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Henry Bell (engineer)
Henry Bell (7 April 1767 – 14 March 1830) was a Scottish engineer who helped to pioneer the development of the steamship. He is mostly widely known for introducing the first successful passenger steamboat service in Europe in 1812. Early career Bell was born at Torphichen, near Bathgate, West Lothian in 1767. He was the fifth son of Patrick Bell and Margaret Easton, themselves members of a family well known at the time as millwrights, builders and engineers. He grew up at the local mill in Torphichen, where developed a working knowledge of water power. Work carried out by members of the Bell family included the design and construction of harbours, bridges, etc., in Scotland and throughout the United Kingdom. Henry Bell was educated at the local parish school and was apprenticed to a stonemason between 1780 and 1783. Three years later, he was briefly apprenticed to his uncle, a millwright. In 1786, he went to work Borrowstounness and learned ship modelling. In 1787, h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torphichen
Torphichen ( ) is a historic small village located north of Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland. The village is approximately 18 miles (20 km) west of Edinburgh, 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Falkirk and 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Linlithgow. The village had a population of 570 in the ( 2011 Census) and a population of 710 in 2016. Torphichen's placename may be Gaelic in origin, e.g., "Tóir Féichín" (the boundary/sanctuary of St Féichín), Tor Fithichean (Hill of the Ravens), or Brythonic "tref fechan" (little town). History The village (parish) church is said to have been founded by St. Ninian in about 400AD, a small wooden structure on the site of the present church (itself rebuilt in 1756). By the medieval period, the church and area had continued to develop and in 1165, the Knights Hospitaller of St. John made their Scottish headquarters at Torphichen and the Preceptory stands as testament to their presence. By 1756, part of the old structure of the Preceptory was alte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Select Committee (United Kingdom)
In British politics, parliamentary select committees can be appointed from the House of Commons, like the Foreign Affairs Select Committee; from the House of Lords, like the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee; or as a joint committee of Parliament drawn from both, such as the Joint Committee on Human Rights. Committees may exist as "sessional" committees – i.e. be near-permanent – or as "ad-hoc" committees with a specific deadline by which to complete their work, after which they cease to exist, such as the Lords Committee on Public Service and Demographic Change. The Commons select committees are generally responsible for overseeing the work of government departments and agencies, whereas those of the Lords look at general issues, such as the constitution, considered by the Constitution Committee, or the economy, considered by the Economic Affairs Committee. Both houses have their own committees to review drafts of European Union directives: the Eur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firth Of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meaning a narrow inlet. ''Forth'' stems from the name of the river; this is ''*Vo-rit-ia'' (slow running) in Proto-Celtic, yielding '' Foirthe'' in Old Gaelic and '' Gweryd'' in Welsh. It was known as ''Bodotria'' in Roman times. In the Norse sagas it was known as the ''Myrkvifiörd''. An early Welsh name is ''Merin Iodeo'', or the "Sea of Iudeu". Geography and economy Geologically, the Firth of Forth is a fjord, formed by the Forth Glacier in the last glacial period. The drainage basin for the Firth of Forth covers a wide geographic area including places as far from the shore as Ben Lomond, Cumbernauld, Harthill, Penicuik and the edges of Gleneagles Golf Course. Many towns line the shores, as well as the petrochemical complexes at Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major city of Glasgow. Historically, it was important to the British Empire because of its role in shipbuilding and trade. To the Romans, it was , and in the early medieval Cumbric language, it was known as or . It was central to the Kingdom of Strathclyde (). Etymology The exact etymology of the river's name is unclear, though it is known that the name is ancient: It was called or by the Britons and by the Romans. It is therefore likely that the name comes from a Celtic language—most likely Old British. But there is more than one old Celtic word that the river's name could plausibly derive from. One possible root is the Common Brittonic , meaning 'loud' or 'loudly'. More likely, the river was named after a local Celtic goddess, '' Clōta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenock
Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic county of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It forms part of a contiguous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 UK Census showed that Greenock had a population of 44,248, a decrease from the 46,861 recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 UK Census. It lies on the south bank of the Clyde at the "Tail of the Bank" where the River Clyde deepens into the Firth of Clyde. History Name Place-name scholar William J. Watson wrote that "Greenock is well known in Gaelic as Grianáig, dative of grianág, a sunny knoll". The Scottish Gaelic place-name ''Grianaig'' is relatively common, with another (Greenock) near Calla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 states that the population has declined to 15,414. It is located immediately to the east of Greenock and was previously a burgh in the county of Renfrewshire. Originally a fishing hamlet named Newark, Port Glasgow came about as a result of large ships being unable to navigate the shallow and meandering River Clyde to the centre of the city of Glasgow. As a result, it was formed as a remote port for Glasgow in 1668, and became known as 'New Port Glasgow', which was shortened to 'Port Glasgow' in 1775. Port Glasgow was home to dry docks and shipbuilding beginning in 1780. The town grew from the central area of the present town and thus many of the town's historic buildings and people are found here. Port Glasgow expanded up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Comet Of 1811
The Great Comet of 1811, formally designated C/1811 F1, is a comet that was visible to the naked eye for around 260 days, the longest recorded period of visibility until the appearance of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997. In October 1811, at its brightest, and when it was 1.2 AU from Earth, it displayed an apparent magnitude of 0, with an easily visible coma. Discovery The comet was discovered March 25, 1811 by Honoré Flaugergues at 2.7 AU from the Sun in the now-defunct constellation of Argo Navis. After being obscured for several days by moonlight, it was also found by Jean-Louis Pons on April 11, while Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach was able to confirm Flaugergues' discovery the same night.. The first provisional orbit was computed in June by Johann Karl Burckhardt. Based on these calculations, Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers made a prediction that the comet would go on to become extremely bright later that year. Observations From May to August, the comet's position made ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PS Comet
The PS (paddle steamer ) ''Comet'' was built in 1812 for Henry Bell, hotel and baths owner in Helensburgh, and began a passenger service on 15 August 1812 on the River Clyde between Glasgow and Greenock, the first commercially successful steamboat service in Europe. History Henry Bell had become interested in steam-propelled boats, and corresponded with Robert Fulton to learn from the '' Charlotte Dundas'' venture. In the winter of 1811/1812 he got John and Charles Wood of John Wood and Company, shipbuilders of Port Glasgow, to build a paddle steamer which was named ''Comet'', named after the "Great Comet" of 1811. The 28 ton burthen craft had a deck long with a beam of . It had two paddle wheels on each side, driven by a single-cylinder engine rated at . The engine was made by John Robertson of Glasgow, and the boiler by David Napier, Camlachie, Glasgow (a story has it that they were evolved from an experimental little steam engine which Bell installed to pump sea wat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firth Of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula, which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran. Within the Firth of Clyde is another major island – the Isle of Bute. Given its strategic location at the entrance to the middle and upper Clyde, Bute played a vital naval military role during World War II. Geography At its entrance, the firth is about wide. At one area in its upper reaches, it is joined by Loch Long and the Gare Loch. This area includes the large anchorage off of Greenock that is known as the Tail of the Bank. (The “Bank” is a reference to the sandbank and shoal that separates the firth from the estuary of the Ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forth And Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowed navigation from Edinburgh on the east coast to the port of Glasgow on the west coast. The canal is long and it runs from the River Carron at Grangemouth to the River Clyde at Bowling, and had an important basin at Port Dundas in Glasgow. Successful in its day, it suffered as the seagoing vessels were built larger and could no longer pass through. The railway age further impaired the success of the canal, and in the 1930s decline had ended in dormancy. The final decision to close the canal in the early 1960s was made due to maintenance costs of bridges crossing the canal exceeding the revenues it brought in. However, subsidies to the rail network were also a cause for its decline and the closure ended the movement of the east-coast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope
Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope, aka Charles Mahon, 3rd Earl Stanhope, FRS (3 August 175315 December 1816), was a British statesman, inventor, and scientist. He was the father of Lady Hester Stanhope and brother-in-law of William Pitt the Younger. He is sometimes confused with an exact contemporary of his, Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington. Early life The son of Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Stanhope, he was educated at Eton and the University of Geneva. While in Geneva, he devoted himself to the study of mathematics under Georges-Louis Le Sage, and acquired from Switzerland an intense love of liberty. Politics In politics he was a democrat. As Lord Mahon he contested the Westminster without success in 1774, when only just of age; but from the general election of 1780 until his accession to the peerage on 7 March 1786 he represented through the influence of Lord Shelburne the Buckinghamshire borough of High Wycombe. During the sessions of 1783 and 1784 he supported ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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