William Bickford (1774–1834) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

inventor, who, formerly a

currier A currier is a specialist in the leather-processing trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade a ...

, invented the safety fuse for use in mining.

Early life

William Bickford was born in Ashburton,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to William and Mary Bickford. He moved to first

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

and then Tuckingmill in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. Tuckingmill was then in the heart of the Cornish mining industry, and Bickford would have been aware of the large loss of life from explosive accidents in the mines.

Inventor career

He is best known as the inventor of the

safety fuse The safety fuse is a type of fuse (explosive), fuse invented and patented by English inventor William Bickford (1774–1834), William Bickford in 1831. Originally it consisted of a "tube" of gunpowder surrounded by a waterproofed varnished jute "r ...

, which was inspired by watching a friend, James Bray making rope. With his son-in-law George Smith, he established a factory in Tuckingmill for the production of his invention, and in its first year it produced 45 miles of fuse. He died a short while before his company actually started up. It took a while for miners to use the safety fuses, for the old ones were cheaper. His company eventually became part of the

Ensign-Bickford Company The Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (formerly The Ensign-Bickford Company) is a manufacturer of hardware and energetic systems for use in spacecraft, military, and industrial applications. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ensign-Bic ...

. ''On the south side of the main street, at the bottom of Tuckingmill, set in a wall, was (certainly prior to 1990) an inscribed stone which amongst other things credited his daughter with the inspiration/possible invention of the safety fuse. '' Bickford's grandson

William Bickford-Smith William Bickford-Smith (1827 – 24 February 1899) was an English fuse manufacturer and a Liberal and Liberal Unionist politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892. Biography Smith was the son of George Smith of Truro and his ...

became MP for

Death

Bickford died in the Parish of Camborne, Cornwall on 2 October 1834.

References

Sources

William Bickford biography

The Bickford Fuse by Andrey Kurkov review – a Soviet Pilgrim’s Progress
1774 births 1834 deaths Inventors from Cornwall People from Ashburton, Devon English inventors

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

{{England-engineer-stub