William Henry Greenwood
William Henry Greenwood (1846-1905), amnaging director of Birmingham Metal and Munitions Co
of BSA
1905 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM HENRY GREENWOOD was born in Manchester on 25th March 1816.
He received his early education at the Manchester Mechanics' Institution, and then proceeded to the 0wens College, where he succeeded in passing with honours the various examinations of the Science and Art Departments, South Kensington, and of the Society of Arts. In 1868 he became a Whitworth Exhibitioner, and in the following year a Royal Exhibitioner at the Royal School of Mines and Senior Whitworth Scholar. Then he became a Royal Scholar at the Royal School of Mines, and in 1871 was re-elected to that position, subsequently becoming an Associate of the Royal School of Mines. For a time he studied at University College, London, and succeeded in winning various prizes.
He served his apprenticeship under the late Mr. Charles Sacre, in the Gorton Works of the Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, and from 1871 to 1875 became assistant manager at the works of Sir Joseph Whitworth and Co., Manchester.
In the latter year he was appointed chief engineer at the Imperial Abouchoff Steel and Ordnance Works, St. Petersburg, which position he held until 1880, when he became general manager of the Phoenix Foundry and Engineering Co., Derby.
From 1882 to 1885 he was chief engineer and assistant general manager of the Landore Siemens Steel Co., South Wales, and then gave up commercial life, and went in again for scholastic work, becoming Professor of Engineering and Metallurgy at the University College, Sheffield.
Whilst holding this post he practised as a consulting engineer, having some of the largest Sheffield and American steel companies among his clients.
In 1889 he became manager of the Birmingham Small Arms and Metal Co., and, on the acquisition of the Metal and Ammunition Department of this company by the Birmingham Metal and Munitions Co. in 1897, he became managing director of the present company, which position he held up to the time of his death.
He was also recently appointed a director of Messrs. Joyce and Co., Birmingham.
Among the numerous works and Papers which he produced may be mentioned: "A Manual of Metallurgy," "Iron and Steel," and a series of Metallurgical Diagrams. For his Paper on "The Treatment of Steel by Hydraulic Pressure," which he read before the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1889, he was awarded a Watt Medal and Telford Premium. For several years he was examiner in Applied Mechanics and Steel to the Science and Art Departments, South Kensington, and was a Member of the Board of Trade Committee on Steel Anchors and Chains.
His death took place at his residence at Four Oaks, near Birmingham, on 31st October 1905, in his sixtieth year.
He became a Member of this Institution in 1874; and was also a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and of the Iron and Steel Institute.
1906 Obituary [2]
WILLIAM HENRY GREENWOOD, born at Manchester on the 25th March, 1846, received his scientific tsaining at the Owens College, Manchester, and at the Royal School of Mines and University College, London. In addition to other scholastic successes, he gained a Rumney Scholarship at the Owens College,a Royal Exhibition and Scholarship at the Royal School of Mines, of which he was afterwards elected an Associate, and a Senior Whitworth Scholarship in 1869.
He obtained his practical experience under the late Mr. Charles Sacre, on the staff of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire (now the Great Central) Railway, and at the expiration of his pupilage in 1871, he became Assistant Manager in the famous works of Sir Joseph Whitworth and Company, Manchester.
In 1875 he went to Russia as Chief Engineer to the Imperial Abouchoff Steel and Ordnance Works, St. Petersburg.
Returning to England in 1880, he accepted the post of General Manager to the Phoenix Foundry and Engineering Company, Limited, of Derby, relinquishing this appointment in the following year to become Chief Engineer and Assistant Manager of the Landore Siemens Steel Company, Limited.
In 1885 he accepted the Professorship of Mechanical Engineering and Metallurgy in University College, Sheffield, carrying on at the same time an extensive consulting practice.
He returned to business life in 1889, when he was appointed Manager of the Birmingham Small Arms and Metal Company, Limited, and on the acquisition of part of this enterprise by the Birmingham Metal and Munitions Company, Limited, Mr. Greenwood became and remained until his death Managing Director of the latter company, which under his able management pursued a career of progressive development and commercial prosperity.
He died at his residence, The Norlands, Four Oaks, Birmingham, on the 31st October, 1905, in his sixtieth year.
Mr. Greenwood was a recognized authority on metallurgy and ammunition, and was the author of a Manual of Metallurgy, a treatise on Iron and Steel, and numerous papers, among which may be mentioned his Paper on the "Treatment of Steel by Hydraulic Pressure," read before this Institution, for which he was awarded a Watt Medal and Telford Premium. He served for several years as an Examiner in Applied Mechanics and Steam to the Departmenotf Science and Art, and asa member of the Board of Trade Committee on Steel Anchors and Chains.
He was also a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and of the Iron and Steel Institute, and a Fellow of the Chemical Society.
Mr. Greenwood was elected an Associate Member of this Institution on the 31st May, 1881, and was transferred to the class of Members on the 7th December, 1886.
1905 Obituary [3]
WILLIAM HENRY GREENWOOD died on October 30, at his residence, the Norlands, Four Oaks, at the age of fifty-nine. He was a well-known authority on the manufacture of iron and steel, and of ammunition, and was the author of several valuable books and papers on these subjects. He was an Associate of the Royal School of Mines, where he was the first Whitworth Scholar appointed ; and held a Royal Scholarship from 1869 to 1871, after which, until the year 1875, he was assistant manager to Sir J. Whitworth & Co.
In that year he went to St. Petersburg as chief engineer to the Aboucheff Steel and Ordnance Works, where he remained until 1882, when he was appointed assistant general manager at the Landore Siemens Steel Company.
From 1885 to 1889 he was Professor of Engineering and Metallurgy at the Firth College, Sheffield, but subsequently he returned to industrial life, and was appointed general manager of the Birmingham Small Arms and Metal Company.
On the reconstruction of this company in 1897 he continued to occupy the position as managing director.
Among the works of which he was author are the well-known small text-book on "Iron and Steel," besides a "Manual of Metallurgy," and a series of "Metallurgical Lecture Diagrams." e was a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, by whom he was awarded the Watt medal and Telford premium for his paper on " The Treatment of Steel by Hydraulic Pressure." He was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and Fellow of the Chemical Society.
He was elected a member of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1885.