Bennet Woodcroft
FRS (20 December 1803 – 7 February 1879) was an English textile manufacturer, industrial archaeologist, pioneer of marine propulsion, a leading figure in patent reform and the first clerk to the commissioners of patents.
Biography
Woodcroft was born in
Heaton Norris, Lancashire. He studied chemistry under
Dalton, returning to Lancashire to join his father in business as a
dyer and velvet finisher. In 1843 he began a career as a consulting engineer in Manchester and moved to London in 1846 taking up the chair of Professor of Machinery at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
.
In 1852 he was appointed Superintendent of Specifications in the Patent Office and in 1864 became the Clerk of Commissioners responsible for the direction of the office. During his tenure he founded the
Patent Office Library, now part of the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, and the
Patent Museum, whose collections are now in the
Science Museum
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
.
He retired 12 years later in March 1876.
During his career he authored over a dozen patents
in the fields of
textiles
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
and
naval engineering
Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and o ...
.
He married Agnes Bertha Sawyer (7 September 1833 – 10 March 1903) in Hampstead in the September Quarter of 1866. She was born in
Bosworth, Leicestershire. At this time he was 63 and she 33.
They had no children. On the 1871 census they lived alone with servants, on the 1881 census she is widowed living with the cook only.
Woodcroft died on the 7th February, 1879 at his residence in South Kensington and is buried in
Brompton Cemetery, London.
His portrait is in the
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to:
*National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra
*National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred
*National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C.
*National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...
.
Work
Woodcroft patented fundamental improvements in textile machinery and ship propulsion, and this in turn led to an absorbing interest in the history of the patent procedure. As a result of a reorganisation of the
British Patent Office
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Peoples, culture, and language
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in 1852, he became Superintendent of Specifications. This gave him the opportunity to develop a private collection of historical machinery.
When the
South Kensington Museum
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
was being planned in the mid-1850s, the Patent Office, through Woodcroft, was invited to assemble a collection of industrial devices for display. When the Museum opened in 1857, the building incorporated a separate Patent Office Museum and Woodcroft remained its driving force until his retirement in 1876.
A born collector, Woodcroft displayed a passion for securing notable items of historical machinery. 1862 was a particularly fruitful year, when due to his efforts, his museum secured ''
Puffing Billy'' the world's oldest surviving steam railway locomotive (1814),
Stephenson
Stephenson is a medieval patronymic surname meaning "son of Stephen". The earliest public record is found in the county of Huntingdonshire in 1279. There are variant spellings including Stevenson. People with the surname include:
*Ashley Stephen ...
's ''
Rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
'' (1829), which set the design standard for locomotives, and the engine of
Henry Bell's ''
Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
'' (1812), the first steamship to be operated commercially in Europe.
![Brompton Cemetery, London 48](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Brompton_Cemetery%2C_London_48.JPG)
A letter to his subordinate at South Kensington typifies his single-minded approach: "Get the Comet engine in all its filth" he commanded, emphasising the urgency of the quest. The Patent Office Museum also acquired several examples of stationary steam engine, including a Boulton and Watt beam engine which was the oldest surviving of its type in the world.
Without Woodcroft it is doubtful that some of the most important artefacts of the first industrial revolution would have ever been preserved.
Publications
* Bennet Woodcroft. ''Steam navigation.'' Reprinted from Transactions of the Society of Arts, 1847.
* Bennet Woodcroft. ''A sketch of the origin and progress of steam navigation from authentic documents'' with illustrations drawn by
J.C. Bourne and lithographed by
C.F. Cheffins. 1848
*Bennet Woodcroft,. ''Alphabetical Index of Patentees of Inventions From March 2, 1617 (14 James I.) to October 1, 1852 (16 Victoriæ)''. Patent Office (1853)
*Bennet Woodcroft,. ''Subject-matter Index (made from Titles Only) of Patents of Invention From March 2, 1617 (14 James I.) to October 1, 1852 (16 Victoriae)''. Two volumes. Patent Office (1853)
*Bennet Woodcroft,. ''Titles of Patents of Invention, Chronologically Arranged From March 2, 1617 (14 James I.) to October 1, 1852 (16 Victoriae)''. Two volumes. Patent Office (1853)
*Bennet Woodcroft,. ''Reference Index of Patents of Invention, from March 2, 1617 (14 James I.) to October 1, 1852 (16 Victoriae)''. Patent Office (1853)
* Bennet Woodcroft. ''Patents for inventions. Abridgements of specifications relating to sugar. A.D. 1663–1866.'' Great Britain. Patent Office (1871)
* as editor: ''The Pneumatics of Hero of Alexandria'', translated from the original Greek by J. W. Greenwood (1851).
See also
*
Johann Georg Bodmer
Johann Georg Bodmer (6 December 1786 – 29 May 1864) was a prolific Swiss inventor, making contributions to areas ranging from weaponry to steam engines, textile manufacture (machinery for wool spinning), and railroad construction.
See also
*Be ...
References
External links
Bennet Woodcroft and the Patent Office Museum collection Science Museum website
Bennet Woodcroft Spiral propeller model, 1832
Science MuseumModel of stern of vessel fitted with adjustable pitch
screw propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
, 1857
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodcroft, Bennet
1803 births
1879 deaths
English inventors
Burials at Brompton Cemetery
English engineers
Fellows of the Royal Society
Museum founders
19th-century philanthropists