William Wouldhave (1751–1821) is a rival of

Lionel Lukin Lionel Lukin (18 May 1742 – 16 February 1834) was a British inventor and lifeboat designer. Bibliography * Frederick Robus: ''Lionel Lukin of Dunmow: The Inventor of the Lifeboat''. Robus Broth. 1925 Web ''Life Boat''(Made up in Brita ...

for recognition as inventor of the

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

. His tombstone (erected thirteen years before Lukin’s) describes him as: ::::::‘''Inventor of that invaluable blessing to mankind the Lifeboat''’.

Personal History

William Wouldhave was born in Liddle Street,

North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

, Northumberland in 1751 and baptised in Christ Church then in the parish of

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...

. He was apprenticed as a house painter before moving to become parish clerk in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

. Wouldhave married with Hannah Crow on 1 March 1775 at the parish church of St Hilda, South Shields. After his death a memorial was erected and that stone still exists (2010) in the former graveyard of St Hilda’s Church, South Shields.

Lifeboat Invention

He did not succeed with the practical application of his invention until 1789, three years after Lukin’s converted coble was presented to Dr Sharpe. In this year a competition was launched to reward any inventor who could provide a craft for the purpose of saving lives from a shipwreck. This following the tragic fate of the doomed

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

ship, the ''Adventure'', that had gone aground near the coast at the mouth of the Tyne. From the shore, although the shipwreck clearly visible, little could be done to save the passengers and crew who were seen to be dropping from the rigging into the sea.

Other Claims

Wouldhave's boat was to be built of copper, made buoyant by the use of cork, and incapable of being capsized. Although it did not meet with full approval, Wouldhave was awarded one

guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

for his trouble.

Henry Greathead Henry Francis Greathead (1757–1818) was a pioneering rescue lifeboat builder from South Shields. Although Lionel Lukin had patented a lifeboat in 1785, Greathead successfully petitioned parliament in 1802 with the claim that he had invented ...

also made a submission, which was deemed to resemble a "butcher's tray", in that it was oblong and was a copy of a U.S. troop carrier, totally unsatisfactory for the short breaking seas of the North East Coast, he was however employed to build a boat designed by the committee, principally by Nicholas Fairles.

Other Inventors

Wouldhave's claims to have invented the lifeboat were hampered by his poverty and violent language. Mr. Hailes, a mathematician familiar with marine architecture, supported Wouldhave's claim to the invention, and believed that the curved keel was an error. In a letter to the editor of The Monthly Magazine dated Feb.16,1807, Hailes says that around the time of Greathead's recognition in parliament in 1802, he had asserted Wouldhave's right to the invention, and invited Greathead to prove otherwise. He had not done so, apart from some letters to newspapers, and editors continued to present Greathead to the public as the inventor of the lifeboat. In 1806 Hailes published a pamphlet titled "An enquiry concerning the invention of the lifeboat". In July of that year a letter was published in the Gentlemans Magazine claiming the invention for Lukin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wouldhave, William 1751 births 1821 deaths People from South Shields English inventors People from North Shields