Richard Tangye: Difference between revisions
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Tangye was not long contented with this position, and through an advertisement in ''[[The Friend (Quaker magazine)|The Friend]]'' obtained a clerkship in a small engineering firm in [[Birmingham]], where two of his brothers, skilled mechanics, subsequently joined him. Here Richard Tangye remained four years, obtaining a complete mastery of the details of an engineering business, and introducing the system of a Saturday half-holiday which was subsequently adopted in all English industrial works. |
Tangye was not long contented with this position, and through an advertisement in ''[[The Friend (Quaker magazine)|The Friend]]'' obtained a clerkship in a small engineering firm in [[Birmingham]], where two of his brothers, skilled mechanics, subsequently joined him. Here Richard Tangye remained four years, obtaining a complete mastery of the details of an engineering business, and introducing the system of a Saturday half-holiday which was subsequently adopted in all English industrial works. |
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===Tangye Ltd=== |
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In 1856 he started business in a small way in Birmingham as a hardware factor and commission agent. His first customers were the Cornish mine-owners in the Redruth district. |
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In March 1857, with brothers James and Joseph, they started a manufacturing business in MOunt Street under the title of ''James Tangye and Bros.'' In 1859, brothers Edward and George joined, together with George Price, into a company which principally manufactured hydraulic appliances. |
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In 1861 the patent of the Differential Pulley Block was acquired, and in 1862 James Tangye invented the Tangye Patent Hydraulic Jack. The manufacture of these two inventions fully occupied the works, which went in 1864 to the present site in Soho, Birmingham. In 1867 the patent for a new type of Direct-acting Steam Pump was acquired, and in 1870 the firm commenced the manufacture of steam engines. In 1872 the two youngest brothers, Richard and George, became sole proprietors. |
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| ⚫ | , and, the business prospering, he was able before long to start manufacturing hardware goods on his own account, his two brothers joining him in the enterprise. The speciality of the brothers Tangye was the manufacture of machinery, and their [[hydraulic]] [[Jack (device)|lifting jacks]] were successfully employed in the launching of the steamship [[SS Great Eastern|''Great Eastern'']]. |
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[[Image:TangyeHoistGoldReefCityJburg1997.png|left|thumb|Tangye hoist exhibit, Gold Reef City tourist goldmine attraction, Johannesburg, South Africa (David Tangye - 1997)]] |
[[Image:TangyeHoistGoldReefCityJburg1997.png|left|thumb|Tangye hoist exhibit, Gold Reef City tourist goldmine attraction, Johannesburg, South Africa (David Tangye - 1997)]] |
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In 1858 the firm, who now confined themselves to making machinery, built their building called the ''Cornwall Works.'' Shortly afterwards, the company secured the sole right of manufacturing the newly invented [[Differential pulley|differential pulley-block]], thereby materially adding to their business, which came to include every kind of power-machine - hydraulic, steam, gas, oil and electricity. |
In 1858 the firm, who now confined themselves to making machinery, built their building called the ''Cornwall Works.'' Shortly afterwards, the company secured the sole right of manufacturing the newly invented [[Differential pulley|differential pulley-block]], thereby materially adding to their business, which came to include every kind of power-machine - hydraulic, steam, gas, oil and electricity. |
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Revision as of 00:14, 6 June 2010
Sir Richard Trevithick Tangye | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 November 1833 |
| Died | 14 October 1906 (aged 72) |
| Education | Sidcot School |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Mechanical engineer |
| Projects | SS Great Western SS Great Eastern |
Sir Richard Trevithick Tangye (24 November 1833 - 14 October 1906) was a British manufacturer of engines and other heavy equipment.
Biography
Richard Tangye was born at Illogan, near Redruth, Cornwall, the son of a farmer. As a young boy he worked in the fields, but when he was eight years old he was incapacitated from further manual labour by a fracture of the right arm. His father then determined to give him the best education he could afford, and young Tangye was sent to the Quaker Sidcot School in the Mendip Hills near the village of Winscombe, Somerset, where he progressed rapidly and became a pupil-teacher.
Career
Tangye was not long contented with this position, and through an advertisement in The Friend obtained a clerkship in a small engineering firm in Birmingham, where two of his brothers, skilled mechanics, subsequently joined him. Here Richard Tangye remained four years, obtaining a complete mastery of the details of an engineering business, and introducing the system of a Saturday half-holiday which was subsequently adopted in all English industrial works.
Tangye Ltd
In 1856 he started business in a small way in Birmingham as a hardware factor and commission agent. His first customers were the Cornish mine-owners in the Redruth district.
In March 1857, with brothers James and Joseph, they started a manufacturing business in MOunt Street under the title of James Tangye and Bros. In 1859, brothers Edward and George joined, together with George Price, into a company which principally manufactured hydraulic appliances.
In 1861 the patent of the Differential Pulley Block was acquired, and in 1862 James Tangye invented the Tangye Patent Hydraulic Jack. The manufacture of these two inventions fully occupied the works, which went in 1864 to the present site in Soho, Birmingham. In 1867 the patent for a new type of Direct-acting Steam Pump was acquired, and in 1870 the firm commenced the manufacture of steam engines. In 1872 the two youngest brothers, Richard and George, became sole proprietors.
, and, the business prospering, he was able before long to start manufacturing hardware goods on his own account, his two brothers joining him in the enterprise. The speciality of the brothers Tangye was the manufacture of machinery, and their hydraulic lifting jacks were successfully employed in the launching of the steamship Great Eastern.
In 1858 the firm, who now confined themselves to making machinery, built their building called the Cornwall Works. Shortly afterwards, the company secured the sole right of manufacturing the newly invented differential pulley-block, thereby materially adding to their business, which came to include every kind of power-machine - hydraulic, steam, gas, oil and electricity.
In 1869, the company was commissioned to design the hydraulic systems for the UK's first funicular cliff railway in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. After completing another in Scarborough, they employed George Croydon Marks as head of lifts, in which capacity he designed the Saltburn Cliff Lift.
During the late 19th century economic downturn, the business was turned into a limited company, and in 1894 Richard Tangye was knighted.
Philanthropy
In 1885, Richard and his brother George founded the Birmingham Art Gallery,[1] which today has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, archaeology, ethnography, local history and industrial history. They also founded the Birmingham School of Art.
Personal life
Married, he owned houses in Birmingahm and London, and estates in Surrey and Cornwall.[1] He was the grandfather of the authors Derek Tangye and Nigel Tangye. Through his niece Helena Tangye Lean, he was a great-uncle of film maker David Lean.
After death
The Tangye company continued building engines, through steam engines and then hot bulb engines, and finally a range of large industrial diesel engines), pumps and hydraulic equipment. Engine production was stopped after the Second World War, and the company concentrated on hydraulic pumps, valves and related systems.
References
- Waterhouse, Rachel (1957). A Hundred Years of Engineering Craftmanship. Birmingham, London: Tangyes Limited.
- ODNB article by W. B. Owen, ‘Tangye, Sir Richard (1833–1906)’, rev. H. C. G. Matthew, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 8 June 2008
Notes
- ^ a b "Death of Sir Richard Tangye". New York Times. 1906-10-15. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
External links
