Thomas Grubb

[1] He was born near Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland, the son of William Grubb Junior, a prosperous Quaker farmer and his second wife, Eleanor Fayle.

He diversified into making telescopes and erected a public observatory near his factory at 1 Upper Charlemont Street, Portobello, Dublin.

As makers of some of the largest and best-known telescopes of the Victorian era, the company was at the forefront of optical and mechanical engineering.

[1] Thomas Grubb's reputation as a competent telescope maker began to spread as he offered his talents to the Irish astronomical community.

[5] Grubb helped build the famous telescope for William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, at Parsonstown (now known as Birr), County Offaly, Ireland.

[7] Grubb's work at the Markree Observatory would become known as a milestone in the creation and handling of large-scale telescopes.

[4] Grubb made a contract with the government of Ireland in 1866 to construct a telescope that would be sent to the southern hemisphere for use to compare the sky from there.

[10] Thomas Grubb would begin his professional career in Dublin, Ireland in the year 1830 as a mechanical engineer.

[11] What started as a general manufacturing firm would be formally renamed Grubb-Parsons by Sir Charles Parsons in 1925.

[11] This shift of focus from the company from telescopes to the war effort marked a decrease in economic power that Irish astronomers held over the industry.

[14] A global shift to provide for the United States and the allies would change the scope of Grubb-Parsons forever.