Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti

Sebastian Z. de Ferranti

• 1864 Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti born 9th April at Bold Street, Liverpool

• 1881 Employed as an assistant to the Chief Research Engineer at Siemens in London

• 1882 Left Siemens. Ferranti, Thompson and Ince Ltd formed to manufacture alternators under licence from Sir William Thomson (Thomson - later Lord Kelvin - had independently developed a similar alternator to Ferranti's concept at the same time).

• 1883 Ferranti, Thompson and Ince Ltd wound up at the end of the year. Sebastian bought back his own patents and set up a company called S. Z. de Ferranti in partnership with C. P. Sparks and others.

• 1887 Engineer to the London Electric Supply Corporation company (LESCo). Designed and built the Deptford Generating Station, the world's first power station.

• 1889 S. Z. de Ferranti became a limited liability company (S. Z. de Ferranti Limited)

• 1891 Ferranti's contract at Deptford not renewed; Ferranti left LESCo

• 1896 S. Z. de Ferranti Limited set up Hollinwood factory in Oldham

• 1897 production began at Oldham

• 1901 Ferranti Ltd registered to acquire the whole undertakings and assets of S. Z. de Ferranti Ltd

• 1905 Ferranti company relaunched. S.Z. de Ferranti took less active role in the running of the company.

• 1905 Director of Ferranti Ltd until 1927

• 1927 Chairman

• 1930 S.Z. de Ferranti died 13 January

See Also

• The Ferranti Collection. Abstract at the National Archives of papers in Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=422-199610_4&cid=-1#-1