NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Lawrence Hargrave

Lawrence Hargrave (29 January 1850 – 6 July 1915) was an engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 691 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (900 Ã— 781 pixel, file size: 346 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)(Charles Bayliss, 1894, Hargrave and Swain demonstrate how the man-lift was achieved) 1means the typographical arrangement and layout of a published work. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 691 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (900 Ã— 781 pixel, file size: 346 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)(Charles Bayliss, 1894, Hargrave and Swain demonstrate how the man-lift was achieved) 1means the typographical arrangement and layout of a published work. ... Stanwell Park is a northern coastal village of the Wollongong plain, south of Sydney, Australia. ... is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the game, see: 1850 (board game) 1850 (MDCCCL) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday [1] of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Astronomy (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Inventor (disambiguation). ... Six F-16 Fighting Falcons with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team fly in delta formation in front of the Empire State Building. ...

Early life

Hargrave was born in Greenwich, England, the second son of John Fletcher Hargrave (later attorney-general of New South Wales) and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland. He immigrated to Australia with his family, arriving in Sydney on 5 November 1865 on the La Hogue. He circumnavigated Australia on the Ellemere after being offered a place. Although he had shown ability in mathematics at his English school he failed the matriculation examination and in 1867 took on an engineering apprenticeship with the Australasian Steam Navigation Company in Sydney. He later on found the experience of great use in constructing his models. This article is about Greenwich in England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... â€œNSWâ€ redirects here. ... Kirkby Lonsdale is a town in Cumbria, UK, on the River Lune. ... Westmorland (formerly also spelt Westmoreland, an even older spelling is Westmerland) is an area of north west England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Year 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

In 1872, as an engineer, he went on a voyage to New Guinea but the Maria was wrecked, and in 1875 he again sailed as an engineer on William John Macleay's expedition to the Gulf of Papua. From October 1875 to January 1876 he was exploring the hinterland of Port Moresby under Octavius Stone, and in April 1876 went on another expedition under Luigi D'Albertis for over 400 miles up the Fly River. He returned to Sydney, joined the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1877, and in 1878 became an assistant astronomical observer at Sydney Observatory. He held this position for about five years, retired in 1883 with a moderate competency, and gave the rest of his life to research work. Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Sir William John Macleay (June 13, 1820 â€“ 7 December 1891) was an Australian politician, zoologist and naturalist. ... Papua New Guinea The Gulf of Papua is a region on the south shore of New Guinea. ... Year 1876 Pick up Sticks(MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Downtown Port Moresby Port Moresby (IPA: ), or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, population 255,000 (2000), is the capital of Papua New Guinea. ... Luigi dAlbertis (1841 - 1901) was an Itallian naturalist and explorer. ... The Fly (named after a British naval ship) is the longest river of the island of New Guinea. ... The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The observatory photographed in 1874 The observatory today The Sydney Observatory evolved from a fort built on Windmill Hill in the Sydney central area now known as The Rocks, to an astronomical observatory during the nineteenth century. ... Year 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Aeronautical career

Hargrave had been interested in experiments of all kinds from an early age, particularly those to do with flying machines. When his father died in 1885, and Hargrave came into his inheritance, he resigned from the observatory to concentrate on full-time research. and for a time gave particular attention to the flight of birds. He chose to live and experiment with his flying machines in Stanwell Park, a place which offers excellent wind and hang conditions and nowadays is the most famous hang gliding and paragliding place in Australia. Stanwell Park and its beach as seen from Bald Hill looking south towards the Sea Cliff Bridge and Wollongong in the far. ... Hang gliding is one of the windsports. ... Paragliding (known in Greece, France, Spain and Portugal as parapente - Ï€Î±ÏÎ±Ï€ÎÎ½Ï„Îµ or Î±Î»ÎµÎ¾Î¯Ï€Ï„Ï‰Ï„Î¿ Ï€Î»Î±Î³Î¹Î¬Ï‚ in Greek) is a recreational and competitive flying sport. ...

In an astonishingly productive career, Hargrave invented many devices, but never once applied for a patent on any of them: he did not need the money, and he was a passionate believer in scientific communication as a key to furthering progress. As he wrote in 1893: For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ...

Among many, three of Hargrave's inventions were particularly significant: Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

He made endless experiments and numerous models, and communicated his conclusions in a series of papers to the Royal Society of New South Wales. Two papers which will be found in the 1885 volume of its Journal and Proceedings show that he was early on the road to success. Other important papers will be found in the 1893 and 1895 volumes which reported on his experiments with flying-machine motors and cellular kites. An airfoil (or aerofoil in British English) is a specially shaped cross-section of a wing or blade, used to provide lift or downforce, depending on its application. ... Diagram of Box kite Hargrave (seated) and Swain demonstrate the Hargrave box kite, November 1894. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Of great significance to those pioneers working toward powered flight, Hargrave successfully lifted himself off the ground under a train of four of his box kites at Stanwell Park Beach on 12 November 1894. Aided by James Swain, the caretaker at his property, the kite line was moored via a spring balance to two sandbags (see image). Hargrave carried an anemometer and clinometer aloft to measure windspeed and the angle of the kite line. He rose 16 feet in a wind speed of 21 mph. This experiment was widely reported and established the box kite as a stable aerial platform (Hudson Shaw and Ruhen, 1977). Hargrave claimed that "The particular steps gained are the demonstration that an extremely simple apparatus can be made, carried about, and flown by one man; and that a safe means of making an ascent with a flying machine, of trying the same without any risk of accident, and descending, is now at the service of any experimenter who wishes to use it." (Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, vol. 29, p. 47). This paper was read in June 1895 but part of it had appeared in Engineering, London, on 15 February 1895. This was seen by Abbott Lawrence Rotch of the meteorological observatory at Harvard University who constructed a kite from the particulars in Engineering. A modification was adopted by the weather bureau of the United States and the use of box-kites for meteorological observations became widespread. The principle was applied to gliders, and in October 1906 Santos Dumont in a box-kite aeroplane made the first officially recorded flight. As late as 1909 the box-kite aeroplane was the usual type in Europe. is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Spring BAlance- it is a machine that measured the gravitational forces of earth which is Nine point eight Per second squared. ... A hemispherical cup anemometer of the type invented in 2000 by John Thomas Romney Robinson An anemometer is a device for measuring the velocity or the pressure of the wind, and is one instrument used in a weather station. ... It has been suggested that Inclinometer be merged into this article or section. ... American meteorologist Abbott Lawrence Rotch (1861-1912) in 1885 founded the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... Santos-Dumont in his trademark Panama hat. ...

Hargrave had not confined himself to the problem of constructing a heavier than air machine that would fly, for he had given much time to the means of propulsion. In 1889 he invented a rotary engine which appears to have attracted so little notice that its principle had to be discovered over again by the brothers Seguin in 1908. This form of engine was much used in early aviation until it was superseded by later inventions. His development of the rotary engine was frustrated by the weight of materials and quality of machining available at the time, and he was unable to get sufficient lift from his engines to build an independent flying machine. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Hargrave's work like that of many another pioneer was not sufficiently appreciated during his lifetime. His models were offered to the premier of New South Wales as a gift to the state, and it is generally stated that the offer was not accepted. That is not correct. It is not clear what really happened, but there appears to have been delay in accepting the models, and in the meantime they were given to some visiting German professors who handed them to the Munich museum. ( See the Technical Gazette of New South Wales, 1924, p. 46.) Hargrave also made experiments with a hydroplane, the application of the gyroscopic principle to a "one-wheeled car", and with "wave propelled vessels".

Hargrave's only son Geoffrey was killed at Battle of Gallipoli in May 1915. Hargrave was operated on for appendicitis but suffered peritonitis afterwards and died on 14 July 1915. He was interred in Waverley Cemetery on the cliffs overlooking the open ocean. Combatants British Empire Australia British India Newfoundland New Zealand United Kingdom Egyptian labourers[1] France Senegal Ottoman Empire Commanders Sir Ian Hamilton Lord Kitchener John de Robeck Otto von Sanders Mustafa Kemal Strength 5 divisions (initial) 16 divisions (final) 6 divisions (initial) 15 divisions (final) Casualties 252,000[2] 195... Appendicitis (or epityphlitis) is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix[1]. While mild cases may resolve without treatment, most require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. ... is the 195th day of the year (196th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Waverley Cemetery opened in 1877 and is a major cemetery at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. ...

Hargrave was an excellent experimenter and his models were always beautifully made. He had the optimism that is essential for an inventor, and the perseverance that will not allow itself to be damped by failures. Modest, unassuming and unselfish, he always refused to patent his inventions, and was only anxious that he might succeed in adding to the sum of human knowledge. Many men smiled at his efforts and few had faith that anything would come of them. An honourable exception was Professor Richard Threlfall who, in his presidential address to the Royal Society of New South Wales in May 1895, spoke of his "strong conviction of the importance of the work which Mr Hargrave has done towards solving the problem of artificial flight". (For a discussion on the statement that Threlfall had called Hargrave the "inventor of human flight" and the debt supposed to be owed by the Wright brothers to Hargrave, see article by Cecil W. Salier in the Australian Quarterly for March 1940). The step he made in man's conquest of the air was an important one with far-reaching consequences, and he should always be remembered as a great experimenter and inventor, who "probably did as much to bring about the accomplishment of dynamic flight as any other single individual". (Roughley's The Aeronautical Work of Lawrence Hargrave, p. 5.) Sir Richard Threlfall (August 14, 1861 - July 10, 1932) was an English chemist and engineer, he established the School of Physics at the University of Sydney and made important contributiosn to military scince during World War I. Threlfall was a son of Richard Threlfall of Hollowforth, near Preston, Lancashire. ...

Honors and memorials

An engraving of Lawrence Hargrave alongside a number of his gliders appeared on the reverse of the Australian $20 banknote from 1966 to 1994. There is a memorial to him at Bald Hill overlooking Stanwell Park beach. A centenary celebration and reenactment was held to commemorate the manlift in November 1994 at Stanwell Park. The Lawrence Hargrave Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at Sydney University and the Hargrave-Andrew engineering library at Monash University are named in his honour. Image File history File linksMetadata Aud20p. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Aud20p. ... Obverse with Mery Reibey Reverse with John Flynn Obverse with Charles Kingsford Smith. ... Bald Hill is arguably Wollongongs most well known and most popular lookout. ... The University of Sydney, established in 1850, is the oldest university in Australia, and it is located in Sydney, the capital city of the state of New South Wales. ... Robert Menzies Building at the Clayton Campus Monash University is a public university, with campuses located in Victoria, Malaysia and South Africa. ...

Contents

Early life

Aeronautical career

Honors and memorials

See also

External links

References