People and places

The story of Manufacturing is every bit as much about its people as its places. This page give links to places to which key people were connected. I have also given chapter references in my books How Britain Shaped the Manufacturing World (HBSTMW) and Vehicles to Vaccines (VTV). Some of the people I have explored in more detail, in which case there is a link from their name to a post about them. There are some significant names missing from the list. These are people not born in Britain but who chose Britain as their place of business. I list them in this link.

A perhaps crucial feature of British manufacturing was the lack of support by the major academic institutions. It followed that a great many of the leaders listed learnt on the job. There was however a growing informal framework of support and I write of this in this link.

Another crucial feature was the impact of people from other countries and many of these I explore in a separate post.

Abel, Frederick (explosives): East London (Woolwich) HBSTMW 7
Allen, William (Pharmacist): Inner London, HBSTMW 8
Anderson, John (armament): East London (Woolwich) HBSTMW 7
Arkwright, Richard (textile machinery): Preston, HBSTMW 4
Armstrong, William (hydraulics and armaments): Newcastle, HBSTMW 1, 5, 7
Ashley, Laura (clothing): VTV 20
Austin, Herbert (motor vehicles): Birmingham HBSTMW 10, 12, 14, 15, 16

Babbage, Charles (computer): HBSTMW 5
Baird, John Logie (TV): HBSTMW 15
Bamford, JC (diggers): HBSTMW 16
Bassett, George (Liquorice Allsorts): North London
Bazalgette, Joseph (sewers): Inner London, HBSTMW 6
Beecham, Thomas (pharmacist): Wigan, St Helens HBSTMW
Beeching, Dr Richard (railways) : VTV 15
Beardmore, William (shipping): Glasgow, HBSTMW 12
Belling, Charles (electrical appliances): North London HMSTMW 14
Beharrell, George (Dunlop): HBSTMW 12, 14
Bennett, Peter (Lucas): HBSTMW 12, 14
Bentley, W.O. (motor vehicles): HMSTMW 14
Bettmann, Siegfried (Triumph): Coventry, HBSTMW 10
Bessemer, Henry (steel): Sheffield, HBSTMW 5
Beyer (and Peacock): Manchester’s 19th century toolmakers
Birkin, Richard (lace maker): HBSTMW 1, Nottingham
Blenkinsop, John (steam) : Leeds, HBSTMW 5
Bolckow, Henry (steel): Middlesbrough
Boot, Jesse (pharmacist), Nottingham, HBSTMW 8
Boulton, Matthew (engineer): Birmingham
Boulsover, Harry (Sheffield plate): Sheffield
Bowden, Frank (Raleigh): Nottingham, HBSTMW 9
Bramah, Joseph (engineer): South London, London’s 19th century tool makers, Yorkshire (Barnsley) HBSTMW 5
Bray, Kelvin (Rustons): Lincoln, VTV 2
Brearley, Harry (stainless steel) : Sheffield
Brown, David (subsequently Aston Martin): Huddersfield HBSTMW 15, VTV 11
Brown, John (steel and shipbuilding): Sheffield, Glasgow
Brown, William (steam): Newcastle, HBSTMW 5
Brunel, Isembard Kingdom (railways): Swindon HBSTMW 1, 5
Brunel, Marc Isembard (engineer): South London, Rochester, Portsmouth HBSTMW 7
Burton, Montague : Leeds
Byng, Gustav (GEC): Manchester, HBSTMW 11

Cadbury, George: Birmingham, HBSTMW 8
Caddel family (iron): Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow
Carden, Sir John (tanks, Vickers): HBSTMW 13
Carnegie, Andrew (steel): America, Glasgow
Cecil, William (patents): Stamford HBSTMW 3
Chapman, Colin (Lotus): Northampton, VTV 11
Cistercian monks (wool): Farnham, Isle of Wight
Clark, Cyrus: Street, Somerset
Clark father and sons (Plessey): Ilford, HBSTMW 14, VTV 8
Clement, Charles: London’s 19th century tool makers
Coatalen, Louis (motor vehicles): Coventry, HBSTMW 10
Cohen, George (600 Group, machine tools): Colchester
Cole, EK (EKCO): East Anglia (Southend), HBSTMW 14
Cooke, William Fothergill (telegraph): Inner London, HBSTMW 6
Cort, Henry (wrought iron): Fareham, HBSTMW 3
Courtauld, Samuel (textiles): Braintree HBSTMW 13,14,16
Crompton, R.E.B. (electricity): Chelmsford, HBSTMW 14
Crompton, Samuel (textile machinery): Preston, HBSTMW 4

Darby, Abraham (iron and coke): Telford, HBSTMW 3
Davy, Humphrey (metalurgist): Newscastle HBSTMW 5
Day, Robin (designer): HBSTMW 16
de Havilland, Geoffrey (aircraft): North London, Hatfield, Watford, HBSTMW 10, 12
Dickinson, John (paper): Hemel Hempstead HBSTMW 6
Dixon, James (Britannia plate): Sheffield
Donkin, Bryan (tin can): South London HBSTMW 7
Douglas, Willie (motor cycles): Bristol, HBSTMW 10
DuCross (Dunlop): Birmingham HBSTMW 10
Dudley, Dud (iron): Dudley HBSTMW 3
Dunlop, John (rubber): Dublin, HBSTMW 9

Edington, Thomas (iron): Glasgow
Egan, John (Jaguar): Coventry, VTV 11
Elkington, George (electroplating): Sheffield
Elliott Brothers (Electronics): Inner London, Metroland (Borehamwood) VTV 9

Fairbairn, William: Manchester’s 19th century toolmakers
Fairey, Charles (Aircraft): Hayes, Stockport, HBSTMW 12
Faraday, Michael : HBSTMW 6
Fry, Joseph: Bristol, HBSTMW 1

Geddes, Eric (Dunlop): HBSTMW 12
Gresley, Nigel (railways): Yorkshire (Doncaster) HBSTMW 14
Guest, John (iron) :Merthyr Tydfil HBSTMW 3
Guy, Sydney (motor vehicles): Wolverhampton, HBSTMW 10

Hackworth, Timothy (steam): Stockton, HBSTMW 5
Hall, Arnold (Hawker Siddeley): Kingston upon Thames, HBSTMW VTV 13
Hargreaves, James (textile machinery): Preston, HBSTMW4
Harvey-Jones, John (ICI) : VTV 4
Hearle, Frank (aircraft): North London, HBSTMW 10
Herbert, Alfred (machine tools): Coventry, Coventry on the Cusp of the 20th century, HBSTMW 10
Herbert, William (engineer): Coventry, HBSTMW 9
Hillman, William (motor vehicles): Coventry, HBSTMW 9
Hirst, Hugo (GEC): Manchester, HBSTMW 11
Hollins, William (textiles): HBSTMW 4, Nottingham
Hooley, Terah (financier): Long Eaton, HBSTMW 9
Hornsby, Richard (oil engines): Grantham, HBSTMW 3, 5
Howden, James (steam): Glasgow
Hudson, George (railways): HBSTMW 5, 6
Humber, Thomas (motor vehicles): East Midlands (Beeston), Coventry, HBSTMW 9
Huntley, Joseph (biscuits): Reading, HBSTMW 8
Huntsman, Benjamin (steel): Sheffield HBSTMW 3, 5

Kay, John (Flying Shuttle): Bury, HBSTMW 4
Kearton, Frank (Courtaulds): VTV 2
Keen, Arthur (GKN): HBSTMW 7
Kelvin, William (electricity): HBSTMW 11
Knights Templar: Leeds, Cheltenham

Lanchester, Frederick (motor vehicles): Coventry HBSTMW 10
Lawson, Harry: Coventry, HBSTMW 9, 10
Lever, William: Liverpool, HBSTMW 4
Lewis, Edward (Decca): South London, HBSTMW 14
Littleton, Oliver (AEI): VTV 7
Llewellyn, William (GKN): Aberdulais Port Talbot HBSTMW 3
Lord, Leonard (motor vehicles): HBSTMW 14
Lucas, Joseph (motor vehicles): Birmingham, HBSTMW 9, 10, VTV 12
Lyons, William (Jaguar): Coventry, HBSTMW 14
Macintosh, Charles (clothing): Glasgow
Mackintosh, William and Violet (toffee): Halifax
Macrobert, Mac and Rachel: Aberdeen
Marsden, John (motor vehicles, Sunbeam): Wolverhampton, HBSTMW 10
Maudslay, Cyril: Coventry on the Cusp of the 20th century, HBSTMW 10
Maudslay, Henry: South London, London’s 19th century tool makers HBSTMW 5
Maudslay, Reginald: Coventry on the Cusp of the 20th century, HBSTMW 10
McGowan, Harry (later Lord – ICI): West Scotland, HBSTMW 14
McMurtry, David (Renishaw): Southwest (Wooton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire) VTV 5
Minton, Thomas (pottery): Stoke on Trent, St Austell
Mitchell, Charles (shipbuilding): HBSTMW 5
Mond, Alfred (later Lord Melchett – ICI: Runcorn, HBSTMW 14
Morris, William (home furnishings): South London
Morris, William (Lord Nuffield): Oxford, HBSTWM 10, 15, VTV 10
Muir, William: Manchester’s 19th century toolmakers, London’s 19th century tool makers
Mullard, Stanley (radio components): South London HBSTMW 14
Mushet, David (iron): Glasgow

Napier, David (motor vehicles and engines): London, London’s 19th century tool makers HBSTMW 5, VTV 15
Napier, Robert (shipbuilding): Glasgow HBSTMW 1, 5
Nathan, Joseph (Glaxo): HBSTMW 14
Naysmith, James (steam hammer): Manchester, Manchester’s 19th century toolmakers, London’s 19th century tool makers HBSTMW 1,5
Nelson, George (English Electric): Stafford, VTV 7
Nettlefold, John (GKN): Birmingham, HBSTMW 7
Newcomen, Thomas (steam) St Austell, HBSTMW 5
Nobel, Alfred (explosives, ICI): HBSTMW 7, West Scotland (Ardeer)
Norman, Montague (Bank of England): HBSTMW 13

Olding, Jack (earthmovers, tanks): HBSTMW 15, North London
Owen, Robert (textiles): Glasgow (New Lanark)

Parsons, Charles (steam turbine): Newcastle, HBSTMW 7
Pemberton-Billing, Noel (aircraft): Southampton, HBSTMW 10
Penn, John (shipbuilder): HBSTMW 5, East London
Pilkington, Alastair (glass): St Helens, VTV 17
Player, John: Nottingham
Preece, Willam (telegraph): HBSTMW 11
Prestwich, J.A.(JAP engines): North London, HBSTMW 10
Pye, W.G. (electrical instruments, radio): Cambridge, HBSTMW 14

Rank, Joseph (flour, cinema): HBSTMW 8,14
Rendel, James (Armstrongs): Newcastle, HBSTMW 5
Ricardo, Harry (engines): HBSTMW 10
Roberts, Harry (radio): VTV 8
Roberts, Richard: Manchester’s 19th century toolmakers, London’s 19th century tool makers
Roddick, Anita (Body Shop): VTV 18
Roe, AV (aircraft): Manchester
Roebuck, John (chemist and metalurgist): Sheffield, Falkirk, HBSTMW 4
Rolls, Charles (motor vehicles): Derby, HBSTMW 10
Rootes, William (motor vehicles): Coventry, HBSTMW 10, VTV 10
Rowntree, Joseph and Seebohm (confectionary and management) : HBSTMW 15
Royce, Henry (motor vehicles): Derby, HBSTMW 10
Rudge, Daniel (cycles): Coventry, HBSTMW 9
Ruston, Joseph (steam): Lincoln, HBSTMW 5
Salt, Titus (textiles): Bradford, HMSTMW 5
Samuel, Marcus (Shell Oil): HBSTMW 10
Savery, Thomas (steam): HBSTMW 5
Siddeley, John (motor vehicles): Coventry HBSTMW 9
Simms, Frederick (engineer, motor vehicles): Coventry, North London, HBSTMW 10
Singer, George: Coventry, HBSTMW 10
Siemens, William (telegraph): Woolwich, HBSTMW
Smedley, John (textiles): HBSTMW 4
Sopwith, Thomas (Hawker): Kingston upon Thames, HBSTMW 13, VTV 14
Spode, Josiah (pottery): Stoke on Trent, St Austell
Stanley, William (knife): South London
Starley, James (cycles) : Coventry, HBSTMW 9
Stephenson, George (railways): Newcastle, HBSTMW 5 (also Geordie lamp with Davy)
Stephenson, Robert (railways): Newcastle, HBSTMW 5
Stuart, Akroyd (oil engine): Grantham, HBSTMW 10
Sutherland, FN (Marconi): VTV 8
Swan, Joseph (lamp with Edison): Newcastle

Tate, Henry (sugar): Liverpool, HBSTMW 8
Telford, Thomas (engineer): HBSTMW 5
Tennant, Charles: sGlasgow HBSTMW 7
Thompson, William (later Lord Kelvin): HBSTMW 11
Trevithick, Richard (steam locomotive): Camborne, Merthyr Tydfil HBSTWM 5
Tritton, William: Lincoln, HBSTMW 12
Turing, Alan (computer): HMSTMW 15
Turnbull, George (BL): VTV 10

Vaughan, John (iron): Middlesbrough
Vickers, Edward, Tom and Albert (armaments) :Sheffield HBSTMW 3,5

Wallis, Barnes (aircraft): HBSTMW 13, 15
Watt, James (steam): Birmingham, Glasgow Falkirk, St Austell, Camborne
Weeks, Ronald (Vickers) (Pilkington): HBSTMW 15, VTV 3, 6
Wedgwood, Josiah (pottery) : Stoke on Trent, St Austell
Weinstock, Arnold (GEC) : HBSTMW 16, VTV
Weir, William (pumps): Glasgow, VTV 7
Whittle, Frank (jet): HBSTMW 15
Wilkinson, John (iron) : Telford, HBSTMW 5
Wilks, Spencer and Maurice (Land Rover): Coventry, Birmingham, HBSTMW 14
Wilson, Alexander (motor vehicles): South London (Vauxhall), HBSTMW 10
Wheatstone, Charles (telegraph) : Inner London, HBSTMW 6
White, George (aircraft): Bristol HBSTMW 10
Whitworth, Joseph (engineer): HBSTMW 7, 13, 15 Manchester, Manchester’s 19th century toolmakers, London’s 19th century tool makers
Wright, Joseph (railways): Birmingham, HBSTMW
Wright Brothers (aircraft): HBSTMW 10