Difference between revisions of "William George Armstrong"
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Revision as of 15:21, 12 June 2009
William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong (November 26, 1810 – December 27, 1900) was an English industrialist
- 1810 Born on 26 November 1810 at 9 Pleasant Row, Shieldfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, the second child and only son of William Armstrong (1778–1857), corn merchant and local politician, of Tyneside, and his wife, Ann, daughter of William Potter, a minor coal owner of Walbottle House, about 4 miles west of Newcastle.
- William was originally launched on a career in law. However, his major interest was in engineering.
- 1835 Aged 25. William married Margaret Ramshaw (1807–1893), the daughter of William Ramshaw, builder and engineer.
- 1840 Aged 30. He invented a hydraulic engine, following it up with other electrical and labour-saving devices, including the hydraulic crane. The first of these cranes was erected on the Newcastle Quayside and attracted wide attention. He also invented the hydraulic accumulator tower; a surviving example is some 300 feet high and dominates the docks at Grimsby.
- 1846 Formed the Newcastle Cranage Co
- In 1847, Armstrong founded the W. G. Armstrong and Co at the Elswick works at Newcastle, to produce hydraulic machinery, cranes and bridges, soon to be followed by artillery, notably the Armstrong breech-loading gun, which re-equipped the British Army after the Crimean War. A rifled Armstrong front loading gun was also supplied to the Confederate Army in the American Civil War. This gun was designed to sink the new ironclad ships of the Civil War. It fired a 150 lb shell 5-6 miles. One was stationed at Fort Fisher, NC. Rifled and throwing a shell-shaped projectile, the Armstrong gun is regarded as marking the birth of modern artillery. The Armstrong 100-pounder breech-loader naval rifle was, however, less successful. Armstrong handed over the rights of his guns to the nation, and received a knighthood. He also took the position of "Engineer of Rifled Ordnance" for the British Government, and set up the Elswick Ordnance Co, in which he had no financial interest, to manufacture the guns. Such was Armstrong’s fame as a gun-maker that he is thought to be a possible model for George Bernard Shaw's arms magnate in Major Barbara.
- 1859 Aged 49. On 23 February 1859 Armstrong was knighted for his services to the state and simultaneously appointed government engineer for rifled ordnance and superintendent of the royal gun factory at Woolwich
- 1863 Despite the well demonstrated advantages of rifled artillery, in 1863 the British Government ceased ordering artillery from Armstrong's and for 17 years reverted to muzzle loading artillery manufactured at Woolwich. Armstrong resigned his position for the Government, the Elswick Ordnance Company merged with what was by now Sir W. G. Armstrong Mitchell and Co, and the focus turned to finding overseas orders.
- From 1863 onward Armstrong became less and less involved in the day to day running of his company affairs and began to pursue other interests. He became particularly noted for his successful pursuits in the field of landscape gardening. This was initially carried out in Newcastle's beautiful Jesmond Dene, most of which he owned and where he built a house for himself and his wife in the 1830s.
- 1863 President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
- 1871 The University of Newcastle was originally formed by Lord Armstrong in 1871 as the College of Physical Science, later Armstrong College in 1904. He was twice president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
- In 1876, Armstrong built the hydraulically-powered Swing Bridge
- 1882 The works also began building ships. Armstrongs built great numbers of vessels for the world’s fleets, including warships, complete with armament, for the emerging Japanese navy. Armstrong gathered many excellent engineers at Elswick. Notable among them were Andrew Noble and George Wightwick Rendel, whose design of gun-mountings and hydraulic control of gun-turrets were adopted world-wide. Rendel introduced the cruiser as a naval vessel.
- Armstrong also supplied the original lifting gear for Tower Bridge in London.
- In 1892 Armstrong made his last appearance at the Elswick works, now employing about 13,000 men, during a visit by the king of Siam.
- 1893 His wife, Margaret, Lady Armstrong, died in 1893; she remains a shadowy figure. Her short local obituary mentions her unfailing support of her husband, her love of botany, and her involvement with the planting of the grounds at Jesmond Dene and Cragside
- In 1897, the firm merged with Joseph Whitworth becoming Armstrong Whitworth
- 1900 William Armstrong died at Cragside and is buried in Rothbury churchyard.
- Lord Armstrong's generosity extended beyond his death. He left £100,000 for the building of the new Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne. Its original 1753 building at Forth Banks near the river Tyne were inadequate and impossible to expand. Armstrong's legacy was matched by John Hall, a local merchant, on condition that the new site at Leazes be used.
- 1883 Armstrong donated the long wooded gorge of Jesmond Dene to the people of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1883, as well as Armstrong Bridge and Armstrong Park nearby. The later years of Armstrong's life were spent in his magnificent parkland mansion of Cragside, near Rothbury, now owned by the National Trust.
- His last great project, begun at the age of 80, was the purchase and restoration of the huge Bamburgh Castle on the Northumberland coast, which remains in the hands of the Armstrong family.
See Also
- Obit in The Engineer of 4th January 1901.