Inventions Category
The glider and the seatbelt
Yorkshireman Sir George Cayley (1773-1857) was a man ahead of his time. For the want of a…
Photographic negatives
William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-77) from Dorset was a polymath but lacked one skill, namely draughtmanship, and…
The pneumatic tyre
The pneumatic tyre was invented twice, since the second claimant was unaware of a patent registered in…
The Flying Shuttle
John Kay (1704-c.80) from Lancashire and one of his six sons, Robert (1728-1802), made vital contributions to…
The hypodermic syringe
A fearsome sight for many, the hypodermic syringe was nevertheless an improvement on the animal bladder and…
The marine chronometer
As one of history’s greatest seafaring nations, Britain has made many contributions to oceanography, with the marine…
The symphonium and the concertina
Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802-75) from Gloucestershire is best known for the ‘Wheatstone bridge’, a device for measuring…
Capt. Henry J. Round, ‘the tame wizard’
Staffordshire-born Henry Joseph Round (1881-1966) lived and breathed engineering and was affectionately nicknamed ‘the tame wizard’ by…
The adjustable spanner
For Yorkshireman Richard Clyburn (1796/7-1852) to become a consulting engineer in his early 30s, he must have…
The fire extinguisher
After the Great Fire of London in 1666 there was a gradual move towards organised firefighting (initially…
Hawk-Eye
Referees and umpires, we all should agree, have a very difficult job. The assistance of digital camera…
Venn diagrams
Yorkshire-born Dr. John Venn (1834-1923) had two obsessions ~ logic and Cambridge University. His deep interest and…