Science and invention in Birmingham

The following period sees the new town expand rapidly in highly favourable economic circumstances and there is archaeological evidence of small-scale industries taking place such as kilns producing the distinctive local Deritend ware pottery.

[6] By the early 16th century Birmingham has already evolved into a well established arms manufacturing town, in 1538 churchman John Leialand passes through the Midlands and writes: I came through a praty street or ever I entered Bermingham.

[10] In 1642 the early Birmingham mathematician and astronomer Nathaniel Nye publishes A New Almanacke and Prognostication calculated exactly for the faire and populous Towne of Birmicham in Warwickshire, where the Pole is elevated above the Horizon 52 degrees and 38 minutes, and may serve for any part of this Kingdome.

Lewis's invention is later developed and improved by Richard Arkwright and Samuel Crompton, although this comes about under great suspicion after a fire at Daniel Bourn's factory in Leominster that specifically uses Paul and Wyatt's spindles.

One, intent, O'erlooks the work; the carded wool, he says, Is smoothly lapp'd around those cylinders, Which, gently turning, yield it to yon' cirque Of upright spindles, which with rapid whirl Spin out, in long extent, an even twine.

Boulton writes in 1771, "I am very desirous of becoming a great silversmith, yet I am determined not to take up that branch in the large way I intended, unless powers can be obtained to have a marking hall [assay office] at Birmingham."

1793: "A gentleman of the name of Hand" in Birmingham obtains a patent for preparing flexible leather having a glaze and polish that renders it impervious to water and needing only be wiped with a sponge to restore it to its original lustre.

At some time around the late 18th or early 19th century a stand-alone cooking range or stove is invented by John Heard (joiner), capable of roasting, boiling, baking and of course heating a room.

1811: Henry James takes out a patent for propelling vessels by steam, via a paddle wheel fixed in the middle of the stern and steered by two fins to relieve leggers from the arduous duty of pushing boats through canal tunnels.

1823: Francis Deakin improves a method of stringing the piano by employing the screw and nut as opposed to the previously used wooden peg, thus allowing a greater tension and strength of wire.

1830: With the invention of a new machine, William Joseph Gillott, John Mitchell and James Stephen Perry devise a way to mass-produce robust, cheap steel pen nibs.

The company relies on local workers, and at one stage is known as "... the greatest glass manufacturer in Britain", taking advantage of the Birmingham Canal Navigations and the Industrial Revolution in the region.

Great advances in glass manufacture take place such as perfection of the earliest optical lenses to block the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun and improvements in lighthouse illumination.

He campaigns for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of penny postage and his solution of prepayment facilitates the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters.

The failure of Sicily's lemon crop at this time results in an opening in the market, which Sturge takes great advantage of utilizing their extensive chemical works based in Edgbaston.

Bown works closely with Joseph Henry Hughes, who draws up the patent for a ball or roller bearing race for bicycle and carriage wheels that includes all the elements of an adjustable system in 1877.

During the late 19th century, Birmingham companies such as Joseph Lucas & Sons and Powell & Hammer pioneered the production of bicycle lamps and lanterns for ships, capitalising on the advances in using acetylene gas.

Prosser also writes Birmingham Inventors and Inventions, 1881 and is a pioneer of the study of technical history, his published biographies and manuscript records are an incomparable source for present-day researchers.

1884: John Berry Haycraft has been actively engaged in research and published papers on the coagulation of blood and in 1884, he discovers that the leech secretes a powerful anticoagulant, which he names hirudin.

Motor engineering brands such as Wolseley, Lanchester, Metro-Cammell, Austin, Morris, Vickers-Armstrongs, New Hudson, Revere, Beardmore, Sun, Ariel, Norton, Rex-Acme, Alldays & Onions, Velocette, Midland Red and BSA either originate or have substantial factories in Birmingham, manufacturing motorbikes, buses, tractors, cars, tanks and aeroplanes.

1900: Bournville Village Trust is founded by George Cadbury, this is to make many improvements and set high standards of living and leisure pastimes for factory workers across Britain.

He later moves to the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, where he uses a method of electromagnetic focusing to invent the mass spectrograph, which rapidly allows him to identify no fewer than 212 of the 287 naturally occurring isotopes.

The Lord of the Rings continues to inspire artwork, music, films and television, video games and subsequent literature, including reference in the Oxford English Dictionary.

1919: The airbag "for the covering of aeroplane and other vehicle parts" traces its origins to a United States patent submitted in 1919 by two Birmingham dentists, Harold Round & Arthur Parrott,[34] and approved in 1920.

[45] In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T.[46][47] 1962: Maurice Wilkins, New Zealand born and Birmingham raised, receives the Nobel Prize for his work on DNA structure, he is one of three who become known as the Code Breakers.

Wilkins is educated at King Edward's School (and St John's College, Cambridge), he receives a PhD for the study of phosphors at the University of Birmingham, where he works on radar display screens and uranium isotope separation before moving to the Manhattan Project.

Some of the more notable songs that make use of the signature Mellotron sound include Nights In White Satin by The Moody Blues, Tomorrow Never Knows and Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles, 2000 Light Years from Home and We Love You by The Rolling Stones, Hole In My Shoe by Traffic, Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye, Days by The Kinks, Space Oddity by David Bowie, Stairway to Heaven, The Rain Song and Kashmir by Led Zeppelin.

Of the earliest influential bands that are later to be described as Heavy Metal, several of the most notable artists arise from the mid to late 1960s Brum Beat music scene, such as: Robert Plant and John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward of Black Sabbath and Rob Halford and Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest.

Sir John Robert Vane, winner of a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1982 for his work on aspirin, is educated at King Edward's School and studies Chemistry at the University of Birmingham.

[citation needed] As of 2013, Aston University was also carrying out research, including a micro-robotic drill for use in surgery, and the use of fibre optics instead of electric sensors in aircraft fuel tanks.

Deritend ware
John Rogers , the compiler and editor of the 1537 Matthew Bible
Frontispiece of Nye 's New Almanacke and Prognostication for 1642
17th-century European saker cannon
External view of a cocked 17th century snaphance lock on musket , a weapon Birmingham was selling to London.
The only known surviving copy of the Birmingham Journal , dated 21 May 1733
Model of a water frame inspired by Lewis Paul and John Wyatt 's early cotton spinning mnachine .
A restored carding machine at Quarry Bank Mill in the UK.
Birmingham on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution in 1732
Industry and Genius , 1990, by David Patten, sculpture dedicated to John Baskerville in Centenary Square
Meeting of the Lunar Society late 18th century, possibly at Soho House
Soho House from the front. The house is now a museum free to patrons under 16.
Old Bess , as now preserved in the Science Museum, London
Birmingham became a town of commerce with two of the big four banks founded in the town. Lloyds bank was founded in 1765, the world's first building society Ketley's was founded in 1775, and Midland Bank (now owned by HSBC was founded in 1836). Pictured is the Edgbaston branch of Lloyds Bank, Five Ways, Birmingham
Boulton & Watt engine of 1788. The ' sun and planet gear ' (also called the 'planet and sun gear') was a method of converting reciprocal motion to rotary motion and was utilised in a reciprocating steam engine
The first steam powered Cotton Mills such as this Murrays' Mill in Greater Manchester were powered by 40 hp Boulton and Watt beam engines. Richard Arkwright pioneered Watt's rotary-motion steam engine in his cotton mills and within 15 years there were 500+ Boulton & Watt steam engines in British factories and mines.
Soho mint mark on a cartwheel twopence. The Soho Mint pioneered mass production methods of coin manufacture around the world, with eight machines, driven by a steam engine, each capable of striking 70 to 84 coins per minute and worked by children.
Birmingham Assay Office was fought for by Boulton and it changed the fortunes of silver making in the town and can still be visited today.
Wedgwood button with Boulton cut steels, depicting a mermaid and family, England, circa 1760.
Gas lighting was pioneered in Birmingham, and subsequently spread around the world. Gas lamps were later replaced with electric fittings.
Cadbury 's was founded in Birmingham and later became a household name in Britain, selling cocoa based foods and drink and pioneering mass food manufacture techniques as well as major advances in the well-being of employees by providing homes and encouraging fitness through sport.
By the 1850s, Birmingham Pen Trade existed as a world centre for steel pen and steel nib manufacture; more than half the steel-nib pens manufactured in the world at this time were made in Birmingham.
Muntz metal was used in maritime vessels such as the hull of the Cutty Sark , Its original application was as a replacement for copper sheathing placed on the bottom of boats and is still used today for corrosion resistant machine parts.
Heceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon. The Chance Brothers Fresnel lens , built in the early 1890s, is still in operation at this historic light station. Chances became one of the foremost glass makers in the world, pioneering the use of glass in items such as UV lenses and glass syringes . Another famous lighthouse Split Point Lighthouse in Australia uses a Birmingham-made Fresnel lens but the factory was bombed during war-time and the essential formulae for making the unique lens crystal were lost
An 1868 Webley & Scott Revolver. Birmingham has a long history of arms manufacture. By the 19th century, the introduction of the percussion system combined with the adoption of modern production methods led to Birmingham becoming the dominant producer in British firearms with its own Gun Quarter .
George and Henry Elkington were awarded the first patents for electroplating in 1840. These two then founded the electroplating industry in Birmingham from where it spread around the world.
One of William Stroudley 's locomotives . Stroudley spent seven years studying in Birmingham under John Inshaw before becoming one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers.
Sir Francis Galton created some of the first weather maps in order to devise a theory on storm systems. These proved popular with the British public when first printed in newspapers. [ 18 ]
Sir Francis Galton studied fingerprints for ten years, publishing a detailed statistical model of fingerprint analysis and identification and encouraged its use in forensic science.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel turned to Richard Tangye to help launch the SS Great Eastern in 1858. Tangye later designed, built and exported all types of engines, jacks and pulleys across the world.
The modern game of lawn tennis was invented in Edgbaston by Augurio Perera and Harry Gem .
Celluloid as a bulk material for forming objects was invented in 1856 by Alexander Parkes , it was later described as generally the first plastic and is used in various subsequent inventions, most notably movie film .
Birmingham has a long history of wire and cable manufacture, the industry set various international standards for wire gauges and the city became one of the foremost producers of wire for musical instruments in Europe. In 1865 the first successful Transatlantic telegraph cable was made by Webster and Horsfall , who also improved the manufacture of piano wire (giving them a near monopoly).
Skateboard wheels owe their existence to William Bown and Joseph Henry Hughes, who patented a design for the wheels of roller skates that kept the two bearing surfaces of an axle, fixed and moving, apart. This technique is still used today in automobiles and machinery.
Joseph Hudson invented the world's most successful whistle to date, the 'Acme Thunderer' (the first ever pea whistle). Other firsts for Hudson include the introduction of the football referee whistle and the police whistle.
Dr Joseph Sampson Gamgee pioneered the use of cotton wool in the first medical context as Gamgee Tissue and his cottonwool gauze is still essential in the treatment of wounds today. The common sticking plaster (invented by Earle Dickson of New York in 1924) was based on Gamgee's gauze, however, Birmingham chemist Thomas Allcock invented a porous plaster for the relief of pain in New York as early as 1854.
The bicycle bell was invented by John Richard Dedicoat and his patents appear as early as 1877.
The world's first Football League was founded in Birmingham by William McGregor in 1885, McGregor was a director of Aston Villa (pictured in their 1883-4 strip). Villa were very successful around this time, before money and international players dictated top flight success.
Frederick William Lanchester and his brother built the first petrol driven four-wheeled car in Britain. The Lanchester Motor Company went on to pioneer many advances in engineering.
During the late 19th century, Birmingham, Coventry , Wolverhampton and West Bromwich engineering companies were at the forefront of the burgeoning automobile and motocycle industries. Early horseless carriages such as the 1899 Lanchester Phaeton (pictured) were made possible in the region thanks to an existent array of metalwork and engineering skills that were mainly evolving out of the bicycle industry.
An early radiograph. The first radiograph used to assist in surgery was taken by the pioneer of medical X-rays , Major John Hall-Edwards .
Out of Birmingham's bicycle manufacturers, there emerged a plethora of cutting edge automobile and motorcycle brands. Motorcycles from New Hudson , Revere, Beardmore , Sun , Ariel , Norton , Rex-Acme , Alldays & Onions , Velocette and BSA made Birmingham into an international hub for motorcycle manufacture. At its peak, BSA was the largest motorcycle producer in the world and engineers such as James Lansdowne Norton pioneered engineering in the city, helping Birmingham-made motorbikes to win many awards for speed and quality.
Reynolds bicycle frames are extremely lightweight and have been used in several winning Tour de France bikes. Reynolds still manufactures frames in the city today.
Porsche Carrera S composite ceramic brake, perfected over one hundred years after the original patent is taken out by Frederick William Lanchester
An electric glow discharge tube featuring its most important characteristics: (a) An anode and cathode at each end (b) Aston Dark Space (c) Cathode glow (d) Cathode dark space (also called Crookes dark space, or Hittorf dark space) (e) Negative glow (f) Faraday space (g) Positive column (h) Anode glow (i) Anode dark space.
In 1905 Herbert Austin began making cars at his new Longbridge plant , seventeen years later the Austin 7 went into production, it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, its effect on the British market was similar to that of the Model T Ford in the USA. It was also licensed and copied by companies all over the world. The very first successful BMW car, the BMW Dixi , was a licensed Austin 7. In Japan Nissan also used the 7 design as the basis for their original cars. Many Austin 7s were rebuilt as "specials" after the Second World War, including the first Lotus , the Lotus Mk1 , which was based on an Austin 7.
Glock 20 pistol with a black Parkerized topcoat. Parkerizing (also called phosphating and phosphatizing) is a method of protecting a steel surface from corrosion and increasing its resistance to wear. Thomas Watts Coslett was a pioneer in this field.
The S.E.5 biplane fighter was built by Austin and Wolseley Motors in Birmingham. The city produced 2081 S.E.5s. Brum also produced Spitfires , Hawker Hurricanes , Fairey Battle light bombers, Mercury and Pegasus aero engines, Short Stirling four-engined heavy bombers and Avro Lancasters during the Second World War .
Mills bomb 36M, dating from 1942. The Mills bomb was adopted by the British Army as its standard hand grenade in 1915 and underwent many developments.
The first car in the world to travel at over 200 mph was built in nearby Wolverhampton and held the ground thanks to Dunlop 's Birmingham-made tyres. Dunlop tyres were used on subsequent record breaking vehicles and became a popular choice for racing cars such as Formula 1 .
The electric kettle has changed little since the invention of an immersed heating resistor and the safety valve both by Birmingham firms.
Brylcreem led the way with hair styling products throughout the mid 20th century, becoming standard choice for emerging UK fashions such as Teddy Boy .
Speed in the Workshops - Speed in the Air , March 1944 Geo Tucker Eyelet Co. advert for pop rivets, featuring Spitfire aircraft
During the Second World War, Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory was the largest Spitfire factory in the UK, producing a maximum of 320 aircraft per month, it built over half of the approximately 20,000 aircraft of this type. Despite being bombed, BSA made nearly 500,000 Browning guns during the Second World War, many of which were fitted to Spitfires. [ 41 ]
Major advances in radar take place at the University of Birmingham during the Second World War
The Frisch–Peierls memorandum is the first document to set out a process by which an atomic explosion could be generated.
The original Mini is considered a British icon of the 1960s and has since been voted the second most influential car of the 20th century , behind the Ford Model T .
The structure of part of a DNA double helix . Birmingham raised and educated, Maurice Wilkins received the Nobel Prize for his work on DNA structure, he is one of three who became known as the Code Breakers.
The Birmingham-made Mellotron has played a vital part in popular music since the 1960s, being used by artists such as The Beatles , The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin .
Birmingham inventor Michael Gerzon co-invents the Soundfield microphone and later played a large part in the invention of Ambisonics .
The Balti rose to fame in Birmingham