Anthony Michell

Anthony George Maldon Michell FRS[1] (21 June 1870 – 17 February 1959) was an Australian mechanical engineer of the early 20th century.

The family returned to Maldon, Victoria, in 1872, where young Anthony attended one of the state primary schools newly established in that area.

[3] Arising from Michell's research work on the mechanical properties of liquids and the mathematical studies of fluid motion viscosity and lubrication, a patent was taken out in England and Australia on 16 January 1905.

In a few years his invention completely revolutionised thrust bearing technology, particularly in the field of marine propulsion and steam turbines.

Activity in this area only started to gain momentum some half century later, with the advent of electronic computers, and during his lifetime Michell would have been oblivious to the impact of his work in this field.

[8] Two notable employees of the firm were T.L Sherman who held U.S. patent 2,475,295 on the crankless mechanism, and Phil Irving who would much later become a famed Australian motorcycle and racing engineer.

Anthony George Maldon Michell was a bachelor and lived in Prospect Hill Road, Camberwell, until his death in 1959 at the age of eighty-eight.