Sir Charles Algernon Parsons (13 June 1854 – 11 February 1931) was a British[1] mechanical engineer and inventor who designed the modern steam turbine in 1884.

[6] With his three brothers, Parsons was educated at home in Ireland by private tutors[7] (including John Purser), all of whom were well versed in the sciences and also acted as practical assistants to the Earl in his astronomical work.

[9] In 1884 Parsons moved to Clarke, Chapman and Co., ship-engine manufacturers operating near Newcastle, where he became head of their electrical-equipment development.

Parsons' steam turbine made cheap and plentiful electricity possible and revolutionised marine transport and naval warfare.

[12] Another type of steam turbine at the time, invented by Gustaf de Laval (1845–1913) in the 1880s, was an impulse design that subjected the mechanism to huge centrifugal forces and so had limited output due to the weakness of the materials available.

Parsons explained in his 1911 Rede Lecture that his appreciation of the scaling issue led to his 1884 breakthrough on the compound steam turbine: It seemed to me that moderate surface velocities and speeds of rotation were essential if the turbine motor was to receive general acceptance as a prime mover.

Moving at speed at Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Fleet Review off Portsmouth, to demonstrate the great potential of the new technology.

[22] The Parsons turbine company survives in the Heaton area of Newcastle as part of Siemens, a German conglomerate.

[29] Sir Charles Algernon Parsons died on 11 February 1931, on board the steamship Duchess of Richmond while on a cruise with his wife.

[33] Rachel Parsons died in 1956; stableman Denis James Pratt was convicted of her manslaughter.

Previous winners include Prof. Tony Fagan (2016), Dr. Edmond Harty (2017), Prof. Sir John McCanny (2018) and Michael McLaughlin (2019).