John Broadwood (born 6 October 1732 in Oldhamstocks; died 17 July 1812 in London), is the founder of the piano manufacturer Broadwood and Sons. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events February 23 - First performance of Handels Orlando, in London June 9 - James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia. ... Oldhamstocks or Aldhamstocks (old dwelling place) is a small village in Scotland at grid reference NT742705, with a current population of about 50. ... is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the overture by Tchaikovsky, see 1812 Overture; For the wars, see War of 1812 (USA - United Kingdom) or Patriotic War of 1812 (France - Russia) For the Siberia Airlines plane crashed over the Black Sea on October 4, 2001, see Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 1812 was a leap year starting... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Broadwood and Sons is the oldest and one of the most prestigious piano companies in the world, named after its founder John Broadwood. ...

Life

He inherited his father James Broadwood's (b1697) profession, that of a wright or carpenter/joiner, and as a young man walked from Oldhamstocks in the Scottish Borders, to London where he worked for the harpsichord maker Burkat Shudi. A Joiner is a woodworker who makes and installs architectural woodwork, including things that are called Finish carpentry and millwork in the USA. Joiners fabricate and install building components such as doors, windows, stairs, wooden panelling, mouldings, shop cabinets, kitchen cabinets, and other wooden fittings. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is any of a family of European keyboard instruments, including the large instrument currently called a harpsichord, but also the smaller virginals, the muselar virginals and the spinet. ... Burkat Shudi (variants: Burkhardt, Schudi, Tschudi, Tshudi) (1702 - 19 August 1773) was an English harpsichord maker of Swiss origin. ...

Burkat Shudi died in 1773, and John Broadwood took control of the company from his brother-in-law in 1783. 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Broadwood and his acquaintances William Stodart and Americus Backers are credited with devising the English Grand Action, an early piano action, and of taking piano design from the box piano to a prototype grand piano. In time his sales of pianos exceeded those of harpsichords, to the point that he ceased to manufacture harpsichords in 1793. A grand piano from Schiedmayer & Söhne, Stuttgart. ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Broadwood's other technical innovations in piano manufacture include:

• adding a separate bridge for the bass notes
• patenting the piano pedal in 1783
• expanding the then-standard five octave range upwards by half an octave, in response to a request of Dussek, and then by half an octave downwards

As a company, Broadwood and Sons prospered, and was passed into the hands of his sons, James Shudi Broadwood and Thomas Broadwood. It is the oldest extant piano manufacturer in the world. Bass (IPA: [], rhyming with face), when used as an adjective, describes tones of low frequency or range. ... For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... In music, an octave (sometimes abbreviated 8ve or P8) is the interval between one musical note and another with half or double its frequency. ... In music, the range of a musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play. ... In music, an octave (sometimes abbreviated 8ve or P8) is the interval between one musical note and another with half or double its frequency. ... Jan Ladislav Dussek (Dusík) (February 12, 1760 in Čáslav-March 20, 1812 in St. ... James Shudi Broadwood (20 December 1772 - 8 August 1851) was a piano maker in Middlesex and a magistrate in Surrey. ...

Family

John marry Shudi's daughter Barbara in 1769. They had four children, then Barbara died. He then married Mary Kitson in 1781 and had a further six children. Many of his descendants were involved in pianoforte manufacturing in England and some were involved in the British Army in India during the reign of Queen Victoria. Others emigrated to Australia, where Broadwood descendants still live. The Broadwood family tree can be clearly traced back to circa 1580. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819–22 January 1901) was a Queen of the United Kingdom, reigning from 20 June 1837 until her death. ... A family tree is generally the totality of ones ancestors represented as a tree structure, or more specifically, a chart used in genealogy. ...

The British general Robert George Broadwood (1862-1917) was a grandson by his son Thomas (son by John's second wife Mary Kitson) and Mary Athlea Matthews. Robert George Broadwood (CB) (born 1862 – died 1917) was a cavalry officer in the British Army, attaining the rank of Lieutenant General. ...

References

• Piano: An Encyclopedia, page 57
• Pianos and Their Makers by Alfred Dolge, page 244 ISBN 0-486-22856-8
• Broadwood by Appointment" by David Wainwright, Quiller Press, London 1982

External links

• John Broadwood and Sons, official website
• John Broadwood and Sons Piano Manufacturers by Sally Jenkinson, Surrey County Council

• Broadwood in the grand piano-Photoarchive