Hermann Glauert, FRS (4 October 1892 – 6 August 1934) was a British

aerodynamicist Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...

and Principal Scientific Officer of the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

until his death in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

Early life and education

Glauert was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

; his father Louis Glauert was a cutlery manufacturer. He attended King Edward VII School, Sheffield and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

Career

Glauert wrote numerous reports and memoranda dealing with

aerofoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...

and

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 ...

theory. His book, ''The Elements of Aerofoil and Airscrew Theory'' was the single most important instrument for spreading

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...

and wing theory around the English speaking world. Glauert independently developed Prandtl-Glauert method from the then-existing aerodynamic theory and published his results in '' The Proceedings of the Royal Society'' in 1928. In the 1930s, he was the academic supervisor of aerodynamicist and educationalist

Gwen Alston Hannah Gwendolen Shone (22 May 1907 – 14 July 1993) was a British aerodynamicist and educationalist most known for her work on spinning tunnels and aircraft flight-testing during World War II, as well as her involvement in flight educati ...

Death

Glauert died aged 41 in an accident in a small park in Fleet common in Farnborough. His school said of him "The tragic and incalculable accident which resulted in the death of Hermann Glauert concerned us also, though less intimately. H. Glauert was a distinguished Edwardian of the early days, leaving the School with a mathematical scholarship to Trinity, Cambridge, in 1910. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society, principal scientific officer at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, and no less than an international authority on aeronautical science (cf Prandtl-Glauert singularity). He was killed by a chance fragment of a tree that was being blown up on Aldershot Common."

Personal life

Glauert married fellow RAE Farnborough

Muriel Barker (1892–1949). They had three children: a son, Michael (1924–2004), and twins Audrey (1925-2014) and Richard (1925-2016). Glauert is buried in the Ship Lane Cemetery, Farnborough. After Muriel Glauert's death in 1949, she was buried alongside her husband.

Publications

* ''The Elements of Aerofoil and Airscrew Theory'' - Cambridge University Press - 1926

References

External links

King Edward VII School Magazine, December 1934"Hermann Glauert FRS, FRAeS (1892 – 1934)"
a paper on Glauert's work (PDF)

a 1920 lecture of Glauert's published in ''Flight''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glauert, Hermann 1892 births 1934 deaths Accidental deaths in England Aerodynamicists Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Fluid dynamicists People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield Scientists from Yorkshire