Salford's Famous Men
Science and Industry
William Bailey -
Sir
..... died in 1913. His family was resident in Salford and Eccles for
over 200 years and the engineering firm of Messrs W H Bailey was renowned the
world over
James Corbett
..... engineer
who evolved the principle of the unsinkable boat
William Crabtree
.....
born 1610 died c 1644 ..... born in Broughton he devoted much of his time to astronomy
and through his exact calculations of the movement of planets he found
several errors in the works of continental astronomers. In 1636 he formed a
friendship with Jeremiah Horrox and the two were the first to witness an
extremely rare phenomenon on 24th November 1639, the Transit of Venus, which
Horrox had predicted. Crabtree was stationed at Broughton and Horrox was at
Hoole. The next occurrence is predicted on 8th June 2004
Henry Collins
..... in 1902, with his son Charles he invented the method of changing
tramline junction points by mechanical means from the safety and comfort of the
tram driver's cab. This replaced the method of having to send a youth armed with
a tool like a burglar's jemmy to force the points into the required position
Edward Druce
..... scientist who has been awarded a special citation in recognition of
his work by the Royal Society of Chemistry - 2007. Before his retirement
sixteen years ago he was an expert in the production of food. Now aged eighty he
works as a volunteer for the Manchester Jewish Federation and is a delegate to
the Manchester Jewish Representative Council
John Greenwood
..... started Salford's FIRST horse drawn
omnibus service in 1824 - Pendleton to Market Street
James Hall
..... died November 1st 1843 ..... from Ordsall he paid for and built Regent
Road Bridge over the River Irwell
James Prescott Joule
..... born
December 24th 1818 died 1889 ..... born
in New Bailey Street he became one of the greatest
scientists of the century. At the age of nineteen he invented an
electro-magnetic engine and in 1840 was able to state the law according to
which heat is produced in a conductor by the passage of an electric current.
From an early age he was devoted to scientific study and was later
encouraged by John Dalton to make it his career. His achievements were
rewarded with a Royal Medal by the Royal Society in 1852 and in 1860 he
became president of the Literary and Philosophical society. In 1872 he
became President of the British Association and in 1878 was awarded with a
Civil List pension of £200. When he died he was buried in the Brookland's Cemetery at Sale and a sculpted statue of him stands in
Manchester Town Hall. In 1970 a crater on the moon was named after him
Richard Mottram -
Sir
..... born 15th October 1848 died 1914 ..... member of an old Salford family
he was a mechanical engineer by profession and a member of the Iron and Steel
Institute of Great Britain. In 1894 he became Mayor of Salford, served for
another two years and during his third year was knighted by Queen Victoria
James Slater
..... owner
of a small Salford engineering workshop. In 1864 he patented a new type of
driving chain and later the Swiss engineer Hans Renold invented the bushes
which turned Slater's invention into the bush roller chain on which the
modern precision chain industry was built
William Charles
Tuke
..... architect of Blackpool Tower, he lived at Brentwood, Eccles Old Road
Henry Cobden Turner
..... died 1970 .....
engineering and organising genius who built up the Salford Electrical
Instruments business. He was responsible for many inventions of the
electronic age and it was at his Silk Street works that the famous
"proximity fuse" was first devised and radar improved
Edward W Watkin
..... born 26th September 1819 in Ravald Street, he was one of the most
prominent engineers on the construction of the Channel Tunnel between Dover and
Calais. In 1872 he took part in the formation of the Channel Tunnel Company and
in 1891 described the advantages of the proposed tunnel. He was also
instrumental in the planning and growth of much of the railway system in Britain
Tom
Whitehead - Professor ..... Salford-born
scientist who was presented with the Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2004
for developing a water pollution testing kit being used in Iraq which he has
been working on for the past seven years with a team of experts from
Birmingham University. He was born in Wythburn Street, Seedley in
1923? and was educated at Seedley Council School, then Salford Technical
College and then went to the Royal Technical College (now Salford
University) to study chemistry