Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company

In the beginning, the company was financially driven by a friend of Horace Darwin (1851–1928), Albert Dew-Smith (1848–1903).

Dew-Smith was an engineer, photographer and instrument maker who was at Trinity College, Cambridge with Darwin.

[1][2] Several early employees went on to further renown, including Robert Whipple, who was appointed personal assistant to Horace Darwin in 1898, and later became Managing Director and Chairman of the company.

[5] His collection of scientific instruments later formed the basis of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science in 1944.

[4] Losses continued, so in 1976 the company received a government bailout that made it part of the National Enterprise Board (NEB).

The NEB performed a major reorganisation but retained the Cambridge Instruments name, before privatising the company again in 1979.