Sir Thomas Boverton Redwood FRSE FIC FCS FGS FRSA MIME (1846–1919) was a 19th-century British chemical engineer remembered as a pioneer of the petroleum industry. An early car-collector and enthusiast, he was also one of the first to investigate alcohol as a fuel. He sat on (and often chaired) multiple government committees, including the British Science Guild, the Home Office Committee on Acetylene Generators. He was chairman of the Gas Traction Committee. He was vice president of the Society of Chemical Industries. He was president of the Institute of Petroleum Technologists 1914 to 1916. He was vice president of the Illuminating Engineering Society.

Life

He was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 26 April 1846, the eldest of eight children to Prof

Theophilus Redwood Theophilus Redwood (9 April 1806 – 5 March 1892) was a Welsh pharmacist who was one of the founding members of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. He was born in Boverton, Llantwit Major. In 1820 he was apprenticed to his brother- ...

(1806-1892), originally from

Boverton Boverton ( cy, Trebefered) is a village located to the east of Llantwit Major in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. History Boverton was founded during the reign of William the Conqueror in England. It is thought that he himself founded Bov ...

in South Wales, and his wife, Charlotte Elizabeth Morson, daughter of T M R Morson who owned a London pharmaceutical firm. He studied chemistry 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 = � ...

gaining a doctorate (DSc with Honours). In 1889 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Sir

James Dewar Sir James Dewar (20 September 1842 – 27 March 1923) was a British chemist and physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction with research into the liquefaction of gases. He also studied a ...

, William Dittmar,

Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildings complex is named after him. Early life and education Crum Brown was born at 4 Belle ...

and Robert Rattray Tatlock. In 1895 he was co-founder of the Self-Propelled Traffic Association and in 1897 he was a co-founder of the

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range ...

(RAC). In 1912 he was appointed to the Royal Commission on Fuel and Engines. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served on several committees ranging from petrol supplies, and oil supplies to the navy to the use of "liquid fire" (napalm) for trench warfare. In later life he lived at 119 Piccadilly in central London. He was knighted by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

in 1905 and further was created Baronet of Marylebone Road by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

in 1911. He died in London following a short illness on 4 June 1919.

Cars

His first car was a French then he acquired a Daimler in 1897. The Daimler was custom-built in Coventry to his own specification, being more powerful than average. He also had a

De Dion-Bouton De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1953. The company was founded by the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton, and Bouton's brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux. Steam cars T ...

Voiturette A voiturette is a miniature automobile. History ''Voiturette'' was first registered by Léon Bollée in 1895 to name his new motor tricycle. The term became so popular in the early years of the motor industry that it was used by many makers t ...

.Automobile Club Journal 26 February 1904 In 1904 he was proud owner of a 7 hp

Panhard Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...

and 16 hp

De Dietrich-Bugatti De Dietrich Bugatti refers colloquially to a number of early automobile designs by Ettore Bugatti, known as the Types 2 through 7. Importantly, the vehicle known as the Type 2 of 1901 was designed by Bugatti before he joined the automobile manufa ...

and his hobby was listed as steam-yachting.

Publications

*''Cantor Lectures on Petroleum and its Products'' (1886) *''Petroleum: Its Production and Use'' (1887) *''Petroleum: a Treatise on its Geograohical Distribution'' (1896) *''A Treatise on Petroleum'' (2 vols) (1896) *''The Petroleum Technologist's Pocket Book'' (1915)

Family

In 1873 he married Mary Elizabeth Letchford. He was father to Bernard Boverton Redwood.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Redwood, Thomas Boverton 1846 births 1919 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British chemical engineers Fellows of the Chemical Society Fellows of the Geological Society of London Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh History of the petroleum industry in the United Kingdom Engineers from London