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121 Northrop, James H.
SUBJECT AREA: Textiles[br]fl. 1890s Keighley, Yorkshire, England[br]English-born American inventor of the first successful loom to change the shuttles automatically when the weft ran out.[br]Although attempts had been continuing since about 1840 to develop a loom on which the shuttles were changed automatically when the weft was exhausted, it was not until J.H.Northrop invented his cop-changer and patented it in the United States in 1894 that the automatic loom really became a serious competitor to the ordinary power loom. Northrop was born at Keighley in Yorkshire but emigrated to America, where he developed his loom. In about 1891 he appears to have been undecided whether to work on the shuttle-changing system or the copchanging system, for in that year he took out three patents, one of which was for a shuttle changer and the other two for cop-changers.A communication from W.F.Draper, Northrop's employer, was used in 1894 as a patent in Britain for a cop-or bobbin-changing automatic loom, which was in fact the Northrop loom. A further five patents for stop motions were taken out in 1895, and yet another in 1896. In one shuttle-box, a feeler was pushed through a hole in the side of the shuttle each time the shuttle entered the box. When the cop of weft was full, the loom carried on working normally. If lack of weft enabled the feeler to enter beyond a certain point, a device was activated which pushed a full cop down into the place of the old one. The full cops were contained in a rotary magazine, ready for insertion.The full Northrop loom comprised several basic inventions in addition to the cop-changer, namely a self-threading shuttle, a weft-fork mechanism to stop the loom, a warp let-off mechanism and a warp-stop motion. The Northrop loom revolutionized cotton weaving in America and the Northrop system became the basis for most later automatic looms. While Northrop looms were made in America and on the European continent, they never achieved much popularity in Britain, where finer cloth was usually woven.[br]Further ReadingW.A.Hanton, 1929, Automatic Weaving, London (describes the Northrop loom and has good illustrations of the mechanism).W.English, 1969, The Textile Industry, London (explains the Northrop system). C.Singer (ed.), 1958, A History of Technology, Vol. V, Oxford: Clarendon Press.RLH -
122 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 -
123 Wright, Arthur
[br]b. 1858 London, Englandd. 26 July 1931 Paignton, Devon, England[br]English engineer and electricity supply industry pioneer.[br]Arthur Wright, educated at Maryborough College, attended a course of training at the School of Submarine Telegraphy, Telephony and Electric Light in London. In 1882 he joined the Hammond Company in Brighton, the first company to afford a regular electricity supply in Britain on a commercial basis for street and private lighting. He invented a recording ammeter and also a thermal-demand indicator used in conjunction with a tariff based on maximum demand in addition to energy consumption. This indicator was to remain in use for almost half a century.Resigning his position in Brighton in 1889, he joined the staff of S.Z.de Ferranti and served with him during developments at the Grosvenor Gallery and Deptford stations in London. In 1891 he returned to Brighton as its first Borough Electrical Engineer. From 1900 onwards he had an extensive consulting practice designing early power stations, and was approached by many municipalities and companies in Britain, the United States, South America and Australia, primarily on finance and tariffs. Associated with the founding of the Municipal Electrical Association in 1905, the following year he became its first President.[br]Bibliography1901, British patent no. 23,153 (thermal maximum demand indicator).1922, "Early days of the Brighton electricity supply", Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers 60:497–9.Further ReadingObituary, 1931, Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers 69:1,327–8.R.H.Parsons, 1939, Early Days of the Power Station Industry, Cambridge, pp. 13–17 (describes Wright's pioneering inventions).GW
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