in 1765 he became a Corporation steward. On 14 May 1768 Arkwright, Smalley and David Thornley became partners in a cotton-spinning venture in Nottingham. They agreed to apply for a patent for Arkwright's invention of spinning by rollers, and Smalley signed as a witness. It is said that Smalley provided much of the capital for this new venture as he sold his business at Preston for about £1,600, but this was soon found to be insufficient and the partnership had to be enlarged to include Samuel Need and Jedediah Strutt.Smalley may have helped to establish the spinning mill at Nottingham, but by 28 February 1771 he was back in Preston, for on that day he was chosen a "Councilman in the room of Mr. Thomas Jackson deceased" (Fitton 1989:38). He attended meetings for over a year, but either in 1772 or the following year he sold the Bull Inn, and certainly by August 1774 the Smalleys were living in Cromford, where he became Manager of the mill. He soon found himself at logger-heads with Arkwright; however, Strutt was able to smooth the dispute over for a while. Things came to a head in January 1777 when Arkwright was determined to get rid of Smalley, and the three remaining partners agreed to buy out Smalley's share for the sum of £10,751.Although he had agreed not to set up any textile machinery, Smalley moved to Holywell in North Wales, where in the spring of 1777 he built a cotton-spinning mill in the Greenfield valley. He prospered there and his son was later to build two more mills in the same valley. Smalley used to go to Wrexham to sell his yarn, and there met John Peers, a leather merchant, who was able to provide a better quality leather for covering the drawing rollers which came to be used in Lancashire. Smalley died in 1782, shortly before Arkwright could sue him for infringement of his patents.[br]Further ReadingR.S.Fitton, 1989, The Arkwrights, Spinners of Fortune, Manchester (draws together the fullest details of John Smalley).R.L.Hills, 1969, Power in the Industrial Revolution, Manchester (includes details of the agreement with Arkwright).A.H.Dodd, 1971, The Industrial Revolution in North Wales, Cardiff; E.J.Foulkes, 1964, "The cotton spinning factories of Flintshire, 1777–1866", Flintshire Historical SocietyJournal 21 (provide more information about his cotton mill at Holywell).RLH -
6 Elder, John
[br]b. 9 March 1824 Glasgow, Scotlandd. 17 September 1869 London, England[br]Scottish engineer who introduced the compound steam engine to ships and established an important shipbuilding company in Glasgow.[br]John was the third son of David Elder. The father came from a family of millwrights and moved to Glasgow where he worked for the well-known shipbuilding firm of Napier's and was involved with improving marine engines. John was educated at Glasgow High School and then for a while at the Department of Civil Engineering at Glasgow University, where he showed great aptitude for mathematics and drawing. He spent five years as an apprentice under Robert Napier followed by two short periods of activity as a pattern-maker first and then a draughtsman in England. He returned to Scotland in 1849 to become Chief Draughtsman to Napier, but in 1852 he left to become a partner with the Glasgow general engineering company of Randolph Elliott \& Co. Shortly after his induction (at the age of 28), the engineering firm was renamed Randolph Elder \& Co.; in 1868, when the partnership expired, it became known as John Elder \& Co. From the outset Elder, with his partner, Charles Randolph, approached mechanical (especially heat) engineering in a rigorous manner. Their knowledge and understanding of entropy ensured that engine design was not a hit-and-miss affair, but one governed by recognition of the importance of the new kinetic theory of heat and with it a proper understanding of thermodynamic principles, and by systematic development. In this Elder was joined by W.J.M. Rankine, Professor of Civil Engineering and Mechanics at Glasgow University, who helped him develop the compound marine engine. Elder and Randolph built up a series of patents, which guaranteed their company's commercial success and enabled them for a while to be the sole suppliers of compound steam reciprocating machinery. Their first such engine at sea was fitted in 1854 on the SS Brandon for the Limerick Steamship Company; the ship showed an improved performance by using a third less coal, which he was able to reduce still further on later designs.Elder developed steam jacketing and recognized that, with higher pressures, triple-expansion types would be even more economical. In 1862 he patented a design of quadruple-expansion engine with reheat between cylinders and advocated the importance of balancing reciprocating parts. The effect of his improvements was to greatly reduce fuel consumption so that long sea voyages became an economic reality.His yard soon reached dimensions then unequalled on the Clyde where he employed over 4,000 workers; Elder also was always interested in the social welfare of his labour force. In 1860 the engine shops were moved to the Govan Old Shipyard, and again in 1864 to the Fairfield Shipyard, about 1 mile (1.6 km) west on the south bank of the Clyde. At Fairfield, shipbuilding was commenced, and with the patents for compounding secure, much business was placed for many years by shipowners serving long-distance trades such as South America; the Pacific Steam Navigation Company took up his ideas for their ships. In later years the yard became known as the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd, but it remains today as one of Britain's most efficient shipyards and is known now as Kvaerner Govan Ltd.In 1869, at the age of only 45, John Elder was unanimously elected President of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland; however, before taking office and giving his eagerly awaited presidential address, he died in London from liver disease. A large multitude attended his funeral and all the engineering shops were silent as his body, which had been brought back from London to Glasgow, was carried to its resting place. In 1857 Elder had married Isabella Ure, and on his death he left her a considerable fortune, which she used generously for Govan, for Glasgow and especially the University. In 1883 she endowed the world's first Chair of Naval Architecture at the University of Glasgow, an act which was reciprocated in 1901 when the University awarded her an LLD on the occasion of its 450th anniversary.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsPresident, Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland 1869.Further ReadingObituary, 1869, Engineer 28.1889, The Dictionary of National Biography, London: Smith Elder \& Co. W.J.Macquorn Rankine, 1871, "Sketch of the life of John Elder" Transactions of theInstitution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland.Maclehose, 1886, Memoirs and Portraits of a Hundred Glasgow Men.The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Works, 1909, London: Offices of Engineering.P.M.Walker, 1984, Song of the Clyde, A History of Clyde Shipbuilding, Cambridge: PSL.R.L.Hills, 1989, Power from Steam. A History of the Stationary Steam Engine, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (covers Elder's contribution to the development of steam engines).RLH / FMW -
7 Levers (Leavers), John
SUBJECT AREA: Textiles[br]fl. 1812–21 Englandd. after 1821 Rouen, France[br]English improver of lace-making machines that formed the basis for many later developments.[br]John Heathcote had shown that it was possible to make lace by machine with his patents of 1808 and 1809. His machines were developed and improved by John Levers. Levers was originally a hosiery frame-smith and setter-up at Sutton-in-Ashfield but moved to Nottingham, where he extended his operations to the construction of point-net and warp-lace machinery. In the years 1812 and 1813 he more or less isolated himself in the garret of a house in Derby Road, where he assembled his lacemaking machine by himself. He was helped by two brothers and a nephew who made parts, but they saw it only when it was completed. Financial help for making production machines came from the firm of John Stevenson \& Skipwith, lace manufacturers in Nottingham. Levers never sought a patent, as he was under the mistaken impression that additions or improvements to an existing patented machine could not be protected. An early example of the machine survives at the Castle Museum in Nottingham. Although his prospects must have seemed good, for some reason Levers dissolved his partnership with Stevenson \& Co. and continued to work on improving his machine. In 1817 he altered it from the horizontal to the upright position, building many of the machines each year. He was a friendly, kind-hearted man, but he seems to have been unable to apply himself to his business, preferring the company of musicians—he was a bandmaster of the local militia—and was soon frequently without money, even to buy food for his family. He emigrated in 1821 to Rouen, France, where he set up his lace machines and where he subsequently died; when or in what circumstances is unknown. His machine continued to be improved and was adapted to work with the Jacquard mechanism to select the pattern.[br]Further ReadingW.Felkin, 1967, History of the Machine-wrought Hosiery and Lace Manufactures, reprint, Newton Abbot (orig. pub. 1867) (the main account of the Levers machine).W.English, 1969, The Textile Industry, London (a brief account of the Levers lace machine).D.M.Smith, 1965, Industrial Archaeology of the East Midlands, Dawlish (includes an illustration of Levers's machine).RLH -
8 Curr, John
[br]b. 1756 Kyo, near Lanchester, or in Greenside, near Ryton-on-Tyne, Durham, Englandd. 27 January 1823 Sheffield, England[br]English coal-mine manager and engineer, inventor of flanged, cast-iron plate rails.[br]The son of a "coal viewer", Curr was brought up in the West Durham colliery district. In 1777 he went to the Duke of Norfolk's collieries at Sheffield, where in 1880 he was appointed Superintendent. There coal was conveyed underground in baskets on sledges: Curr replaced the wicker sledges with wheeled corves, i.e. small four-wheeled wooden wagons, running on "rail-roads" with cast-iron rails and hauled from the coal-face to the shaft bottom by horses. The rails employed hitherto had usually consisted of plates of iron, the flange being on the wheels of the wagon. Curr's new design involved flanges on the rails which guided the vehicles, the wheels of which were unflanged and could run on any hard surface. He appears to have left no precise record of the date that he did this, and surviving records have been interpreted as implying various dates between 1776 and 1787. In 1787 John Buddle paid tribute to the efficiency of the rails of Curr's type, which were first used for surface transport by Joseph Butler in 1788 at his iron furnace at Wingerworth near Chesterfield: their use was then promoted widely by Benjamin Outram, and they were adopted in many other English mines. They proved serviceable until the advent of locomotives demanded different rails.In 1788 Curr also developed a system for drawing a full corve up a mine shaft while lowering an empty one, with guides to separate them. At the surface the corves were automatically emptied by tipplers. Four years later he was awarded a patent for using double ropes for lifting heavier loads. As the weight of the rope itself became a considerable problem with the increasing depth of the shafts, Curr invented the flat hemp rope, patented in 1798, which consisted of several small round ropes stitched together and lapped upon itself in winding. It acted as a counterbalance and led to a reduction in the time and cost of hoisting: at the beginning of a run the loaded rope began to coil upon a small diameter, gradually increasing, while the unloaded rope began to coil off a large diameter, gradually decreasing.Curr's book The Coal Viewer (1797) is the earliest-known engineering work on railway track and it also contains the most elaborate description of a Newcomen pumping engine, at the highest state of its development. He became an acknowledged expert on construction of Newcomen-type atmospheric engines, and in 1792 he established a foundry to make parts for railways and engines.Because of the poor financial results of the Duke of Norfolk's collieries at the end of the century, Curr was dismissed in 1801 despite numerous inventions and improvements which he had introduced. After his dismissal, six more of his patents were concerned with rope-making: the one he gained in 1813 referred to the application of flat ropes to horse-gins and perpendicular drum-shafts of steam engines. Curr also introduced the use of inclined planes, where a descending train of full corves pulled up an empty one, and he was one of the pioneers employing fixed steam engines for hauling. He may have resided in France for some time before his death.[br]Bibliography1788. British patent no. 1,660 (guides in mine shafts).1789. An Account of tin Improved Method of Drawing Coals and Extracting Ores, etc., from Mines, Newcastle upon Tyne.1797. The Coal Viewer and Engine Builder's Practical Companion; reprinted with five plates and an introduction by Charles E.Lee, 1970, London: Frank Cass, and New York: Augustus M.Kelley.1798. British patent no. 2,270 (flat hemp ropes).Further ReadingF.Bland, 1930–1, "John Curr, originator of iron tram roads", Transactions of the Newcomen Society 11:121–30.R.A.Mott, 1969, Tramroads of the eighteenth century and their originator: John Curr', Transactions of the Newcomen Society 42:1–23 (includes corrections to Fred Bland's earlier paper).Charles E.Lee, 1970, introduction to John Curr, The Coal Viewer and Engine Builder's Practical Companion, London: Frank Cass, pp. 1–4; orig. pub. 1797, Sheffield (contains the most comprehensive biographical information).R.Galloway, 1898, Annals of Coalmining, Vol. I, London; reprinted 1971, London (provides a detailed account of Curr's technological alterations).WK / PJGR -
9 Kay (of Bury), John
SUBJECT AREA: Textiles[br]b. 16 July 1704 Walmersley, near Bury, Lancashire, Englandd. 1779 France[br]English inventor of the flying shuttle.[br]John Kay was the youngest of five sons of a yeoman farmer of Walmersley, near Bury, Lancashire, who died before his birth. John was apprenticed to a reedmaker, and just before he was 21 he married a daughter of John Hall of Bury and carried on his trade in that town until 1733. It is possible that his first patent, taken out in 1730, was connected with this business because it was for an engine that made mohair thread for tailors and twisted and dressed thread; such thread could have been used to bind up the reeds used in looms. He also improved the reeds by making them from metal instead of cane strips so they lasted much longer and could be made to be much finer. His next patent in 1733, was a double one. One part of it was for a batting machine to remove dust from wool by beating it with sticks, but the patent is better known for its description of the flying shuttle. Kay placed boxes to receive the shuttle at either end of the reed or sley. Across the open top of these boxes was a metal rod along which a picking peg could slide and drive the shuttle out across the loom. The pegs at each end were connected by strings to a stick that was held in the right hand of the weaver and which jerked the shuttle out of the box. The shuttle had wheels to make it "fly" across the warp more easily, and ran on a shuttle race to support and guide it. Not only was weaving speeded up, but the weaver could produce broader cloth without any aid from a second person. This invention was later adapted for the power loom. Kay moved to Colchester and entered into partnership with a baymaker named Solomon Smith and a year later was joined by William Carter of Ballingdon, Essex. His shuttle was received with considerable hostility in both Lancashire and Essex, but it was probably more his charge of 15 shillings a year for its use that roused the antagonism. From 1737 he was much involved with lawsuits to try and protect his patent, particularly the part that specified the method of winding the thread onto a fixed bobbin in the shuttle. In 1738 Kay patented a windmill for working pumps and an improved chain pump, but neither of these seems to have been successful. In 1745, with Joseph Stell of Keighley, he patented a narrow fabric loom that could be worked by power; this type may have been employed by Gartside in Manchester soon afterwards. It was probably through failure to protect his patent rights that Kay moved to France, where he arrived penniless in 1747. He went to the Dutch firm of Daniel Scalongne, woollen manufacturers, in Abbeville. The company helped him to apply for a French patent for his shuttle, but Kay wanted the exorbitant sum of £10,000. There was much discussion and eventually Kay set up a workshop in Paris, where he received a pension of 2,500 livres. However, he was to face the same problems as in England with weavers copying his shuttle without permission. In 1754 he produced two machines for making card clothing: one pierced holes in the leather, while the other cut and sharpened the wires. These were later improved by his son, Robert Kay. Kay returned to England briefly, but was back in France in 1758. He was involved with machines to card both cotton and wool and tried again to obtain support from the French Government. He was still involved with developing textile machines in 1779, when he was 75, but he must have died soon afterwards. As an inventor Kay was a genius of the first rank, but he was vain, obstinate and suspicious and was destitute of business qualities.[br]Bibliography1730, British patent no. 515 (machine for making mohair thread). 1733, British patent no. 542 (batting machine and flying shuttle). 1738, British patent no. 561 (pump windmill and chain pump). 1745, with Joseph Stell, British patent no. 612 (power loom).Further ReadingB.Woodcroft, 1863, Brief Biographies of Inventors or Machines for the Manufacture of Textile Fabrics, London.J.Lord, 1903, Memoir of John Kay, (a more accurate account).Descriptions of his inventions may be found in A.Barlow, 1878, The History and Principles of Weaving by Hand and by Power, London; R.L. Hills, 1970, Power in theIndustrial Revolution, Manchester; and C.Singer (ed.), 1957, A History ofTechnology, Vol. III, Oxford: Clarendon Press. The most important record, however, is in A.P.Wadsworth and J. de L. Mann, 1931, The Cotton Trade and IndustrialLancashire, Manchester.RLH -
10 Roebuck, John
SUBJECT AREA: Chemical technology[br]b. 1718 Sheffield, Englandd. 17 July 1794[br]English chemist and manufacturer, inventor of the lead-chamber process for sulphuric acid.[br]The son of a prosperous Sheffield manufacturer, Roebuck forsook the family business to pursue studies in medicine at Edinburgh University. There he met Dr Joseph Black (1727–99), celebrated Professor of Chemistry, who aroused in Roebuck a lasting interest in chemistry. Roebuck continued his studies at Leyden, where he took his medical degree in 1742. He set up in practice in Birmingham, but in his spare time he continued chemical experiments that might help local industries.Among his early achievements was his new method of refining gold and silver. Success led to the setting up of a large laboratory and a reputation as a chemical consultant. It was at this time that Roebuck devised an improved way of making sulphuric acid. This vital substance was then made by burning sulphur and nitre (potassium nitrate) over water in a glass globe. The scale of the process was limited by the fragility of the glass. Roebuck substituted "lead chambers", or vessels consisting of sheets of lead, a metal both cheap and resistant to acids, set in wooden frames. After the first plant was set up in 1746, productivity rose and the price of sulphuric acid fell sharply. Success encouraged Roebuck to establish a second, larger plant at Prestonpans, near Edinburgh. He preferred to rely on secrecy rather than patents to preserve his monopoly, but a departing employee took the secret with him and the process spread rapidly in England and on the European continent. It remained the standard process until it was superseded by the contact process towards the end of the nineteenth century. Roebuck next turned his attention to ironmaking and finally selected a site on the Carron river, near Falkirk in Scotland, where the raw materials and water power and transport lay close at hand. The Carron ironworks began producing iron in 1760 and became one of the great names in the history of ironmaking. Roebuck was an early proponent of the smelting of iron with coke, pioneered by Abraham Darby at Coalbrookdale. To supply the stronger blast required, Roebuck consulted John Smeaton, who c. 1760 installed the first blowing cylinders of any size.All had so far gone well for Roebuck, but he now leased coal-mines and salt-works from the Duke of Hamilton's lands at Borrowstonness in Linlithgow. The coal workings were plagued with flooding which the existing Newcomen engines were unable to overcome. Through his friendship with Joseph Black, patron of James Watt, Roebuck persuaded Watt to join him to apply his improved steam-engine to the flooded mine. He took over Black's loan to Watt of £1,200, helped him to obtain the first steam-engine patent of 1769 and took a two-thirds interest in the project. However, the new engine was not yet equal to the task and the debts mounted. To satisfy his creditors, Roebuck had to dispose of his capital in his various ventures. One creditor was Matthew Boulton, who accepted Roebuck's two-thirds share in Watt's steam-engine, rather than claim payment from his depleted estate, thus initiating a famous partnership. Roebuck was retained to manage Borrowstonness and allowed an annuity for his continued support until his death in 1794.[br]Further ReadingMemoir of John Roebuck in J.Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. 4 (1798), pp. 65–87.S.Gregory, 1987, "John Roebuck, 18th century entrepreneur", Chem. Engr. 443:28–31.LRD -
11 Titt, John Wallis
[br]b. 1841 Cheriton, Wiltshire, Englandd. May 1910 Warminster, Wiltshire, England[br]English agricultural engineer and millwright who developed a particular form of wind engine.[br]John Wallis Titt grew up on a farm which had a working post-mill, but at 24 years of age he joined the firm of Wallis, Haslam \& Stevens, agricultural engineers and steam engine builders in Basingstoke. From there he went to the millwrighting firm of Brown \& May of Devizes, where he worked for five years.In 1872 he founded his own firm in Warminster, where his principal work as an agricultural engineer was on hay and straw elevators. In 1876 he moved his firm to the Woodcock Ironworks, also in Warminster. There he carried on his work as an agricultural engineer, but he also had an iron foundry. By 1884 the firm was installing water pumps on estates around Warminster, and it was about that time that he built his first wind engines. Between 1884 and 1903, when illness forced his retirement, his wind engines were built primarily with adjustable sails. These wind engines, under the trade marks "Woodcock" and "Simplex", consisted of a lattice tower with the sails mounted on a a ring at the top. The sails were turned to face the wind by means of a fantail geared to the ring or by a wooden vane. The important feature lay in the sails, which were made of canvas on a wood-and-iron frame mounted in a ring. The ends of the sail frames were hinged to the sail circumferences. In the middle of the sail a circular strap was attached so that all the frames had the same aspect for a given setting of the bar. The importance lies in the adjustable sails, which gave the wind engine the ability to work in variable winds.Whilst this was not an original patent of John Wallis Titt, he is known to be the only maker of wind engines in Britain who built his business on this highly efficient form of sail. In design terms it derives from the annular sails of the conventional windmills at Haverhill in Suffolk and Roxwell in Essex. After his retirement, his sons reverted to the production of the fixed-bladed galvanized-iron wind engine.[br]Further ReadingJ.K.Major, 1977, The Windmills of John Wallis Titt, The International Molinological Society.E.Lancaster Burne, 1906, "Wind power", Cassier' Magazine 30:325–6.KM -
12 Metcalf, John
[br]b. 1717 Knaresborough, Yorkshire, England d. 1810[br]English pioneer road builder.[br]The son of poor working parents, at the age of 6 an attack of smallpox left him blind; however, this did not restrict his future activities, which included swimming and riding. He learned the violin and was much employed as the fiddle-player at country parties. He saved enough money to buy a horse on which he hunted. He took part in bowls, wrestling and boxing, being a robust six foot two inches tall. He rode to Whitby and went thence by boat to London and made other trips to York, Reading and Windsor. In 1740 Colonel Liddell offered him a seat in his coach from London to Harrogate, but he declined and got there more quickly on foot. He set up a one-horse chaise and a four-wheeler for hire in Harrogate, but the local innkeepers set up in competition in the public hire business. He went into the fish business, buying at the coast and selling in Leeds and other towns, but made little profit so he took up his violin again. During the rebellion of 1745 he recruited for Colonel Thornton and served to fight at Hexham, Newcastle and Falkirk, returning home after the Battle of Culloden. He then started travelling between Yorkshire, where be bought cotton and worsted stockings, and Aberdeen, where he sold horses. He set up a twice-weekly service of stage wagons between Knaresborough and York.In 1765 an Act was passed for a turnpike road between Harrogate and Boroughbridge and he offered to build the Master Surveyor, a Mr Ostler, three miles (5 km) of road between Minskip and Fearnly, selling his wagons and his interest in the carrying business. The road was built satisfactorily and on time. He then quoted for a bridge at Boroughbridge and for a turnpike road between Knaresborough and Harrogate. He built many other roads, always doing the survey of the route on his own. The roads crossed bogs on a base of ling and furze. Many of his roads outside Yorkshire were in Lancashire, Cheshire and Derbyshire. In all he built some 180 miles (290 km) of road, for which he was paid some £65,000.He worked for thirty years on road building, retiring in old age to a cotton business in Stockport where he had six spinning jennies and a carding engine; however, he found there was little profit in this so he gave the machinery to his son-in-law. The last road he built was from Haslington to Accrington, but due to the rise in labour costs brought about by the demand from the canal boom, he only made £40 profit on a £3,000 contract; the road was completed in 1792, when he retired to his farm at Spofforth at the age of 75. There he died, leaving a wife, four children, twenty grandchildren and ninety greatgrandchildren. His wife was the daughter of the landlord of the Granby Inn, Knaresborough.[br]Further ReadingS.Smiles, Lives of the Engineers, Metcalfe, Telford: John Murray.IMcN -
13 Abel, John Jacob
SUBJECT AREA: Medical technology[br]b. 19 May 1857 near Cleveland, Ohio, USAd. 26 May 1938 Baltimore, Maryland, USA[br]American pharmacologist and physiologist, proponent of the "artificial kidney" and the isolator of pure insulin.[br]Born of German immigrant farming stock, his early scientific education at the University of Michigan, where he graduated PhB in 1883, suffered from a financially dictated interregnum of three years. In 1884 he moved to Leipzig and worked under Ludwig, moving to Strasbourg where he obtained his MD in 1888. In 1891 he was able to return to the University of Michigan as Lecturer in Materia Medica and Therapeutics, and in 1893 he was offered the first Chair of Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University, a position he occupied until 1932. He was a pioneer in emphasizing the importance of chemistry, in its widest sense, in medicine and physiology. In his view, "the investigator must associate himself with those who have laboured in fields where molecules and atoms rather than multi-cellular tissues or even unicellular organisms are the units of study".Soon after coming to Baltimore he commenced work on extracts from the adrenal medulla and in 1899 published his work on epinephrine. In later years he developed an "artificial kidney" which could be used to remove diffusible substances from the blood. In 1913 he was able to demonstrate the existence of free amino-acids in the blood and his investigations in this field foreshadowed not only the developments of blood and plasma transfusion but also the possibility of the management of renal failure.From 1917 to 1924 he moved to a study of the hormone content of pituitary extracts, but in 1924 he suddenly transferred his attention to the study of insulin. In 1925 he announced the discovery of pure crystalline hormone. This work at first failed to gain full acceptance, but as late as 1955 the full elucidation of the protein structure of insulin proved the final culmination of his studies.Abel's dedication to laboratory research and his disdain for matters of administration may explain the relative paucity of worldy honours awarded to such an outstanding figure.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsFRS.Bibliography1913, "On the removal of diffusible substances from the circulating blood by means of dialysis", Transactions of the Association of American Physiologists.Further Reading1939, Obituary Notices, Fellows of the Royal Society, London: Royal Society.1946, Biographical Memoir: John Jacob Abel. 1857–1938, Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences.MG -
14 Lombe, John
SUBJECT AREA: Textiles[br]b. c. 1693 probably Norwich, Englandd. 20 November 1722 Derby, England[br]English creator of the first successful powered textile mill in Britain.[br]John Lombe's father, Henry Lombe, was a worsted weaver who married twice. John was the second son of the second marriage and was still a baby when his father died in 1695. John, a native of the Eastern Counties, was apprenticed to a trade and employed by Thomas Cotchett in the erection of Cotchett's silk mill at Derby, which soon failed however. Lombe went to Italy, or was sent there by his elder half-brother, Thomas, to discover the secrets of their throwing machinery while employed in a silk mill in Piedmont. He returned to England in 1716 or 1717, bringing with him two expert Italian workmen.Thomas Lombe was a prosperous London merchant who financed the construction of a new water-powered silk mill at Derby which is said to have cost over £30,000. John arranged with the town Corporation for the lease of the island in the River Derwent, where Cotchett had erected his mill. During the four years of its construction, John first set up the throwing machines in other parts of the town. The machines were driven manually there, and their product helped to defray the costs of the mill. The silk-throwing machine was very complex. The water wheel powered a horizontal shaft that was under the floor and on which were placed gearwheels to drive vertical shafts upwards through the different floors. The throwing machines were circular, with the vertical shafts running through the middle. The doubled silk threads had previously been wound on bobbins which were placed on spindles with wire flyers at intervals around the outer circumference of the machine. The bobbins were free to rotate on the spindles while the spindles and flyers were driven by the periphery of a horizontal wheel fixed to the vertical shaft. Another horizontal wheel set a little above the first turned the starwheels, to which were attached reels for winding the silk off the bobbins below. Three or four sets of these spindles and reels were placed above each other on the same driving shaft. The machine was very complicated for the time and must have been expensive to build and maintain.John lived just long enough to see the mill in operation, for he died in 1722 after a painful illness said to have been the result of poison administered by an Italian woman in revenge for his having stolen the invention and for the injury he was causing the Italian trade. The funeral was said to have been the most superb ever known in Derby.[br]Further ReadingSamuel Smiles, 1890, Men of Invention and Industry, London (probably the only biography of John Lombe).Rhys Jenkins, 1933–4, "Historical notes on some Derbyshire industries", Transactions of the Newcomen Society 14 (provides an acount of John Lombe and his part in the enterprise at Derby).R.L.Hills, 1970, Power in the Industrial Revolution, Manchester (briefly covers the development of early silk-throwing mills).W.English, 1969, The Textile Industry, London (includes a chapter on "Lombe's Silk Machine").P.Barlow, 1836, Treatise of Manufactures and Machinery of Great Britain, London (describes Lombe's mill and machinery, but it is not known how accurate the account may be).RLH -
15 McAdam, John Loudon
[br]b. 21 September 1756 Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotlandd. 26 November 1836 Moffat, Dumfriesshire, Scotland[br]Scottish road builder, inventor of the macadam road surface.[br]McAdam was the son of one of the founder of the first bank in Ayr. As an infant, he nearly died in a fire which destroyed the family's house of Laywyne, in Carsphairn parish; the family then moved to Blairquhan, near Straiton. Thence he went to the parish school in Maybole, where he is said to have made a model section of a local road. In 1770, when his father died, he was sent to America where he was brought up by an uncle who was a merchant in New York. He stayed in America until the close of the revolution, becoming an agent for the sale of prizes and managing to amass a considerable fortune. He returned to Scotland where he settled at Sauchrie in Ayrshire. There he was a magistrate, Deputy-Lieutenant of the county and a road trustee, spending thirteen years there. In 1798 he moved to Falmouth in Devon, England, on his appointment as agent for revictualling of the Royal Navy in western ports.He continued the series of experiments started in Ayrshire on the construction of roads. From these he concluded that a road should be built on a raised foundation with drains formed on either side, and should be composed of a number of layers of hard stone broken into angular fragments of roughly cubical shape; the bottom layer would be larger rocks, with layers of progressively smaller rocks above, all bound together with fine gravel. This would become compacted and almost impermeable to water by the action of the traffic passing over it. In 1815 he was appointed Surveyor-General of Bristol's roads and put his theories to the test.In 1823 a Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to consider the use of "macadamized" roads in larger towns; McAdam gave evidence to this committee, and it voted to give him £10,000 for his past work. In 1827 he was appointed Surveyor-General of Roads and moved to Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. From there he made yearly visits to Scotland and it was while returning from one of these that he died, at Moffat in the Scottish Borders. He had married twice, both times to American women; his first wife was the mother of all seven of his children.McAdam's method of road construction was much cheaper than that of Thomas Telford, and did much to ease travel and communications; it was therefore adopted by the majority of Turnpike Trusts in Britain, and the macadamization process quickly spread to other countries.[br]Bibliography1819. A Practical Essay on the Scientific Repair and Preservation of Roads.1820. Present State of Road-Making.Further ReadingR.Devereux, 1936, John Loudon McAdam: A Chapter from the History of Highways, London: Oxford University Press.IMcN -
16 Coster, John
[br]b. c. 1647 Gloucestershire, Englandd. 13 October 1718 Bristol, England[br]English innovator in the mining, smelting and working of copper.[br]John Coster, son of an iron-forge manager in the Forest of Dean, by the age of 38 was at Bristol, where he was "chief agent and sharer therein" in the new lead-smelting methods using coal fuel. In 1685 the work, under Sir Clement Clerke, was abandoned because of patent rights claimed by Lord Grandison, who financed of earlier attempts. Clerke's business turned to the coal-fired smelting of copper under Coster, later acknowledged as responsible for the subsequent success through using an improved reverberatory furnace which separated coal fume from the ores being smelted. The new technique, applicable also to lead and tin smelting, revitalized copper production and provided a basis for new British industry in both copper and brass manufacture during the following century. Coster went on to manage a copper-smelting works, and by the 1690s was supplying Esher copper-and brass-works in Surrey from his Redbrook, Gloucestershire, works on the River Wye. In the next decade he extended his activities to Cornish copper mining, buying ore and organizing ore sales, and supplying the four major copper and brass companies which by then had become established. He also made copper goods in additional water-powered rolling and hammer mills acquired in the Bristol area. Coster was ably assisted by three sons; of these, John and Robert were mainly active in Cornwall. In 1714 the younger John, with his father, patented an "engine for drawing water out of deep mines". The eldest son, Thomas, was more involved at Redbrook, in South Wales and the Bristol area. A few years after the death of his father, Thomas became partner in the brass company of Bristol and sold them the Redbrook site. He became Member of Parliament for Bristol and, by then the only surviving son, planned a large new smelting works at White Rock, Swansea, South Wales, before his death in 1734. Partners outside the family continued the business under a new name.[br]Bibliography1714, British patent 397, with John Coster Jr.Further ReadingRhys Jenkins, 1942, "Copper works at Redbrook and Bristol", Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 63.Joan Day, 1974–6, "The Costers: copper smelters and manufacturers", Transactions of the Newcomen Society 47:47–58.JD -
17 Laird, John
SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping[br]b. 1805 (?) Greenock, Scotlandd. 26 October 1874 Birkenhead, England[br]Scottish pioneer of large-scale iron shipbuilding.[br]When only 5 years old, Laird travelled with his family to Merseyside, where his father William Laird was setting up a ship-repair yard. Fourteen years later his father established the Birkenhead Ironworks for ship and engine repairs, which in later years was to achieve great things with John Laird at the helm. John Laird trained as a solicitor, but instead of going into practice he joined the family business. Between 1829 and 1832 they built three iron barges for inland use in Ireland; this form of construction had become less of a novelty and followed the example set by Thomas Wilson in 1819, but Laird was fired with enthusiasm for this mode of construction. New iron ships followed in rapid succession, with two of especial note: the paddle steamer Lady Lansdown of 1833, which was dismantled and later re-erected on the river Shannon, becoming one of Britain's first "knock-down" contracts; and the early steamer Robert F.Stockton, which had a double Ericsson screw propeller and the first iron transverse watertight bulkheads. With the good name of the shipyard secure, they received orders from MacGregor Laird (John Laird's younger brother) for iron ships for the West African trade. This African connection was to grow and the yard's products were to include the Ma Roberts for Dr David Livingstone. Being of steel and with constant groundings on African rivers, this craft only lasted 18 months in steady operation. In 1858 a new yard dedicated to iron construction was opened at Monk's Ferry. In 1861 John Laird was returned as the first Member of Parliament for Birkenhead and his sons took over the day-to-day affairs of the business. Laird was to suffer acute embarrassment by questions at Westminster over the building in the Birkenhead Works of the United States Confederate raider Alabama in 1862. In 1874 he suffered serious injuries in a riding accident; his health declined and he died later that year.[br]Bibliography1858, with Fairbairn, Forrester, Lang and Sea-ward, Steam Navigation, Vessels of Iron and Wood, the Steam Engine, etc. 2 vols, London: Weale.FMW -
18 Stringfellow, John
SUBJECT AREA: Aerospace[br]b. 6 December 1799 Sheffield, Englandd. 13 December 1883 Chard, England[br]English inventor and builder of a series of experimental model aeroplanes.[br]After serving an apprenticeship in the lace industry, Stringfellow left Nottingham in about 1820 and moved to Chard in Somerset, where he set up his own business. He had wide interests such as photography, politics, and the use of electricity for medical treatment. Stringfellow met William Samuel Henson, who also lived in Chard and was involved in lacemaking, and became interested in his "aerial steam carriage" of 1842–3. When support for this project foundered, Henson and Stringfellow drew up an agreement "Whereas it is intended to construct a model of an Aerial Machine". They built a large model with a wing span of 20 ft (6 m) and powered by a steam engine, which was probably the work of Stringfellow. The model was tested on a hillside near Chard, often at night to avoid publicity, but despite many attempts it never made a successful flight. At this point Henson emigrated to the United States. From 1848 Stringfellow continued to experiment with models of his own design, starting with one with a wing span of 10 ft (3m). He decided to test it in a disused lace factory, rather than in the open air. Stringfellow fitted a horizontal wire which supported the model as it gained speed prior to free flight. Unfortunately, neither this nor later models made a sustained flight, despite Stringfellow's efficient lightweight steam engine. For many years Stringfellow abandoned his aeronautical experiments, then in 1866 when the (Royal) Aeronautical Society was founded, his interest was revived. He built a steam-powered triplane, which was demonstrated "flying" along a wire at the world's first Aeronautical Exhibition, held at Crystal Palace, London, in 1868. Stringfellow also received a cash prize for one of his engines, which was the lightest practical power unit at the Exhibition. Although Stringfellow's models never achieved a really successful flight, his designs showed the way for others to follow. Several of his models are preserved in the Science Museum in London.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsMember of the (Royal) Aeronautical Society 1868.BibliographyMany of Stringfellow's letters and papers are held by the Royal Aeronautical Society, London.Further ReadingHarald Penrose, 1988, An Ancient Air: A Biography of John Stringfellow, Shrewsbury. A.M.Balantyne and J.Laurence Pritchard, 1956, "The lives and work of William Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow", Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society (June) (an attempt to analyse conflicting evidence).M.J.B.Davy, 1931, Henson and Stringfellow, London (an earlier work with excellent drawings from Henson's patent)."The aeronautical work of John Stringfellow, with some account of W.S.Henson", Aeronau-tical Classics No. 5 (written by John Stringfellow's son and held by the Royal Aeronautical Society in London).JDS -
19 Dyer, John
SUBJECT AREA: Textiles[br]fl. c.1833 England[br]English inventor of an improved milling machine for woollen cloth.[br]After being woven, woollen cloth needed to be cleaned and compacted to thicken it and take out the signs of weaving. The traditional way of doing this was to place the length of cloth in fulling stocks, where hammers pounded it in a solution of fuller's earth, but in 1833 John Dyer, a Trowbridge engineer, took out a patent for the first alternative way with real possibilities. He sold the patent the following year but must have reserved the right to make his machine himself, incorporating various additions and improvements into it, because many of the machines used in Trowbridge after 1850 came from him. Milling machines were often used in conjunction with fulling stocks. The cloth was made up into a continuous length and milled by rollers forcing it through a hole or spout, from where it dropped into the fulling liquid to be soaked before being pulled out and pushed through the hole again. Dyer had three pairs of rollers, with one pair set at right angles to the others so that the cloth was squeezed in two directions. These machines do not seem to have come into general use until the 1850s. His machine closely resembled those still in use.[br]Bibliography1833, British patent no. 6,460 (milling machine).Further ReadingJ.de L.Mann, 1971, The Cloth Industry in the West of England from 1660 to 1880, Oxford (provides a brief account of the introduction of the milling machine).K.G.Ponting, 1971, The Woollen Industry of South-West England, Bath (a general account of the textile industry in the West Country).RLH -
20 Kay (of Warrington), John
SUBJECT AREA: Textiles[br]fl. c.1770 England[br]English clockmaker who helped Richard Arkwright to construct his spinning machine.[br]John Kay was a clockmaker of Warrington. He moved to Leigh, where he helped Thomas Highs to construct his spinning machine, but lack of success made them abandon their attempts. Kay first met Richard Arkwright in March 1767 and six months later was persuaded by Arkwright to make one or more models of the roller spinning machine he had built under Highs's supervision. Kay went with Arkwright to Preston, where they continued working on the machine. Kay also went with Arkwright when he moved to Nottingham. It was around this time that he entered into an agreement with Arkwright to serve him for twenty-one years and was bound not to disclose any details of the machines. Presumably Kay helped to set up the first spinning machines at Arkwright's Nottingham mill as well as at Cromford. Despite their agreement, he seems to have left after about five years and may have disclosed the secret of Arkwright's crank and comb on the carding engine to others. Kay was later to give evidence against Arkwright during the trial of his patent in 1785.[br]Further ReadingR.S.Fitton, 1989, The Arkwrights, Spinners of Fortune, Manchester (the most detailed account of Kay's connections with Arkwright and his evidence during the later patent trials).A.P.Wadsworth and J. de L.Mann, 1931, The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire, Manchester (mentions Kay's association with Arkwright).RLHBiographical history of technology > Kay (of Warrington), John
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