George William Manby
Encyclopedia
Captain George William Manby FRS (born November 28, 1765 in Denver
, Norfolk
; died November 18, 1854 in Great Yarmouth
), was an English
author
and inventor. He designed an apparatus for saving life from shipwreck
s and also the first modern form of fire extinguisher
.
. Although he claimed to have been a friend there of Horatio Nelson, this is unlikely to be true as Nelson would have left the school (if he ever attended) before Manby started. He volunteered to fight in the American War of Independence, aged 17, but was rejected because of his youth and his small size. Instead, he entered the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich
, and then joined the Cambridgeshire Militia
where he gained the rank of captain.
He married in 1793 and inherited his wife's family's estates, but left her in 1801 after being shot by her lover and moved to Clifton, Bristol
. There, he published several books, including The History and Antiquities of St David's (1801), Sketches of the History and Natural Beauties of Clifton (1802), and A Guide from Clifton to the Counties of Monmouth, Glamorgan, etc. (1802). In 1803, his pamphlet An Englishman's Reflexions on the Author of the Present Disturbances, on Napoleon's plans to invade England, came to the attention of the Secretary of War, Charles Yorke
, who was impressed and recommended Manby to be appointed as Barrack-Master at Great Yarmouth
.
On 18 February 1807, as a helpless onlooker, he witnessed a Naval ship, the Snipe run aground 60 yards off Great Yarmouth during a storm, with (according to some accounts) a total of 214 people drowned, including French prisoners of war, women and children. Following this tragedy, Manby experimented with mortars, and so invented the Manby Mortar
, later developed into the breeches buoy
, that fired a thin rope from shore into the rigging of a ship in distress. A strong rope, attached to the thin one, could be pulled aboard the ship. His successful invention followed an experiment as a youth in 1783, when he shot a mortar carrying a line over Downham church. His invention was officially adopted in 1814, and a series of mortar stations were established around the coast.
Manby also built an "unsinkable" ship. The first test indeed proved it to be floating when mostly filled with water; however, the seamen (who disliked Manby) rocked the boat back and forth, so that it eventually turned over. The boatmen depended on the cargo left over from shipwrecks, and may have thought Manby's mortar a threat to their livelihood.
In 1813 Manby invented the "Extincteur", the first portable pressurised fire extinguisher
. This consisted of a copper vessel of 3 gallon
s of pearl ash (potassium carbonate
) solution contained within compressed air
. He also invented a device intended to save people who had fallen through ice.
In 1821 he sailed to Greenland
with William Scoresby
, for the purpose of testing a new type of harpoon
for whaling
, based on the same principles as his mortar. However, his device was sabotaged by the whalers. He published his account as Journal of a Voyage to Greenland, containing observations on the flora and fauna of the Arctic regions as well as the practice of whale hunting.
He was the first to advocate a national fire brigade, and is considered by some to be a true founder of the RNLI. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
in 1831 in recognition of his many accomplishments.
In later life Manby became obsessed with Nelson, turning his house into a Nelson museum filled with memorabilia and living in the basement.
Manby also became one of the godfathers of Augustus Onslow Manby Gibbes (1828–1897), the youngest son of the Collector of Customs for Great Yarmouth from 1827 to 1833, Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes (1787-1873). (See The Ancestral Searcher, "Augustus Gibbes: Squire of Yarralumla", Volume 19, Number 2, Canberra, June 1996, p. 74.)
Denver, Norfolk
Denver is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located on the River Great Ouse, 1 mile south of the small town of Downham Market, 14 miles south of the larger town of King's Lynn, and 37 miles west of the city of Norwich.The civil parish has an area of...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
; died November 18, 1854 in Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
), was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and inventor. He designed an apparatus for saving life from shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s and also the first modern form of fire extinguisher
Fire extinguisher
A fire extinguisher or extinguisher, flame entinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations...
.
Life
Manby went to school at Downham MarketDownham Market
Downham Market is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, some 20 km south of the town of King's Lynn, 60 km west of the city of Norwich and the same distance north of the city of Cambridge....
. Although he claimed to have been a friend there of Horatio Nelson, this is unlikely to be true as Nelson would have left the school (if he ever attended) before Manby started. He volunteered to fight in the American War of Independence, aged 17, but was rejected because of his youth and his small size. Instead, he entered the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
, and then joined the Cambridgeshire Militia
Cambridgeshire Militia
The Cambridgeshire Militia was a militia regiment in the United Kingdom from 1759 to 1881, when it was amalgamated into The Suffolk Regiment.The regiment was organised in 1759. It was embodied in 1778, at which time it was ranked the 31st regiment of militia, and remained active for five years...
where he gained the rank of captain.
He married in 1793 and inherited his wife's family's estates, but left her in 1801 after being shot by her lover and moved to Clifton, Bristol
Clifton, Bristol
Clifton is a suburb of the City of Bristol in England, and the name of both one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells...
. There, he published several books, including The History and Antiquities of St David's (1801), Sketches of the History and Natural Beauties of Clifton (1802), and A Guide from Clifton to the Counties of Monmouth, Glamorgan, etc. (1802). In 1803, his pamphlet An Englishman's Reflexions on the Author of the Present Disturbances, on Napoleon's plans to invade England, came to the attention of the Secretary of War, Charles Yorke
Charles Yorke
Charles Yorke was Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Life:The second son of Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, he was born in London, and was educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. His literary abilities were shown at an early age by his collaboration with his brother Philip in the...
, who was impressed and recommended Manby to be appointed as Barrack-Master at Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
.
On 18 February 1807, as a helpless onlooker, he witnessed a Naval ship, the Snipe run aground 60 yards off Great Yarmouth during a storm, with (according to some accounts) a total of 214 people drowned, including French prisoners of war, women and children. Following this tragedy, Manby experimented with mortars, and so invented the Manby Mortar
Manby Mortar
The Manby Mortar was invented by Captain George William Manby, also the inventor of the portable fire extinguisher.The mortar fired a shot with a line attached from the shore to the wrecked ship...
, later developed into the breeches buoy
Breeches buoy
A breeches buoy is a crude rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one location to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg harness attached...
, that fired a thin rope from shore into the rigging of a ship in distress. A strong rope, attached to the thin one, could be pulled aboard the ship. His successful invention followed an experiment as a youth in 1783, when he shot a mortar carrying a line over Downham church. His invention was officially adopted in 1814, and a series of mortar stations were established around the coast.
Manby also built an "unsinkable" ship. The first test indeed proved it to be floating when mostly filled with water; however, the seamen (who disliked Manby) rocked the boat back and forth, so that it eventually turned over. The boatmen depended on the cargo left over from shipwrecks, and may have thought Manby's mortar a threat to their livelihood.
In 1813 Manby invented the "Extincteur", the first portable pressurised fire extinguisher
Fire extinguisher
A fire extinguisher or extinguisher, flame entinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations...
. This consisted of a copper vessel of 3 gallon
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
s of pearl ash (potassium carbonate
Potassium carbonate
Potassium carbonate is a white salt, soluble in water , which forms a strongly alkaline solution. It can be made as the product of potassium hydroxide's absorbent reaction with carbon dioxide. It is deliquescent, often appearing a damp or wet solid...
) solution contained within compressed air
Pneumatics
Pneumatics is a branch of technology, which deals with the study and application of use of pressurized gas to effect mechanical motion.Pneumatic systems are extensively used in industry, where factories are commonly plumbed with compressed air or compressed inert gases...
. He also invented a device intended to save people who had fallen through ice.
In 1821 he sailed to Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
with William Scoresby
William Scoresby
William Scoresby , was an English Arctic explorer, scientist and clergyman.-Early years:Scoresby was born in the village of Cropton near Pickering 26 miles south of Whitby in Yorkshire. His father, William Scoresby , made a fortune in the Arctic whale fishery...
, for the purpose of testing a new type of harpoon
Harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal...
for whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
, based on the same principles as his mortar. However, his device was sabotaged by the whalers. He published his account as Journal of a Voyage to Greenland, containing observations on the flora and fauna of the Arctic regions as well as the practice of whale hunting.
He was the first to advocate a national fire brigade, and is considered by some to be a true founder of the RNLI. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1831 in recognition of his many accomplishments.
In later life Manby became obsessed with Nelson, turning his house into a Nelson museum filled with memorabilia and living in the basement.
Manby also became one of the godfathers of Augustus Onslow Manby Gibbes (1828–1897), the youngest son of the Collector of Customs for Great Yarmouth from 1827 to 1833, Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes (1787-1873). (See The Ancestral Searcher, "Augustus Gibbes: Squire of Yarralumla", Volume 19, Number 2, Canberra, June 1996, p. 74.)