George Dowty

Sir George Herbert Dowty (27 March 1901 – 7 December 1975) was an English inventor and businessman.

He founded Dowty Aviation in the 1930s producing aircraft components such as hydraulic systems, undercarriage units, and warning devices.

He was sent to the Royal Grammar School Worcester after losing his right eye at the age of 12 making a firework.

[1] Dowty invented the first internally sprung aircraft wheel (used on the Gloster Gladiator)[1] and by the time World War II had broken out the company was known as Dowty Aviation and was making the hydraulic systems in planes in Britain, Canada and the United States.

[2] He also invented the "Dowty retarder" for use in railway classification yards, a hydraulic device that regulates the speed of rail cars as they roll down an inclined track.