Sherard Osborn Cowper-Coles (8 October 1866 – 9 September 1936) was a British
metallurgist
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
, and inventor of the
sherardising process of
galvanization
Galvanization or galvanizing ( also spelled galvanisation or galvanising) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are submerge ...
.
Early life
He was born in
Ventnor
Ventnor () is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, from Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface Down, and built on steep slopes leading down to the sea. ...
, the fourth son of naval inventor Captain
Cowper Phipps Coles
Captain Cowper Phipps Coles, C.B., R.N. (1819 – 7 September 1870), was an English naval captain with the Royal Navy. Coles was also an inventor; in 1859, he was the first to patent a design for a revolving gun turret. Upon appealing for public ...
. He studied at
King's College London and
Crystal Palace School of Engineering and became a metallurgist.
Career
He took out a patent on the
sherardising process in 1900. Cowper-Coles married his research assistant Constance Hamilton Watts in 1919. The couple continued to work on research together until his death.
They had three sons, the eldest of whom, Sherard, was the father of British diplomat
Sherard Cowper-Coles
Sir Sherard Louis Cowper-Coles (born 8 January 1955) is a British former diplomat. He was the Foreign Secretary's Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009–2010. After leaving the Foreign Office, he worked briefly for BAE ...
.
Death
He died at home, at
Rossall House in
Sunbury-on-Thames, of
oesophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voi ...
, survived by his wife and three sons.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowper-Coles, Sherard Osborn
1936 deaths
1866 births
Alumni of King's College London
People from Ventnor
British metallurgists