Alfred Bird (1811 – 15 December 1878) was an English food manufacturer and chemist. He was born in

Nympsfield Nympsfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is located around four miles south-west of the town of Stroud. As well as Nympsfield village, the parish contains the hamlet of Cockadilly. The population take ...

, Gloucestershire, England in 1811Baptised 25 August 1811 in Nympsfield, Gloucester, England. Parents John and Mary. International Genealogical Index batch C030651; source call no. 0425482; Printout call no. 6911781 and was later a pupil at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent day school for boys in the British public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by King Edward VI in 1552, it is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Bir ...

. He was the inventor of a series of food products, most notably egg-free custard and

baking powder Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid. The base and acid are prevented from reacting prematurely by the inclusion of a buffer such as cornstarch. Baking powder is used to increas ...

."Alfred Bird: Egg-free custard inventor and chemist"
''Birmingham Mail''. Retrieved 25 February 2018 His father was a lecturer in astronomy at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

. His son Alfred Frederick Bird continued to develop the business after his father's death.

Career

Alfred Bird registered as a pharmacist in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

in 1842, having served an apprenticeship to

Phillip Harris Phillip Harris (born 29 September 1989) is a British former figure skater. He is a three-time British national champion (2014–2015, 2015–2016, 2017–2018) and has qualified for the free skate at four ISU Championships. Career Early ...

of that city. He was a qualified

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

and druggist and went on to open an experimental chemist's shop in Bull Street. Alfred Bird's first major invention was egg-free custard in 1837. Alfred Bird used

cornflour Cornflour may refer to: * Cornflour (in the UK), corn starch, from the endosperm of the kernel of the corn (maize) grain * Corn flour (in the US and elsewhere), very finely ground cornmeal, ground from dried maize See also * Flour * Starch * Gl ...

instead of

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

to create an imitation of

egg custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency ...

. It was originally intended only for his wife Elizabeth who had both egg and

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

allergies. The Birds used genuine custard when entertaining guests, but on one occasion the egg-free custard was (either by accident or design) fed to dinner guests. It was well received, and Alfred Bird realised that his invention had a wider use. Soon afterwards Alfred Bird founded 'Alfred Bird and Sons Ltd', which would go on to become the famous

Bird's Custard Bird's Custard is the brand name for the original powdered, egg-free imitation custard powder, now owned by Premier Foods. Custard powder and instant custard powder are the generic product names for similar and competing products. The product ...

company and brand. Bird was not content to revolutionise custard but went on to invent a

in 1843 so he could make yeast-free bread for his wife. This formula for baking powder is essentially the same as used in modern baking powders.

Death

Alfred Bird died on 15 December 1878 in

Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward (politics), ward within the Government of Birmingham, Engl ...

and is buried at

Key Hill Cemetery Key Hill Cemetery, ( OS grid reference SP059882), originally called Birmingham General Cemetery, is a cemetery in Hockley (the Jewellery Quarter), Birmingham, England. It opened in 1836 as a nondenominational cemetery (in practice nonconfor ...

in Birmingham. Famously his obituary in the journal of the

Chemical Society The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation. ...

(of which he was a fellow) discussed at length his skills and research but did not mention his other activity – the by then famous

and Bird's Jelly. It read:

Personal life

His son, Alfred Frederick Bird, continued the work of his father. Bird junior went on to invent egg substitute powder in 1890,

blancmange Blancmange (, from french: blanc-manger ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured ...

powder and jelly powder. " The Custard Factory" in Digbeth, Birmingham, is now a centre providing space to artists.

References

External links

Alfred Bird
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Alfred 1811 births 1878 deaths English inventors 19th-century British chemists People from Birmingham, West Midlands People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham Burials at Key Hill Cemetery