William Hanning (1868-1916)
1916 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM MANNING was born in Paris on 21st February 1868.
His scholastic education was obtained in Manchester from 1877 to 1882, and in Paris from 1882 to 1889. During this latter period he was trained by his uncle, Mr. James Hanning, mechanical engineer, and in 1889 he joined the staff of the American Otis Elevator Co., in Paris, being occupied in the building of the lifts for the Eiffel Tower.
On the completion of the contract he started for himself in business as mechanical engineer in Paris, and acted as the representative of various English firms, namely, Hulse and Co., Thwaites Bros., Ltd., of which he became a director, Smith and Coventry, W. H. Allen, Son and Co., Grafton and Co., John H. Wilson and Co., etc. In this capacity he supplied large quantities of heavy machine-tools to the French shipbuilding yards, railway companies, etc.
He was a Member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Paris, and successively became Member of Council, Vice-President, and President. During his Presidency this Institution held its Summer Meeting in Paris in July 1914, and Mr. Harming worked indefatigably in helping towards the success of the Meeting.
On various occasions he had acted as British Juror at the Engineering Sections of Exhibitions, notably at Paris in 1900, Brussels in 1910, and Turin in 1911, and he was consulted by the British Embassy and British Consulate in Paris, on engineering matters. He was a great advocate of the Channel Tunnel scheme, and had hoped to take up the matter again this year. He also worked very hard to get the penny postage adopted between France and England.
His death took place at his residence in Paris on 25th June 1916, at the age of forty-eight.
He was elected an Associate Member of this Institution in 1901, and was transferred to Membership in 1911. He was also a Member of the Societe des Ingenieurs Civils de France.
1916 Obituary [2]
WILLIAM HANNING died at his residence in Paris on June 25, 1916. He was born in 1868 and received his early education, from 1877 to 1882, in Manchester, after which he studied in Paris, under the direction of his uncle, Mr. James Harming, mechanical engineer. In 1889 he joined the staff of the American Otis Elevator Company in Paris, and was engaged in the building of the lifts for the Eiffel Tower.
He afterwards started in business as a mechanical engineer, and during his career has acted as the representative of various English firms, including Hulse and Co., Thwaites Bros., Ltd., of which he became a director, Smith and Coventry, W. H. Allen, Grafton & Co., and John H. Wilson & Co. He accomplished a great deal of work in connection with the penny post between Great Britain and France, and in 1906 he prepared and read a paper on the Channel Tunnel, of which he was a great advocate.
He was a member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Paris, and successively became a Member of Council,Vice-President, and President. He was also a member of the Ingenieurs Civils de France and the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, and he joined the Iron and Steel Institute in 1914.