Robert MacGregor was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, who, during the 1920s, concerned over unnecessary losses of

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

colliers, developed the first steel hatch cover. The design was simple and consisted of five articulated leaves that stowed neatly at the end of each hatch. Patented in 1929, the steel hatch improved ship and cargo safety and had a lasting impact on cargo care. In 1937, to promote and sell his steel hatch covers, Robert MacGregor and his brother Joseph formed MacGregor & Company in

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around eas ...

on the north-east coast of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

References

External links

MacGREGOR Group website
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacGregor, Robert British marine engineers People from Whitley Bay 1873 births 1956 deaths Engineers from Tyne and Wear