quickly+built

Grammatical information: v.

Meaning: `appear, seem' (Il., Att.)

Other forms: only present-stem except ἰνδάλθην (Lyc., Max.)

Derivatives: ἰνδαλμός `appearance, mental image' (Hp.), ἴνδαλμα `id.' (LXX),

Origin: PG [a word of Pre-Greek origin]X [probably]

Etymology: Formed like ἀγάλλομαι (Schwyzer 725) and so perh. from a noun *ἴνδαλον v. t. or built after such a noun. "letzten Endes zu ἰδεῖν, εἶδος (s. vv.)" [Frisk]; on the λ-stem cf. εἴδωλον, on the digamma Chantraine Gramm. hom. 1, 142. The nasal comes from a present, that is found "in anderer Bedeutung" (Frisk) in Skt. vindáti `find' and in several Celtic forms, e. g. OIr. ro-finnadar `finds out'; also in Celtic nouns e. g. OIr. find, Welsh Vindo-(magus, - bona) `white', Celt. *u̯indo-, the nasal taken from the present. On ἰνδαλμός cf. esp. σχινδαλμός (s.v.). - The conclusion is drawn too quickly. For the meaning one might as well compare εἰκ- `seem' (which is impossible for the κ). The formation with - αλ- (- αλμος) is non-IE; for σχινδαλμός and ὀφθαλμός this is evident from their variants ( σχ-\/ σκ-, - ινδ-\/ιδ, - αλ(α)μος) s.vv. As the examples εἴδωλον, εἴκελος show, IE forms have - ελ-, - ωλ-, not - αλ-. Therefore the word is rather Pre-Greek. The agreement in form and meaning is just like that in ὀφθαλμός; some such cases are only to be expected.

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Grammatical information: n.

Meaning: `fit of anger, attack, rage', of a lion and an eagls (Il.), of a snake (Q. S.).

Derivatives: Aor. οἰμῆσαι `to ṗlunge, to dash forth, said of birds of prey and of people compared to birds of prey' (Χ 140, 308, 311, ω 538), fut. οἰμήσουσι (Orac. ap. Hdt. 1, 62; of θύννοι), with οἴμημα ὅρμημα H. A supposed but unattested pres. *οἰμάω seems, like the ο-vowel, to presuppose a noun *οἶμος or *οἴμη (beside orig. *εἶμα n.), cf. Bechtel Lex. s. v. w. lit. and Porzig Satzinhalte 281; after Sütterlin Denom. 8, 29 (s. also Schwyzer 725 n. 9) and Shipp Studies 77 however irregularly built from οἶμα.

Origin: IE [Indo-European] [299] * h₃eis- `move quickly' (h₃ uncertain).

Etymology: Prob. with Bezzenberger BB 4, 334, Sommer Lautst. 35 from *οἶσμα to Av. aēšma- m. `anger' (would be Gr. *οἶ[σ]μος; cf. above), which is put as primary noun to an Indo-Ir. verb `put in quick movement, urge forward' (e.g. pres. Skt. íṣ-yati, Av. iš-yeiti; cf. on ἰαίνω); here then, a.o., also Lat. īra `anger'. Cf. ὀϊστός, οἶστρος. -- WP.1, 106f., Pok. 299f., W.-Hofmann s. īra; everywhere w. further forms a. rich lit. On Illyr. names connected Krahe Beitr. z. Namenforsch. 4, 118ff.

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last¹ [lɑ:st]

1 adjective

(a) (with dates, times of day) dernier;

∎ last Monday lundi dernier;

∎ last week/year la semaine/l'année dernière;

∎ last July en juillet dernier, l'année dernière au mois de juillet;

∎ last night (at night) cette nuit, la nuit dernière; (in the evening) hier soir

(b) (final) dernier;

∎ the last train le dernier train;

∎ the last guest to arrive le dernier des invités à arriver;

∎ the last syllable but one l'avant-dernière syllabe;

∎ that was the last time I saw him c'était la dernière fois que je le voyais;

∎ that's the last time I do HIM a favour c'est la dernière fois que je lui rends service;

∎ it's your last chance c'est votre dernière chance;

∎ at the last minute or moment à la dernière minute, au dernier moment;

∎ it's our last day here c'est notre dernière journée ici;

∎ I'm down to my last cigarette il ne me reste plus qu'une seule cigarette;

∎ they were down to their last few bullets il ne leur restait pratiquement plus de munitions;

∎ one of the last few survivors un des tout derniers survivants;

∎ the last two pages les deux dernières pages;

∎ I'll sack every last one of them! je vais tous les virer!;

∎ every last scrap of bread had been eaten on avait mangé jusqu'à la dernière miette;

∎ she used up every last ounce of energy elle a utilisé tout ce qui lui restait d'énergie;

∎ to the last detail dans les moindres détails;

∎ American the movie was her last hurrah c'est avec ce film qu'elle a fait ses adieux au cinéma;

∎ the concert was her last hurrah c'est avec ce concert qu'elle a fait ses adieux au public;

∎ they were prepared to fight to the last man ils étaient prêts à se battre jusqu'au dernier;

∎ she was on her last legs elle était au bout du rouleau;

∎ your car is on its last legs votre voiture ne va pas tarder à vous lâcher;

∎ the regime is on its last legs le régime vit ses derniers jours ou est au bord de l'effondrement;

∎ I'll get my money back if it's the last thing I do je récupérerai mon argent coûte que coûte;

∎ I always clean my teeth last thing at night je me brosse toujours les dents juste avant de me coucher;

∎ we finished the work last thing on Tuesday afternoon on a terminé le travail juste avant de partir mardi après-midi

(c) (most recent) dernier;

∎ you said that last time c'est ce que tu as dit la dernière fois;

∎ this time last year we were in New York l'année dernière à cette époque nous étions à New York;

∎ I've been here for the last five years je suis ici depuis cinq ans, cela fait cinq ans que je suis ici;

∎ I haven't been to church for the last few weeks je ne suis pas allé à l'église ces dernières semaines;

∎ I didn't like her last film je n'ai pas aimé son dernier film

(d) (least likely)

∎ he's the last person I expected to see c'est bien la dernière personne que je m'attendais à voir;

∎ he's the last person I'd ask to help me c'est (bien) la dernière personne à qui je demanderais de l'aide;

∎ that's the last thing that's worrying me ça c'est le cadet de mes soucis;

∎ that's the last place I'd have looked c'est bien le dernier endroit où j'aurais cherché;

∎ that's the last thing I wanted je n'avais vraiment pas besoin de ça;

∎ you're the last one to criticize tu es vraiment mal placé pour critiquer

2 adverb

(a) (finally)

∎ she arrived last elle est arrivée la dernière ou en dernier;

∎ she came or finished last (in race) elle est arrivée dernière;

∎ and last but not least… et en dernier, mais non par ordre d'importance,…;

∎ last but not least on the list we have M. Livingstone et enfin sur la liste, je ne voudrais pas oublier M. Livingstone

(b) (most recently)

∎ when did you last see him? quand l'avez-vous vu la dernière fois?;

∎ they last came to see us in 1989 leur dernière visite remonte à 1989;

∎ I can't remember when I last ate je ne sais plus quand j'ai pris mon dernier repas;

∎ Commerce & Finance last in, first out dernier entré, premier sorti

(c) (lastly) enfin, en dernier lieu;

∎ last, I would like to say… et pour finir, je voudrais dire…

3 noun

(a) (final one) dernier(ère) m,f;

∎ am I the last? (to arrive) suis-je le dernier?;

∎ the last in the class le dernier de la classe;

∎ she was the last to arrive elle est arrivée la dernière;

∎ the last of the Romanovs le dernier des Romanov;

∎ the next to last, the last but one l'avant-dernier;

∎ Bible the last shall be first les derniers seront les premiers

(b) (previous one)

∎ each more handsome than the last tous plus beaux les uns que les autres;

∎ the day before last avant-hier;

∎ the night before last (at night) la nuit d'avant-hier; (in the evening) avant-hier soir;

∎ the winter before last l'hiver d'il y a deux ans;

∎ the Prime Minister before last l'avant-dernier Premier ministre

(c) (end)

∎ that was the last I saw of her c'est la dernière fois que je l'ai vue, je ne l'ai pas revue depuis;

∎ I hope that's the last we see of them j'espère qu'on ne les reverra plus;

∎ I'll never see the last of this! je n'en verrai jamais la fin!, je n'en viendrai jamais à bout!;

∎ I think we've heard the last of him je pense qu'on n'en entendra plus parler;

∎ we'll never hear the last of it on n'a pas fini d'en entendre parler;

∎ you haven't heard the last of this! (as threat) vous aurez de mes nouvelles!;

∎ leave the pans till last gardez les casseroles pour la fin, lavez les casseroles en dernier;

∎ literary to look one's last on sth voir qch pour la dernière fois;

∎ literary to breathe one's last rendre le dernier soupir;

∎ literary to be near one's last (death) être proche de sa fin

(d) (remainder) reste m;

∎ we drank the last of the wine on a bu ce qui restait de vin

4 at last adverb

enfin;

∎ free at last enfin libre;

∎ at long last enfin;

∎ now at last I understand enfin, je comprends;

∎ at long last she's found a job she enjoys elle a enfin trouvé un emploi qui lui plaît;

∎ at last! where on earth have you been? (te voilà) enfin! mais où étais-tu donc?;

∎ at last he said: "do you forgive me?" enfin il demanda: "tu me pardonnes?"

5 at the last adverb

∎ formal at the last the judges came out in her favour à la dernière minute, les juges ont décidé en sa faveur;

∎ she was there at the last elle est restée jusqu'au bout

6 to the last adverb

jusqu'au bout;

∎ faithful to the last fidèle jusqu'au bout;

∎ she insisted to the last that she was not guilty elle a dit jusqu'au bout qu'elle n'était pas coupable

►► American last call = dans un bar, moment où le barman annonce que l'heure de la fermeture approche et qu'il s'apprête à servir les dernières consommations;

the Last Frontier = surnom donné à l'Alaska;

the Last Judgment le Jugement dernier;

last name nom m de famille;

Telecommunications last number redial touche f bis;

British last orders = dans un pub, moment où le barman annonce que l'heure de la fermeture approche et qu'il s'apprête à servir les dernières consommations;

British Military last post (at night) extinction f des feux; (at funeral) sonnerie f aux morts;

∎ to sound the last post (over the grave) jouer la sonnerie aux morts;

last rites derniers sacrements mpl;

the Last Supper la (sainte) Cène;

Stock Exchange last trading day dernier jour m de cotation;

last word (final decision) dernier mot m; (latest style) dernier cri m;

∎ the Treasury has the last word on defence spending le ministère des Finances a le dernier mot en matière de dépenses militaires;

∎ she was wearing the very last word in hats elle portait un chapeau du dernier cri

✾ Book ✾ Film 'Last Exit to Brooklyn' Selby, Edel 'Dernière sortie pour Brooklyn'

last² [lɑ:st]

1 intransitive verb

(a) (continue to exist or function) durer;

∎ it's too good to last c'est trop beau pour durer;

∎ if the good weather lasts si le beau temps se maintient;

∎ it lasted (for) ten days cela a duré dix jours;

∎ how long did the film last? combien de temps le film a-t-il duré?, quelle était la durée du film?;

∎ how long can we last without water? combien de temps tiendrons-nous sans eau?;

∎ the supplies will not last two months les vivres ne feront pas deux mois;

∎ he didn't last more than a year as a singer il n'a pas tenu plus d'un an dans la chanson;

∎ their romance didn't last (for) long leur idylle n'a pas duré longtemps;

∎ he won't last long (in job) il ne tiendra pas longtemps; (will soon die) il n'en a plus pour longtemps;

∎ the batteries didn't last (for) long les piles n'ont pas duré longtemps;

∎ familiar cakes never last long in this house (they get eaten quickly) les gâteaux ne durent jamais très longtemps dans cette maison;

∎ built/made to last construit/fait pour durer

(b) (be enough)

∎ we've got enough food to last another week nous avons assez à manger pour une semaine encore

(c) (keep fresh → food) se conserver;

∎ these flowers don't last (long) ces fleurs ne tiennent ou ne durent pas (longtemps)

2 transitive verb

∎ his money didn't last him to the end of the holiday il n'a pas eu assez d'argent pour tenir jusqu'à la fin des vacances;

∎ have we got enough to last us until tomorrow? en avons-nous assez pour tenir ou aller jusqu'à demain?;

∎ my camera's lasted me ten years mon appareil photo a duré dix ans;

∎ that fountain pen will last you a lifetime vous pourrez garder ce stylo à plume toute votre vie;

∎ it has lasted him well ça lui a fait de l'usage;

➲ last out

1 intransitive verb

(a) (survive) tenir;

∎ I'm not sure I'll last out at this job je ne sais pas si je pourrai faire ce travail longtemps;

∎ how long will he last out? combien de temps peut-il tenir?

(b) (be enough) suffire;

∎ will our supplies last out till the end of the month? les provisions suffiront-elles jusqu'à la fin du mois?

2 separable transitive verb

∎ he didn't last the night out il n'a pas passé la nuit, il est mort pendant la nuit;

∎ will the play last out the month? est-ce que la pièce tiendra le mois?;

∎ to last the year out (person) survivre jusqu'à la fin de l'année; (supplies) suffire pour l'année;

∎ my overcoat will last the winter out mon pardessus fera encore l'hiver;

∎ I don't know if I'll be able to last out the afternoon without any coffee je ne sais pas si j'arriverai à tenir tout l'après-midi sans café

last³

noun

(for shoes) forme f

scratch [skrætʃ]

1 noun

(a) (action → to relieve itch) grattement m; (wound → with fingernail) coup m d'ongle; (→ with claw) coup m de griffe;

∎ to have a scratch se gratter;

∎ could you give my back a scratch? tu peux me gratter le dos?;

∎ the dog was having a good scratch le chien se grattait un bon coup

(b) (wound → from thorns, nail) égratignure f, écorchure f; (→ made by claw) griffure f; (mark → on furniture) rayure f, éraflure f; (→ on glass, record) rayure f;

∎ how did you get that scratch? comment est-ce que tu t'es égratigné?;

∎ I've got a scratch on my hand je me suis égratigné la main;

∎ her hands were covered in scratches elle avait les mains tout écorchées ou couvertes d'égratignures;

∎ it's only a scratch ce n'est qu'une égratignure;

∎ we escaped without a scratch on s'en est sorti sans une égratignure

(c) Golf

∎ to play off scratch être scratch

(d) (sound → of pen on paper) grincement m

(e) American familiar (money) fric m, pognon m, flouze m

(f) (idioms)

∎ to start from scratch partir de rien ou de zéro; (restart) repartir à zéro;

∎ to build a house from scratch construire une maison de bout en bout;

∎ she built the business up from scratch elle a monté l'affaire à partir de rien;

∎ I learnt Italian from scratch in six months j'ai appris l'italien en six mois en partant de zéro;

∎ to be up to scratch être à la hauteur;

∎ her work still isn't up to scratch son travail n'est toujours pas satisfaisant ou à la hauteur;

∎ their performance wasn't up to or didn't come up to scratch leur performance n'était pas suffisante ou à la hauteur;

∎ we must get the team up to scratch before April il faut mettre l'équipe à niveau avant avril

2 adjective

(a) (team, meal) improvisé

(b) Golf (player) scratch (inv), sans handicap

3 transitive verb

(a) (rub → itch, rash) gratter;

∎ to scratch one's head se gratter la tête;

∎ figurative you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours donnant donnant

(b) (wound → of cat, person) griffer; (→ of thorn, nail) égratigner, écorcher;

∎ the cat scratched my hand le chat m'a griffé la main;

∎ she scratched her hand on the brambles elle s'est écorché ou égratigné la main dans les ronces;

∎ he was badly scratched il était tout écorché

(c) (mark → woodwork, marble) rayer, érafler; (→ glass, record) rayer;

∎ the car's hardly scratched la voiture n'a presque rien ou n'a pratiquement aucune éraflure;

∎ the paintwork's badly scratched la peinture est sérieusement éraflée;

∎ someone has scratched their initials on the tree quelqu'un a gravé ses initiales sur l'arbre;

∎ she quickly scratched a few notes on her pad elle griffonna rapidement quelques notes sur son calepin;

∎ figurative you've barely scratched the surface vous avez fait un travail très superficiel, vous avez seulement effleuré la question;

∎ figurative scratch any patriot and you will invariably find a bigot si l'on gratte un peu, on trouve un fanatique derrière chaque patriote;

∎ British figurative they scratch a living selling secondhand books ils gagnent péniblement leur vie en vendant des livres d'occasion

(d) (of bird, animal → ground) gratter

(e) (irritate) gratter;

∎ this wool scratches my skin cette laine me gratte la peau

(f) (cancel → meeting, match) annuler;

∎ (withdraw) to scratch sb off or from a list rayer ou biffer qn d'une liste;

∎ to scratch sb from a team exclure qn d'une équipe;

∎ Horseracing to scratch a horse déclarer forfait pour un cheval; (stewards) scratcher un cheval

(g) American Politics (candidate) rayer de la liste

4 intransitive verb

(a) (person, animal → to relieve itch) se gratter;

∎ stop scratching arrête de te gratter

(b) (bird → in ground) gratter;

∎ I could hear something scratching at the door j'entendais quelque chose gratter à la porte, j'entendais un grattement à la porte

(c) (cat) griffer; (brambles, nail) griffer, écorcher; (wool, new clothes) gratter

(d) (pen etc) grincer, gratter

(e) Sport (competitor) déclarer forfait

►► scratch mark (on hand) égratignure f; (on leather, furniture) rayure f, éraflure f;

American scratch paper (papier m) brouillon m;

American scratch sheet (for horse races) journal m des courses;

Medicine scratch test test m cutané;

scratch video scratch vidéo m

➲ scratch off separable transitive verb

enlever en grattant

➲ scratch out separable transitive verb

(word) raturer;

∎ to scratch sb's eyes out arracher les yeux à qn

➲ scratch together separable transitive verb

British (team) réunir (difficilement); (sum of money) réunir ou rassembler (en raclant les fonds de tiroir)

➲ scratch up separable transitive verb

(a) (dig up → bone, plant) déterrer

(b) British (money) réunir (en raclant les fonds de tiroir)

(1863–1947) Gen Mgt

U.S. industrialist. Founder of the Ford Motor Company, who organized the assembly line along the scientific management principles of Frederick Winslow Taylor and recorded his philosophy in My Life and Work (1922)

     After spending time as a machinist’s apprentice, a watch repairer, and a mechanic, Ford built his first car in 1896. He quickly became convinced of the vehicle’s commercial potential and started his own company in 1903. His first car was the Model A. After a year in business he was selling 600 a month.

     In 1907 Ford professed that his aim was to build a motor car for the masses. In 1908 his Model T was born. Through innovative use of new mass-production techniques, 15 million Model Ts were produced between 1908 and 1927.

     At that time, Ford’s factory at Highland Park, Michigan, was the biggest in the world. Over 14,000 people worked on the 57-acre site. He was quick to establish international operations as well. Ford’s first overseas sales branch was opened in France in 1908 and, in 1911, Ford began making cars in the United Kingdom.

     In 1919 Henry Ford resigned as the company’s president, letting his son, Edsel, take over. By then the Ford company was making a car a minute and Ford’s market share was in excess of 57%.

SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping

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James Caird was educated at Glasgow Academy. While the connections are difficult to unravel, it is clear he was related to the Cairds of Greenock, whose shipyard on the Clyde built countless liners for the P \& O Company, and to the Caird family who were munificent benefactors of Dundee and the Church of Scotland.

In 1878 Caird joined a firm of East India Merchants in Glasgow, but later went to London. In 1890 he entered the service of Turnbull, Martin \& Co., managers of the Scottish Shire Line of Steamers; he quickly rose to become Manager, and by 1903 he was the sole partner and owner. In this role his business skill became apparent, as he pioneered (along with the Houlder and Federal Lines) refrigerated shipping connections between the United Kingdom and Australia and New Zealand. In 1917 he sold his shipping interests to Messrs Cayzer Irvine, managers of the Clan Line.

During the First World War, Caird set up a new shipyard on the River Wye at Chepstow in Wales. Registered in April 1916, the Standard Shipbuilding and Engineering Company took over an existing shipbuilder in an area not threatened by enemy attacks. The purpose of the yard was rapid building of standardized merchant ships during a period when heavy losses were being sustained because of German U-boat attacks. Caird was appointed Chairman, a post he held until the yard came under full government control later in the war. The shipyard did not meet the high expectations of the time, but it did pioneer standard shipbuilding which was later successful in the USA, the UK and Japan.

Caird's greatest work may have been the service he gave to the councils which helped form the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. He used all his endeavours to ensure the successful launch of the world's greatest maritime museum; he persuaded friends to donate, the Government to transfer artefacts and records, and he gave of his wealth to purchase works of art for the nation. Prior to his death he endowed the Museum with £1.25 million, a massive sum for the 1930s, and this (the Caird Fund) is administered to this day by the Trustees of Greenwich.

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SUBJECT AREA: Land transport, Railways and locomotives

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Chapelon's technical education at the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, Paris, was interrupted by extended military service during the First World War. From experience of observing artillery from the basket of a captive balloon, he developed a method of artillery fire control which was more accurate than that in use and which was adopted by the French army.

In 1925 he joined the motive-power and rolling-stock department of the Paris-Orléans Railway under Chief Mechanical Engineer Maurice Lacoin and was given the task of improving the performance of its main-line 4–6–2 locomotives, most of them compounds. He had already made an intensive study of steam locomotive design and in 1926 introduced his Kylchap exhaust system, based in part on the earlier work of the Finnish engineer Kyläla. Chapelon improved the entrainment of the hot gases in the smokebox by the exhaust steam and so minimized back pressure in the cylinders, increasing the power of a locomotive substantially. He also greatly increased the cross-sectional area of steam passages, used poppet valves instead of piston valves and increased superheating of steam. PO (Paris-Orléans) 4–6–2s rebuilt on these principles from 1929 onwards proved able to haul 800-ton trains, in place of the previous 500-ton trains, and to do so to accelerated schedules with reduced coal consumption. Commencing in 1932, some were converted, at the time of rebuilding, into 4–8–0s to increase adhesive weight for hauling heavy trains over the steeply graded Paris-Toulouse line.

Chapelon's principles were quickly adopted on other French railways and elsewhere.

H.N. Gresley was particularly influenced by them. After formation of the French National Railways (SNCF) in 1938, Chapelon produced in 1941 a prototype rebuilt PO 2–10–0 freight locomotive as a six-cylinder compound, with four low-pressure cylinders to maximize expansive use of steam and with all cylinders steam-jacketed to minimize heat loss by condensation and radiation. War conditions delayed extended testing until 1948–52. Meanwhile Chapelon had, by rebuilding, produced in 1946 a high-powered, three-cylinder, compound 4–8–4 intended as a stage in development of a proposed range of powerful and thermally efficient steam locomotives for the postwar SNCF: a high-speed 4–6–4 in this range was to run at sustained speeds of 125 mph (200 km/h). However, plans for improved steam locomotives were then overtaken in France by electriflcation and dieselization, though the performance of the 4–8–4, which produced 4,000 hp (3,000 kW) at the drawbar for the first time in Europe, prompted modification of electric locomotives, already on order, to increase their power.

Chapelon retired from the SNCF in 1953, but continued to act as a consultant. His principles were incorporated into steam locomotives built in France for export to South America, and even after the energy crisis of 1973 he was consulted on projects to build improved, high-powered steam locomotives for countries with reserves of cheap coal. The eventual fall in oil prices brought these to an end.

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SUBJECT AREA: Textiles

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At the beginning of the eighteenth century, silk weaving was one of the most prosperous trades in Britain, but it depended upon raw silk worked up on hand twisting or throwing machines. In 1702 Thomas Cotchett set up a mill for twisting silk by water-power at the northern end of an island in the river Derwent at Derby; this would probably have been to produce organzine, the hard twisted thread used for the warp when weaving silk fabrics. Such mills had been established in Italy beginning with the earliest in Bologna in 1272, but it would appear that Cotchett used Dutch silk-throwing machinery that was driven by a water wheel that was 13½ ft (4.1 m) in diameter and built by the local engineer, George Sorocold. The enterprise soon failed, but it was quickly revived and extended by Thomas and John Lombe with machinery based on that being used successfully in Italy.

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SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping

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Davis was the son of a detective with the City of London police. At the age of 11 he entered the employment of Siebe, Gorman \& Co., manufacturers of diving and other safety equipment since 1819, at their Lambeth works. By good fortune, his neat handwriting attracted the notice of Mr Gorman and he was transferred to work in the office. He studied hard after working hours and rose steadily in the firm. In his twenties he was promoted to Assistant Manager, then General Manager, Managing Director and finally Governing Director. He retired in 1960, having been made Life President the previous year, and continued to attend the office regularly until May 1964.

Davis's entire career was devoted to research and development in the firm's special field. In 1906 he perfected the first practicable oxygen-breathing apparatus for use in mine rescue; it was widely adopted and with modifications was still in use in the 1990s. With Professor Leonard Hill he designed a deep-sea diving-bell incorporating a decompression chamber. He also invented an oxygen-breathing apparatus and heated apparel for airmen flying at high altitudes.

Immediately after the first German gas attacks on the Western Front in April 1915, Davis devised a respirator, known as the stocking skene or veil mask. He quickly organized the mass manufacture of this device, roping in members of his family and placing the work in the homes of Lambeth: within 48 hours the first consignment was being sent off to France.

He was a member of the Admiralty Deep Sea Diving Committee, which in 1933 completed tables for the safe ascent of divers with oxygen from a depth of 300 ft (91 m). They were compiled by Davis in conjunction with Professors J.B.S.Haldane and Leonard Hill and Captain G.C.Damant, the Royal Navy's leading diving expert. With revisions these tables have been used by the Navy ever since. Davis's best-known invention was first used in 1929: the Davis Submarine Escape Apparatus. It became standard equipment on submarines until it was replaced by the Built-in Breathing System, which the firm began manufacturing in 1951.

The firm's works were bombed during the Second World War and were re-established at Chessington, Surrey. The extensive research facilities there were placed at the disposal of the Royal Navy and the Admiralty Experimental Diving Unit. Davis worked with Haldane and Hill on problems of the underwater physiology of working divers. A number of inventions issued from Chessington, such as the human torpedo, midget submarine and human minesweeper. In the early 1950s the firm helped to pioneer the use of underwater television to investigate the sinking of the submarine Affray and the crashed Comet jet airliners.

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SUBJECT AREA: Land transport, Railways and locomotives

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Sir John MacNeill became a pupil of Thomas Telford and served under him as Superintendent of the Southern Division of the Holyhead Road from London to Shrewsbury. In this capacity he invented a "Road Indicator" or dynamometer. Like other Telford followers, he viewed the advent of railways with some antipathy, but after the death of Telford in 1834 he quickly became involved in railway construction and in 1837 he was retained by the Irish Railway Commissioners to build railways in the north of Ireland (Vignoles received the commission for the south). Much of his subsequent career was devoted to schemes for Irish railways, both those envisaged by the Commissioners and other private lines with more immediately commercial objectives. He was knighted in 1844 on the completion of the Dublin \& Drogheda Railway along the east coast of Ireland. In 1845 MacNeill lodged plans for over 800 miles (1,300 km) of Irish railways. Not all of these were built, many falling victim to Irish poverty in the years after the Famine, but he maintained a large staff and became financially embarrassed. His other schemes included the Grangemouth Docks in Scotland, the Liverpool \& Bury Railway, and the Belfast Waterworks, the latter completed in 1843 and subsequently extended by Bateman.

MacNeill was an engineer of originality, being the person who introduced iron-lattice bridges into Britain, employing the theoretical and experimental work of Fairbairn and Eaton Hodgkinson (the Boyne Bridge at Drogheda had two such spans of 250ft (76m) each). He also devised the Irish railway gauge of 5 ft 2 in. (1.57 m). Consulted by the Board of Trinity College, Dublin, regarding a School of Engineering in 1842, he was made an Honorary LLD of the University and appointed the first Professor of Civil Engineering, but he relinquished the chair to his assistant, Samuel Downing, in 1846. MacNeill was a large and genial man, but not, we are told, "of methodical and business habit": he relied heavily on his subordinates. Blindness obliged him to retire from practice several years before his death. He was an early member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, joining in 1827, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1838.

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SUBJECT AREA: Civil engineering, Land transport

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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.

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SUBJECT AREA: Agricultural and food technology

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A farmer's son, at the age of 17 McKay developed modifications to the existing stripper harvester and created a machine that would not only strip the seed from standing corn, but was able to produce a threshed, winnowed and clean sample in one operation. The prototype was produced in 1884 and worked well on the two acres of wheat that had been set aside on the family farm. By arrangement with a Melbourne plough maker, five machines were made and sold for the 1885 season. In 1886 the McKay Harvester Company was formed, with offices at Ballarat, from which the machines, built by various companies, were sold. The business expanded quickly, selling sixty machines in 1888, and eventually rising to the production of nearly 2,000 harvesters in 1905. The name "Sunshine" was given to the harvester, and the "Sun" prefix was to appear on all other implements produced by the company as it diversified its production interests. In 1902 severe drought reduced machinery sales and left 2,000 harvesters unsold. McKay was forced to look to export markets to dispose of his surplus machines. By 1914 a total of 10,000 machines were being exported annually. During the First World War McKay was appointed to the Business Board of the Defence Department. Increases in the scale of production resulted in the company moving to Melbourne, where it was close to the port of entry of raw materials and was able to export the finished article more readily. In 1909 McKay produced one of the first gas-engined harvesters, but its cost prevented it from being more than an experimental prototype. By this time McKay was the largest agricultural machinery manufacturer in the Southern hemisphere, producing a wide range of implements, including binders. In 1916 McKay hired Headlie Taylor, who had developed a machine capable of harvesting fallen crops. The jointly developed machine was a major success, coming as it did in what would otherwise have been a disastrous Australian harvest. Further developments included the "Sun Auto-header" in 1923, the first of the harvesting machines to adopt the "T" configuration to be seen on modern harvesters. The Australian market was expanding fast and a keen rivalry developed between McKay and Massey Harris. Confronted by the tariff regulations with which the Australian Government had protected its indigenous machinery industry since 1906, Massey Harris sold all its Australian assets to the H.V. McKay company in 1930. Twenty-three years later Massey Ferguson acquired the old Sunshine works and was still operating from there in the 1990s.

Despite a long-running history of wage disputes with his workforce, McKay established a retiring fund as well as a self-help fund for distressed cases. Before his death he created a charitable trust and requested that some funds should be made available for the "aerial experiments" which were to lead to the establishment of the Flying Doctor Service.

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SUBJECT AREA: Agricultural and food technology

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Hiram Moore was the son of a New England stonemason. In 1831 he moved to West Michigan to farm, and he and his two brothers settled in Climax in Kalamazoo County.

Stimulated by a conversation with his neighbour, John Hascall, Moore made a model harvesting machine, which he patented in 1834. By the following year he had built a full-scale machine, but it broke down very quickly. In 1835 he successfully harvested 3 acres left standing for the purpose. Each year alterations and additions were made to the machine, and by 1839 over 50 acres were successfully harvested and threshed in the one operation by the Moore-Hascall machine.

During further developments which took place in the 1840s, Moore sold much of his interest to Senator Lucius Lyon. By the late 1840s this source of funding was no longer available, and attempts to extend the patent became embroiled in similar attempts by McCormick and Hussey and were blocked by rural pressures stemming from the fear that high machinery prices would ensue if the patents continued.

Discouraged, Moore moved to Brandon, Wisconsin, where he farmed 600 acres. He was still developing various machines, but was no longer actively involved in the development of the combine harvester. He continued to work his own machine, with which he would cut just a few acres each year.

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SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping

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After graduating from the Naval School Popoff served in the Russian Navy, ultimately commanding the cruiser Meteor. During the Crimean War he was Captain of a steamship and was later Manager of Artillery Supplies at Sevastopol. At the conclusion of the war he was appointed to supervise the construction of all steamships and so started his real career in naval procurement. For the best part of thirty years he oversaw the Russian naval building programme, producing many new ships at St Petersburg. Probably the finest was the battleship Petr Veliki (Peter the Great), of 9,000 tons displacement, built at Galernii Island in 1869. With some major refits the ship remained in the fleet until 1922. Two remarkable ships were produced at St Petersburg, the Novgorod and the Vice Admiral Popoff in 1874 and 1876, respectively. Their hull form was almost circular in the hope of creating stable and steady gun platforms and to lessen the required depth of water for their duties as defence ships in the shallow waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Despite support for the idea from Sir Edward Reed of the Royal Navy, the designs failed owing to unpleasant oscillations and poor manoeuvring qualities. One further attempt was made to find a successful outcome to this good idea in the construction of the Russian Imperial Yacht Livadia at Elder's Glasgow shipyard in 1880: for many reasons the Livadia never fulfilled her purpose. Despite their great advantages, the age of the Popoffkas was over. Popoff had a remarkable effect on Russian shipbuilding and warship design. He had authority, and used it wisely at a time when the Russian shipbuilding industry was developing quickly.

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SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping

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Schanck first went to sea in the merchant service, but in 1758 he was transferred to the Royal Navy. After four years as an able seaman, he was made a midshipman (a rare occurrence in those days), and by perseverance was commissioned Lieutenant in 1776 and appointed to command a small vessel operating in the St Lawrence. Being known as an inventive and practical officer, he was soon placed in charge of shipbuilding operations for the British on the Great Lakes and quickly constructed a small fleet that operated on Lake Champlain and elsewhere. He was promoted Captain in 1783. In earlier years Schanck had built a small sliding-keel yacht and sailed it in Boston Harbor. The Admiralty accepted the idea and tested two similar small craft, one with and the other without sliding keels. The success of the keels encouraged the authorities to build further craft of increasing size, culminating in the Lady Nelson, which carried out many surveys in Australian waters at the end of the eighteenth century. Service with the Army and the transport board followed, when his special knowledge and skill were used to the full in the waterways of the Netherlands. Schanck rose to the rank of full Admiral, and advised not only the British Government on coastal defence but other groups on many aspects of hull design.

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SUBJECT AREA: Textiles

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Samuel's father, William, was a respected independent farmer who died when his son was aged 14; the young Slater was apprenticed to his father's friend, Jedediah Strutt for six and a half years at the beginning of 1783. He showed mathematical ability and quickly acquainted himself thoroughly with cotton-spinning machinery made by Arkwright, Hargreaves and Crompton. After completing his apprenticeship, he remained for a time with the Strutts to act as Supervisor for a new mill.

At that time it was forbidden to export any textile machinery or even drawings or data from England. The emigration of textile workers was forbidden too, but in September 1789 Slater left for the United States in disguise, having committed the details of the construction of the cotton-spinning machinery to memory. He reached New York and was employed by the New York Manufacturing Company.

In January 1790 he met Moses Brown in Providence, Rhode Island, and on 5 April 1790 he signed a contract to construct Arkwright's spinning machinery for Almy \& Brown. It took Slater more than a year to get the machinery operational because of the lack of skilled mechanics and tools, but by 1793 the mill was running under the name of Almy, Brown \& Slater. In October 1791 Slater had married Hannah Wilkinson, and in 1798 he set up his own mill in partnership with his father-in-law, Orziel Wilkinson. This mill was built in Pawtucket, near the first mill, but other mills soon followed in Smithville, Rhode Island, and elsewhere. Slater was the Incorporator, and for the first fifteen years was also President of the Manufacturer's Bank in Pawtucket. It was in his business role and as New England's first industrial capitalist that Slater made his most important contributions to the emergence of the American textile industry.

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SUBJECT AREA: Aerospace

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Son of a successful mining engineer, Sopwith did not shine at school and, having been turned down by the Royal Navy as a result, attended an engineering college. His first interest was motor cars and, while still in his teens, he set up a business in London with a friend in order to sell them; he also took part in races and rallies.

Sopwith's interest in aviation came initially through ballooning, and in 1906 he purchased his own balloon. Four years later, inspired by the recent flights across the Channel to France and after a joy-ride at Brooklands, he bought an Avis monoplane, followed by a larger biplane, and taught himself to fly. He was awarded the Royal Aero Society's Aviator Certificate No. 31 on 21 November 1910, and he quickly distinguished himself in flying competitions on both sides of the Atlantic and started his own flying school. In his races he was ably supported by his friend Fred Sigrist, a former motor engineer. Among the people Sopwith taught to fly were an Australian, Harry Hawker, and Major Hugh Trenchard, who later became the "father" of the RAF.

In 1912, depressed by the poor quality of the aircraft on trial for the British Army, Sopwith, in conjunction with Hawker and Sigrist, bought a skating rink in Kingston-upon-Thames and, assisted by Fred Sigrist, started to design and build his first aircraft, the Sopwith Hybrid. He sold this to the Royal Navy in 1913, and the following year his aviation manufacturing company became the Sopwith Aviation Company Ltd. That year a seaplane version of his Sopwith Tabloid won the Schneider Trophy in the second running of this speed competition. During 1914–18, Sopwith concentrated on producing fighters (or "scouts" as they were then called), with the Pup, the Camel, the 1½ Strutter, the Snipe and the Sopwith Triplane proving among the best in the war. He also pioneered several ideas to make flying easier for the pilot, and in 1915 he patented his adjustable tailplane and his 1 ½ Strutter was the first aircraft to be fitted with air brakes. During the four years of the First World War, Sopwith Aviation designed thirty-two different aircraft types and produced over 16,000 aircraft.

The end of the First World War brought recession to the aircraft industry and in 1920 Sopwith, like many others, put his company into receivership; none the less, he immediately launched a new, smaller company with Hawker, Sigrist and V.W.Eyre, which they called the H.G. Hawker Engineering Company Ltd to avoid any confusion with the former company. He began by producing cars and motor cycles under licence, but was determined to resume aircraft production. He suffered an early blow with the death of Hawker in an air crash in 1921, but soon began supplying aircraft to the Royal Air Force again. In this he was much helped by taking on a new designer, Sydney Camm, in 1923, and during the next decade they produced a number of military aircraft types, of which the Hart light bomber and the Fury fighter, the first to exceed 200 mph (322 km/h), were the best known. In the mid-1930s Sopwith began to build a large aviation empire, acquiring first the Gloster Aircraft Company and then, in quick succession, Armstrong-Whitworth, Armstrong-Siddeley Motors Ltd and its aero-engine counterpart, and A.V.Roe, which produced Avro aircraft. Under the umbrella of the Hawker Siddeley Aircraft Company (set up in 1935) these companies produced a series of outstanding aircraft, ranging from the Hawker Hurricane, through the Avro Lancaster to the Gloster Meteor, Britain's first in-service jet aircraft, and the Hawker Typhoon, Tempest and Hunter. When Sopwith retired as Chairman of the Hawker Siddeley Group in 1963 at the age of 75, a prototype jump-jet (the P-1127) was being tested, later to become the Harrier, a for cry from the fragile biplanes of 1910.

Sopwith also had a passion for yachting and came close to wresting the America's Cup from the USA in 1934 when sailing his yacht Endeavour, which incorporated a number of features years ahead of their time; his greatest regret was that he failed in his attempts to win this famous yachting trophy for Britain. After his retirement as Chairman of the Hawker Siddeley Group, he remained on the Board until 1978. The British aviation industry had been nationalized in April 1977, and Hawker Siddeley's aircraft interests merged with the British Aircraft Corporation to become British Aerospace (BAe). Nevertheless, by then the Group had built up a wide range of companies in the field of mechanical and electrical engineering, and its board conferred on Sopwith the title Founder and Life President.

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SUBJECT AREA: Textiles

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Jedediah Strutt was the second of three sons of William, a small farmer and maltster at South Normanton, near Alfreton, Derbyshire, where the only industry was a little framework knitting. At the age of 14 Jedediah was apprenticed to Ralph Massey, a wheelwright near Derby, and lodged with the Woollats, whose daughter Elizabeth he later married in 1755. He moved to Leicester and in 1754 started farming at Blackwell, where an uncle had died and left him the stock on his farm. It was here that he made his knitting invention.

William Lee's knitting machine remained in virtually the same form as he left it until the middle of the eighteenth century. The knitting industry moved away from London into the Midlands and in 1730 a Nottingham workman, using Indian spun yarn, produced the first pair of cotton hose ever made by mechanical means. This industry developed quickly and by 1750 was providing employment for 1,200 frameworkers using both wool and cotton in the Nottingham and Derby areas. It was against this background that Jedediah Strutt obtained patents for his Derby rib machine in 1758 and 1759.

The machine was a highly ingenious mechanism, which when placed in front of an ordinary stocking frame enabled the fashionable ribbed stockings to be made by machine instead of by hand. To develop this invention, he formed a partnership first with his brother-in-law, William Woollat, and two leading Derby hosiers, John Bloodworth and Thomas Stamford. This partnership was dissolved in 1762 and another was formed with Woollat and the Nottingham hosier Samuel Need. Strutt's invention was followed by a succession of innovations which enabled framework knitters to produce almost every kind of mesh on their machines. In 1764 the stocking frame was adapted to the making of eyelet holes, and this later lead to the production of lace. In 1767 velvet was made on these frames, and two years later brocade. In this way Strutt's original invention opened up a new era for knitting. Although all these later improvements were not his, he was able to make a fortune from his invention. In 1762 he was made a freeman of Nottingham, but by then he was living in Derby. His business at Derby was concerned mainly with silk hose and he had a silk mill there.

It was partly his need for cotton yarn and partly his wealth which led him into partnership with Richard Arkwright, John Smalley and David Thornley to exploit Arkwright's patent for spinning cotton by rollers. Together with Samuel Need, they financed the Arkwright partnership in 1770 to develop the horse-powered mill in Nottingham and then the water-powered mill at Cromford. Strutt gave advice to Arkwright about improving the machinery and helped to hold the partnership together when Arkwright fell out with his first partners. Strutt was also involved, in London, where he had a house, with the parliamentary proceedings over the passing of the Calico Act in 1774, which opened up the trade in British-manufactured all-cotton cloth.

In 1776 Strutt financed the construction of his own mill at Helper, about seven miles (11 km) further down the Derwent valley below Cromford. This was followed by another at Milford, a little lower on the river. Strutt was also a partner with Arkwright and others in the mill at Birkacre, near Chorley in Lancashire. The Strutt mills were developed into large complexes for cotton spinning and many experiments were later carried out in them, both in textile machinery and in fireproof construction for the mills themselves. They were also important training schools for engineers.

Elizabeth Strutt died in 1774 and Jedediah never married again. The family seem to have lived frugally in spite of their wealth, probably influenced by their Nonconformist background. He had built a house near the mills at Milford, but it was in his Derby house that Jedediah died in 1797. By the time of his death, his son William had long been involved with the business and became a more important cotton spinner than Jedediah.

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SUBJECT AREA: Land transport, Railways and locomotives, Steam and internal combustion engines

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Webb was a pupil at Crewe Works, London \& North Western Railway (LNWR), under F. Trevithick (son of Richard Trevithick), and was subsequently placed in charge of the works under Trevithick's successor, J.Ramsbottom. After a brief spell away from the LNWR, Webb returned in 1871 and was made Chief Mechanical Engineer, a post he held until his retirement in 1904.

Webb's initial designs included the highly successful "Precedent" or "Jumbo" class 2– 4–0, from which the example Hardwicke (now preserved by the National Railway Museum, York) achieved an average speed of 67.2 mph (108.1 km/h) between Crewe and Carlisle in 1895. His 0–6–0 "coal engines" were straightforward and cheap and were built in large numbers. In 1879 Webb, having noted the introduction of compound locomotives in France by J.T.A. Mallet, rebuilt an existing 2–2–2 locomotive as a two-cylinder compound. Then in 1882, seeking fuel economy and the suppression of coupling rods, he produced a compound locomotive to his own design, the 2–2, 2–0 Experiment, in which two outside high-pressure cylinders drove the rear driving-wheels, and a single inside large-diameter low-pressure cylinder drove the front driving-wheels. This was followed by a large number of compound locomotives: three successive classes of 2–2, 2–0s; some 2–2, 2–2s; some 4–4–0s; and some 0–8–0s for goods traffic. Although these were capable of good performance, their overall value was controversial: Webb, who was notoriously autocratic, may never have been fully informed of their defects, and after his retirement most were quickly scrapped. Webb made many other innovations during his career, one of the most important being the construction of boilers from steel rather than wrought iron.

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See also: Bousquet, Gaston du; Gresley, Sir Herbert Nigel; Joy, David; Worsdell, Thomas William

SUBJECT AREA: Textiles, Weapons and armour

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The son of a prosperous farmer, Eli Whitney as a teenager showed more interest in mechanics than school work. At the age of 15 he began an enterprise business manufacturing nails in his father's workshop, even having to hire help to fulfil his orders. He later determined to acquire a university education and, his father having declined to provide funds, he taught at local schools to obtain the means to attend Leicester Academy, Massachusetts, in preparation for his entry to Yale in 1789. He graduated in 1792 and then decided to study law. He accepted a position in Georgia as a tutor that would have given him time for study; this post did not materialize, but on his journey south he met General Nathanael Greene's widow and the manager of her plantations, Phineas Miller (1764–1803). A feature of agriculture in the southern states was that the land was unsuitable for long-staple cotton but could yield large crops of green-seed cotton. Green-seed cotton was difficult to separate from its seed, and when Whitney learned of the problem in 1793 he quickly devised a machine known as the cotton gin, which provided an effective solution. He formed a partnership with Miller to manufacture the gin and in 1794 obtained a patent. This invention made possible the extraordinary growth of the cotton industry in the United States, but the patent was widely infringed and it was not until 1807, after amendment of the patent laws, that Whitney was able to obtain a favourable decision in the courts and some financial return.

In 1798 Whitney was in financial difficulties following the failure of the initial legal action against infringement of the cotton gin patent, but in that year he obtained a government contract to supply 10,000 muskets within two years with generous advance payments. He built a factory at New Haven, Connecticut, and proposed to use a new method of manufacture, perhaps the first application of the system of interchangeable parts. He failed to supply the firearms in the specified time, and in fact the first 500 guns were not delivered until 1801 and the full contract was not completed until 1809.

In 1812 Whitney made application for a renewal of his cotton gin patent, but this was refused. In the same year, however, he obtained a second contract from the Government for 15,000 firearms and a similar one from New York State which ensured the success of his business.

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