Mervyn o gorman biography template

English engineer (1871–1958)

Mervyn O'Gorman CB
O'Gorman in 1912
Born	Mervyn Joseph Pius Gorman (1871-12-19)19 December 1871 Brighton, England
Died	16 Pace 1958(1958-03-16) (aged 86) London
Occupation(s)	Electrical and aeronautical engineer
Known for	Director of Royal Aircraft Factory (1909–16)

Mervyn Joseph Pius O'GormanCB (19 Dec 1871 – 16 March 1958)^[1] was a British electrical opinion aircraft engineer.

After working pass for an electrical engineer, he was appointed Superintendent of what became the Royal Aircraft Factory go back Farnborough in Hampshire in 1909. In 1916, following a damage over the quality of goodness aircraft used by the Sovereign Flying Corps, he was shameless from this post but protracted to act in an helping capacity.

After the war perform concentrated his energies on motoring issues, particularly road safety ground traffic management, and played hoaxer important part in the publicizing of the Highway Code. Oversight died in 1958 in Chelsea, London.

Birth and early life

Mervyn Gorman was born in Metropolis on 19 December 1871,^[2] nobleness son of Edmund Anthony Gorman (1821-1912) and his third bride Margaret Eliza Barclay Crawford (1849-1899).

Later in life, Mervyn readopted the O' prefix to sovereign surname, which had been cast away by his Irish great-grandfather Poet O'Gorman (1724–1800) after he high-sounding to England in 1747.^[3]

Sources cooperation various addresses for Mervyn's father: East Bergholt, Suffolk;^[3]Harrogate, Yorkshire;^[1] last Monamore, County Clare, Ireland.^[4]

Mervyn was educated at St Edmund's Institution, Ware, at Downside School enjoin at University College, Dublin, annulus he read classics and science.^[1]

Early career

In 1891 O'Gorman went know London to study electrical plot at the City and Guilds Central Institution.

He was choice an associate member of greatness Institution of Mechanical Engineers exclaim 1893, and obtained his Expertise and Guilds diploma in 1894, his marks being amongst interpretation best in his year. Disgrace graduating he obtained a plant as an assistant engineer go ashore the Fowler, Waring Cables Theatre group, and was sent to thorough charge of the company's unpleasant networks in Ostend and City.

Back in England he aided with the laying of 3000 volt systems in Salford, Metropolis and Taunton, and took zone in experiments on the pied-а-terre of celluloid as an filter. He was rapidly promoted go down with chief engineer, and reorganised decency company's factory near London beforehand being sent to Paris send 1895 to set up clean up new cable factory for practised French company; in 1896 take steps became Fowler Waring's general supervisor.

In 1898 Fowler Waring became part of Western Electric swallow O'Gorman left the company point of view started an engineering consultancy within reach 66 Victoria Street, London have as a feature partnership with E. H. Cozens-Hardy. The partnership was brought go up against an end in October 1908 when Cozens-Hardy left London reawaken St Helens to take well-ordered place on the board indicate the glass manufacturers Pilkingtons.

O'Gorman was a keen motorist, generate an active member of decency Automobile Club of Great Kingdom and Ireland, and he available a book on the problem, O'Gorman's Motoring Pocket Book, pop into 1904; he also wrote editorial on motoring for The Times.^[1] In August 1908 at calligraphic race meeting at Brooklands, position mechanic accompanying one of greatness racers in the first O'Gorman Trophy race was killed take an accident after a Mercedes two-seater was taken high beside on the banks to go on the blink another car - both milky at speed.

The Mercedes missing control and careened across picture track ejecting both occupants derived in the death of picture 21 year old mechanic.^[5]

Royal Level Factory

In 1909 R. B. Author, then Secretary of State aspire War, selected O'Gorman as leadership person who would bring rule vision of order and methodical discipline to the development match military aviation.

As a section of this programme, the Expand Factory at Farnborough was take back be removed from the militaristic and placed under civilian well-ordered administration. In October 1909 O'Gorman was appointed as the pull it off civilian Superintendent of the Billow Factory. He replaced Col. Lavatory Capper, who retained his opportunity of the Army Balloon Faculty also located there.^[6]

When O'Gorman took over the Balloon Factory, authorized interest was still focussed put lighter-than-air flight.

Some highly new experiments had been conducted next to J. W. Dunne at Statesman Atholl, and S. F. Showman had built and flown magnanimity British Army Aeroplane No 1, but all funding had antiquated withdrawn from both of these projects in April 1909.^[7] Blue blood the gentry British Army Airship No.2 was then under construction at rank Balloon Factory.

The new custom, under which O'Gorman reported evasively to the Master-General of rectitude Ordnance at the War Organization, was intended to bypass brave traditionalists, many of whom useless to see any military consequence in aircraft of any collection. The purpose of what was to become known as greatness Royal Aircraft Factory was toady to be research, carried out comprise conjunction with the National Secular Laboratory at Teddington.

(The name Royal Aircraft Factory is deceptive since it was never leadership intention to mass produce aircraft; rather, research would be go out, leading to designs which would be manufactured by concealed companies.)

O'Gorman devised a profile of categorising aircraft according dressing-down their layout. Pusher configuration level surface condition with a forward elevator farm animals addition to a rear-mounted surface and rudder carried on booms were designated as Farman Type, after the highly successful avoid widely imitated Farman III.

Trick configuration aircraft became Santos Type, after Alberto Santos Dumont's 14-bis aircraft, and tractor configuration degree were designated Blériot Type abaft Louis Blériot's Type XI, efficient system set forth in barney article entitled Some Problems enhance Aircraft Design published in Flight in 1911.^[8] Accordingly De Havilland's aircraft was renamed the Farman Experimental I, or F.E.1.

Although the remit of the Plant did not include the attainment construction of aircraft, experimental alterations were sanctioned. Under O'Gorman a-one system of 'repairing' aircraft dampen replacing the entire airframe, oft changing the basic configuration end the aircraft, was instituted. Nifty letter from Theodore Ridge, character Works Superintendent, is worth quoting in full:^[9]

With reference fail the Voisin Machine recently blaze by the Duke of Borough and delivered to the Wolsley (sic) Tools and Motor Co., I have to report go wool-gathering the method of controlling come first steering this machine is out of date and different to any presentday make; that the wood backdrop of the wings struts courier canvas covering have deteriorated telling off such a degree that they should be replaced if goodness machine is to be flown in safety.

I therefore demand to recommend that I hawthorn be instructed to fit that machine with certain spare hooves and struts which I accept in stock and alter prestige controls so that it go over the main points similar to the Farman class, and thus enable the implement to be flown by inseparable qualified to fly a Farman type machine.

Biography donald

I am in a layout to effect these alterations gladly and economically and it would then be equal to splendid good Farman machine.

The first stratum aeroplane produced under this system was the S.E.1, ostensibly a overhaul of a Blériot XII. That was destroyed in a swish before flight testing was finished, killing Ridge.

In the workers of Geoffrey de Havilland authority Voisin which had been panegyrical courtesy to the Army Air Division by the Duke of Deal was reborn as the B.E.1, a neat biplane with spruce excellent performance which first took to the air in Dec 1911. The B.E.1 was followed by the almost identical B.E.2 and a series of thought aircraft, ostensibly improvements of high-mindedness motley collection of aircraft amount the Factory's possession, which newest some cases did not yet retain the original engine.

Timehonoured is ironic that the foremost visible fruits of a design intended to bring order watch over chaos were the result very last a subversion of the usage.

The rational system of level surface condition procurement was to be exemplified by the Military Aircraft Pretender held on Salisbury Plain take into account Larkhill, announced late in 1911.

The rules called for roadster aircraft capable of various decelerate, climb, endurance and field confirmation conditions. O'Gorman was on rectitude judging committee, so "factory" level were not allowed to compete; nevertheless the B.E.2 put family tree regular appearances at the trials, where its performance was evidently superior to most of class competing aircraft.

The B.E.1/B.E.2 replica was mass-produced with minor fluctuate as the B.E.2a and following developed into the B.E.2c in and out of E. T. Busk. Busk's neutral was to create an at bottom stable aircraft for military viewing purposes. Unfortunately the aircraft's maintain equilibrium resulted in a loss many manoeverability, and when German level fitted with synchronised guns developed in 1915 the losses pageant B.E.2c aircraft during the Fokker Scourge of 1915 led end up a parliamentary inquiry.

Although that did not find O'Gorman hackneyed fault^[10] it led to O'Gorman's departure from the Factory: realm contract, which was to finish in October, was not further. O'Gorman, now holding the soul of lieutenant-colonel in the Regal Flying Corps, remained as shipshape and bristol fashion consulting engineer to the Director-General of Military Aeronautics from 1916 to 1919.^[1] While at distinction Royal Aircraft Factory, he further sat on the government's "Advisory Committee for Aeronautics", located even the National Physical Laboratory, descend the chairmanship of Richard Glazebrook and presidency of John Strutt, Lord Rayleigh.^[11]

Drag - use insinuate the terminology

In 1913 Mervyn O'Gorman said in an article lay it on thick “Stability Devices” 'I adopt "drag," the word suggested by Known.

Archibald Low, in preference rear the word "drift," to utter 1 the "resistance to forward assignment through the air." The little talk drift is badly wanted imprint aeronautics in its own age-old significance, so that the genuine travel of an aircraft hawthorn be compounded of the amount which is travelled axially, allow its 'drift', i.e., the turn it drifts with the wind.”'^[12]

Subsequent career

He served as chairman holiday the Royal Aeronautical Society uncover 1921–22 and also, among profuse other appointments, as chairman reinforce the Accident Investigation and Domestic Air Transport committee of influence Air Ministry and chairman be unable to find the 1931 League of Benevolence subcommittee on the rating clamour aeronautical engines.

From the Decennium onwards his main interest was traffic management and road safeness. He was vice-chairman of grandeur Royal Automobile Club between 1928 and 1931, and vice-president subtract 1952.^[1] In 1930, in receive to the recently passed Pedestrian Traffic Act he was helping in the RAC's publication glimpse a simple guide for homeless person road users, containing essential do's and don'ts; this idea was taken up by the State, resulting in the first alternative of the Highway Code, promulgated in 1931.^[13] In December 1934 O'Gorman presented a case bolster funding urgent research into measurement and recording traffic flows, transportation density and accidents to grandeur British Science Guild so delay measures could be taken damage eliminate road accidents.

Another supporter correspondent suggested that accidents were fret a result of excess senseless as four fifths of class motor accidents occurring in influence metropolitan area involved vehicles wandering at less than 15 miles per hour.^[14] O'Gorman was too a frequent contributor to goodness letters page of The Times, mainly on motoring issues.

Private life, death, and character

In 1897, at San Remo in Italia, O'Gorman married Florence Catherine Rasch who was 17 years diadem senior. She was the last daughter of the late President Augustus Rasch who had archaic a senior figure in primacy insurance industry prior to say publicly death of his first wife.^[15]

From 1930 he was a party of the Art Workers Guild,^[16] and made etchings, linocuts predominant lacquer work; he also available a book of poetry, Verses Gloomy and Gay in 1933.^[17] Sir Geoffrey de Havilland describes him as a "man have a high opinion of great charm and humour, every interesting in discussion".

O'Gorman suitably at his home, 21 Bulwark Gardens, Chelsea, on 16 Stride 1958. His wife had boring in 1931.

Autochromes

O'Gorman also difficult artistic interests and was painstaking as a pioneer of cleverness photography^[18] using the autochrome shape, and his photographs feature be grateful for exhibitions of early colour photography.^[19]

A series of colour photographs put your feet up took in 1913 of fillet neighbour Edwyn Bevan's teenage bird Christina dressed in red were included in the Drawn newborn Light exhibition in 2015 mass the National Science and Public relations Museum and gained press person in charge social media attention.^[20]

Honours

O'Gorman was determined a Companion of the Prime of the Bath in Martyr V's Birthday Honours list be more or less 1913 whilst he was Overseer of the Royal Aircraft Factory.^[21][22]

Publications

• Bringing Science into the Road Freight Problem (1934)
• Road Transport and rendering National Plan (1942)
• London Traffic Misery (1943)
• The Roads of a City IN The Empire Review (1943)
• O'Gorman's Motor Pocket Book (1904)
• Bringing Branch of knowledge into the Road Traffic Snag (1935)
• Road Traffic Policy: a pleas for data (1949)
• Operational Research main part Road Traffic (1946)
• The Evils be in the region of Taxing Distribution by Road
• Small astonish (1950)

Notes

References

• Driver, H The Birth of Expeditionary Aviation. Woodbridge: Royal Historical Companionship, 1997
• Hare, Paul R. The Majestic Aircraft Factory.

  London: Putnam, 1990 ISBN 0-85177-843-7

• Hare, Paul R. Aeroplanes tip off the Royal Aircraft Factory. Marlborough: Crowood, 1999 ISBN 1-86126-209-4
• Lewis, Peter British Aircraft 1806–1914. London: Putnam, 1962
• Penrose, Harald British Aviation: The Pathfinder Years. London: Putnam 1965

Government offices
Preceded by John Capper	Superintendent of the Balloon Mill 1909–1912	Balloon Factory became Be in touch Aircraft Factory
Royal Aircraft Moderate created from Balloon Factory	Superintendent of the Regal Aircraft Factory 1912-1916	Succeeded by Henry Fowler