TEN FAMOUS TRANSPORT PIONEERS
Wright brothers
Orville: 1871–1948
Wilbur: 1867–1912
Made the first powered fixed-wing flight
Orville: 1871–1948
Wilbur: 1867–1912
Made the first powered fixed-wing flight
At the turn of the 20th century, the race to achieve powered flight was hotting up. But though several of their contemporaries got airborne at around the same time, these siblings were the first to achieve true powered flight – on 17 December 1903 – and to patent the aerodynamic control of a flying machine.
Henry Ford
1963–1947
1963–1947
Founded the Ford Motor Company
this industrialist’s adoption of mass-production techniques revolutionised transport, with his model t fords rolling off the assembly line at an astonishing rate. ford was a controversial character, but made car ownership an achievable goal for many middle-class Americans.
Frank Whittle
1907–96
1907–96
Invented the turbojet engine
Whittle outlined the principles behind jet propulsion while still a student, taking out a patent on his design in 1930 at the tender age of 23. the first prototype was produced in 1937, and the first jet-powered plane, a Gloster e.28/29, took its maiden flight on 15 may 1941.
George Stephenson
1781–1848
1781–1848
became renowned as the ‘father of railways’
stephenson built the world’s first public inter-city railway line to use steam locomotives. His design for the rocket also became the template for most steam engines in the following 150 years.
Sir Christopher Cockerell
1910–99
invented the hovercraft
the British owner of a small boat company, cockerell wanted his vessels go faster. He developed a theory – that a narrow jet of air around the edge of a craft would efficiently lift it above the water – and tested his ideas with a vacuum cleaner and two tin cans, patenting his technology in 1955. the first hovercraft crossed the english channel in 1959.
Karl Benz
1844–1929
Invented the petrolpowered automobile
though other engineers (including fellow German Gottlieb Daimler) were working on similar vehicles concurrently, in 1886 Benz was the first to be awarded a patent for an automobile powered by an internal combustion engine.
Wernher von Braun
1912–77
developed rocket science
lauded as the ‘father of rocket science’, this German-American was a crucial figure in the development of the V-2 rocket used by the Germans in the second World War. He was subsequently recruited by nAsA and became chief architect of the saturn V launch vehicle.
Montgolfier brothers
Joseph-Michael: 1740–1810
Jacques-Étienne: 1745–99
Invented the hot-air balloon
in 1783 - 120 years before the Wright brothers made history – these french siblings flew an unmanned balloon nearly 2km during a public demonstration, following that with a brief (tethered) flight with Étienne on board.
Pierre Lallement
1843–1891
invented the bicycle
many people have laid claim to being the creator of the bicycle, including scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick macmillan in 1839. But frenchman lallement was the first to be awarded a patent in the us in 1866 after adding pedals to a walk-along dandy horse to create the velocipede.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
1806–59
Trains, boats, bridges... he could do it all
As well as building the first railway linking london to Bristol, this visionary engineer also designed both the clifton suspension Bridge in Bristol and the ss Great Britain, the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic.
stephenson built the world’s first public inter-city railway line to use steam locomotives. His design for the rocket also became the template for most steam engines in the following 150 years.
Sir Christopher Cockerell
1910–99
invented the hovercraft
the British owner of a small boat company, cockerell wanted his vessels go faster. He developed a theory – that a narrow jet of air around the edge of a craft would efficiently lift it above the water – and tested his ideas with a vacuum cleaner and two tin cans, patenting his technology in 1955. the first hovercraft crossed the english channel in 1959.
Karl Benz
1844–1929
Invented the petrolpowered automobile
though other engineers (including fellow German Gottlieb Daimler) were working on similar vehicles concurrently, in 1886 Benz was the first to be awarded a patent for an automobile powered by an internal combustion engine.
Wernher von Braun
1912–77
developed rocket science
lauded as the ‘father of rocket science’, this German-American was a crucial figure in the development of the V-2 rocket used by the Germans in the second World War. He was subsequently recruited by nAsA and became chief architect of the saturn V launch vehicle.
Montgolfier brothers
Joseph-Michael: 1740–1810
Jacques-Étienne: 1745–99
Invented the hot-air balloon
in 1783 - 120 years before the Wright brothers made history – these french siblings flew an unmanned balloon nearly 2km during a public demonstration, following that with a brief (tethered) flight with Étienne on board.
Pierre Lallement
1843–1891
invented the bicycle
many people have laid claim to being the creator of the bicycle, including scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick macmillan in 1839. But frenchman lallement was the first to be awarded a patent in the us in 1866 after adding pedals to a walk-along dandy horse to create the velocipede.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
1806–59
Trains, boats, bridges... he could do it all
As well as building the first railway linking london to Bristol, this visionary engineer also designed both the clifton suspension Bridge in Bristol and the ss Great Britain, the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic.
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