Francis John Gerald Holden
Francis John Gerald Holden (1868-1929)
1929 Obituary [1]
FRANCIS JOHN GERALD HOLDEN, born in Lancaster on the 4th April, 1868, was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Lancaster, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took the degree of B.A.
He was apprenticed to Messrs. C. A. Parsons and Co., and during his apprenticeship worked on the construction of the Turbinia, the first steam-turbine driven boat.
On leaving Newcastle he was appointed engineer in charge of the construction of the Cambridge electricity work and, on the completion of this station, became assistant engineer.
In 1899 he was appointed engineer to the Scarborough Electric Supply Co., and in December 1914 became secretary and engineer to the company.
In 1921 he also became a director and held these joint positions until December 1926, when the undertaking was purchased by the Corporation. He was then appointed borough electrical engineer, which position he held until he retired in March 1928.
He died on the 4th January, 1929.
He was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1907 and a Member in 1908.
His chief hobby was astronomy and in 1926 he joined the expedition of the British Astronomical Association to Vadso, Norway, to observe the eclipse of the sun.