William Garnett (professor)

William Garnett (30 December 1850 – 1 November 1932)[1] was a British professor and educational adviser, specialising in physics and mechanics and taking a special interest in electric street lighting.

The following summer, he was first in the competition for Sir James Whitworth's Scholarship for Mechanical Engineering, and in 1871, was elected Foundation Scholar at St. John's College.

In January 1873, he took his degree as Fifth Wrangler, and shortly afterwards, on the opening of the Cavendish Laboratory, he was appointed Demonstrator in Experimental Physics by Professor James Clerk Maxwell.

During the following summer, he organised a system of technical education in connection with the mechanical department of the College, and fitted up a complete set of engineering workshops.

He served as a member of the Executive Council, and was chairman of the Electric Lighting Committee of the Royal Jubilee Exhibition in Newcastle (1887).