George Marks, 1st Baron Marks: Difference between revisions
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==Biography== |
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==Family and Education== |
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Marks was born in [[Eltham]] in [[Kent]]. |
Marks was born in [[Eltham]] in [[Kent]], the eldest of eight children of only four survived childhood. One of the first [[Whitworth Scholar]]s,<ref name=FriendsBabba/> he was educated at a private day-school in Eltham and at the Royal Arsenal School; his father William Marks had worked at the [[Royal Arsenal]] in [[Woolwich]]. He completed his education at [[King's College London]].<ref name=FriendsBabba/> |
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==Career== |
===Career=== |
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Noted by many as a disciple of [[Brunel]], he joined [[Tangye]], whose works were closely associated with [[funicular|funicular lifts]]. Marks was appointed head of the lift department, in which role he was in charge of the installation of the funicular at [[Saltburn]].<ref name=FriendsBabba/> |
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| ⚫ | 1880, he set up a private practice in [[Birmingham]] and married Margaret Maynard;<ref name=FriendsBabba/> they never had any children. In 1887 he formed a partnership with [[Dugald Clerk]], forming the International Intellectual Property firm Marks and Clerk, which still operates from [[Lincolns Inn Field]], [[London]] today. The firm became big enough to move its headquarters to London in 1893, with branches in Birmingham and [[Manchester]]. Developing a number of cliff [[railway]]s and steep-incline tramcar systems, commissions included the design of the new [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] pavilion at the [[Royal Pier, Aberystwyth]]. |
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Marks continued his engineering practise alongside his patent interests. This included a partnership from 1890 with [[George Newnes|Sir George Newnes]], which also concentrated on cliff railways, including an early stage development of [[Babbacombe Cliff Railway]].<ref name=FriendsBabba>{{citeweb|url=http://www.friendsofbabbacombecliffrailway.org.uk/2.html|title=A Brief History and Explanation of Technology Babbacombe Cliff Railway:author=David Cooper Bsc (Hons), MSc, IEng, FRSA, FIIE, FIDIagE, MCIBSE, LCGI.|publisher=Friends of the Babbacombe Cliff Railway|accessdate=2010-06-04}}</ref> In 1911 he set up an office in [[New York]] in conjunction with [[Thomas Edison]].<ref name=FriendsBabba/> |
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Marks was a member of the [[Institution of Mechanical Engineers]] and an Associate Member of the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]].<ref>''Who was Who'', OUP, 2007</ref> |
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==Politics== |
==Politics== |
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Revision as of 12:18, 4 June 2010
George Croydon Marks, 1st Baron Marks (9 June 1858 - 24 September 1938) was a British engineer, patent agent and Liberal (later Labour) politician[1].
Biography
Marks was born in Eltham in Kent, the eldest of eight children of only four survived childhood. One of the first Whitworth Scholars,[2] he was educated at a private day-school in Eltham and at the Royal Arsenal School; his father William Marks had worked at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. He completed his education at King's College London.[2]
Career
Noted by many as a disciple of Brunel, he joined Tangye, whose works were closely associated with funicular lifts. Marks was appointed head of the lift department, in which role he was in charge of the installation of the funicular at Saltburn.[2]
1880, he set up a private practice in Birmingham and married Margaret Maynard;[2] they never had any children. In 1887 he formed a partnership with Dugald Clerk, forming the International Intellectual Property firm Marks and Clerk, which still operates from Lincolns Inn Field, London today. The firm became big enough to move its headquarters to London in 1893, with branches in Birmingham and Manchester. Developing a number of cliff railways and steep-incline tramcar systems, commissions included the design of the new Gothic pavilion at the Royal Pier, Aberystwyth.
Marks continued his engineering practise alongside his patent interests. This included a partnership from 1890 with Sir George Newnes, which also concentrated on cliff railways, including an early stage development of Babbacombe Cliff Railway.[2] In 1911 he set up an office in New York in conjunction with Thomas Edison.[2]
Marks was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.[3]
Politics
In 1906, Marks was elected as MP for Launceston and North Cornwall in the Liberal landslide general election victory. He received a knighthood in 1911, served at the Ministry of Munitions during the First World War and was awarded the CBE for work as a commissioner for the dilution of labour. He held his Parliamentary seat until 1924. In 1929, he left the Liberals and joined Ramsay Macdonald's Labour Party. His almost immediate reward was a peerage, becoming one of the first two Labour peers to be created[4].
Death
He continued his engineering and business activities and died at his home in Poole, Dorset in 1938. As he had no children, his peerage did not survive him.
References
- ^ Michael R. Lane, ‘Marks, George Croydon, Baron Marks (1858–1938)’, rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
- ^ a b c d e f "A Brief History and Explanation of Technology Babbacombe Cliff Railway:author=David Cooper Bsc (Hons), MSc, IEng, FRSA, FIIE, FIDIagE, MCIBSE, LCGI". Friends of the Babbacombe Cliff Railway. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
- ^ Who was Who, OUP, 2007
- ^ The Times, obituary, 26 September 1938