Peter Fairbairn
Encyclopedia
Sir Peter Fairbairn was a Scottish engineer and inventor.
, born at Kelso in Roxburghshire
in September 1799. He had little education, and his father obtained a situation for him in 1811 in the Percy Main colliery at Newcastle-on-Tyne. For three years Peter continued at Percy Main, until, at the age of fourteen, he was apprenticed to a millwright and engineer in Newcastle. He walked every day from Percy Main to Newcastle. During his apprenticeship he made the acquaintance of Henry Houldsworth of Glasgow, a mechanic and constructor of cotton machinery, under whom he was placed as foreman, ultimately being appointed traveller to the firm.
In 1821 he left Houldsworth to take a situation on the continent. In France he stayed a year, acquiring technical knowledge; and after a period in the Manchester establishment of his brother William accepted a partnership with his former employer, Houldsworth.
Fairbairn had already devoted attention to flax-spinning machinery, which had been developed in Leeds by Philippe de Girard
, a French inventor. Fairbairn suggested an improvement by which the process was simplified and a great saving effected. He proposed to use eighty spindles instead of forty, and to substitute screws for the old ‘fallers’ and ‘gills.’ John Anderson, a Glasgow workman, joined him in perfecting the machine, which was constructed in a small room in Lady Lane, Leeds.
John Marshall, a prominent local flax-spinner, promised to replace his old machines with Fairbairn's as fast as they could be turned out. Fairbairn said that he had neither workshop nor money; Marshall encouraged him to take the Wellington foundry at the New Road End, which was then to let. Fairbairn became in time independent of Marshall's support. Further improvements were introduced, and he constructed woollen as well as flax machinery. His improvement in the roving-frame, and his adaptation of what is known as the ‘differential motion’ to it, his success in working the ‘screw gill’ motion, and his introduction of the rotary gill, were all factors in the growth of mechanical efficiency.
Other inventions included machines for preparing and spinning silk waste
, and improvements in machinery for making rope yarn. The construction engineering tools was later included at the Wellington foundry, and the Crimean War
gave an impetus to this branch of the business. Fairbairn constructed large machines, utilised at Woolwich and Enfield, for the purposes of cutting, twisting, boring, and tearing iron and steel: cannon-rifling machines, milling machines, planing and slotting machines, and others. His foundry had become a major concern before his death, on 4 January 1861.
was opened by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert during his mayoralty, and Fairbairn, who distinguished himself as a host, received the honour of knighthood.
During his mayoralty the British Association visited Leeds. He presented to the town hall a statue of the queen by Matthew Noble
. The inhabitants of Leeds subscribed for a portrait of Fairbairn by Sir Francis Grant
, which hung in the council chamber, and for a bronze statue of him by Noble.
Early life
Peter Fairbairn was the youngest brother of Sir William FairbairnWilliam Fairbairn
Sir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet was a Scottish civil engineer, structural engineer and shipbuilder.-Early career:...
, born at Kelso in Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfries to the west, Selkirk to the north-west, and Berwick to the north. To the south-east it borders Cumbria and Northumberland in England.It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...
in September 1799. He had little education, and his father obtained a situation for him in 1811 in the Percy Main colliery at Newcastle-on-Tyne. For three years Peter continued at Percy Main, until, at the age of fourteen, he was apprenticed to a millwright and engineer in Newcastle. He walked every day from Percy Main to Newcastle. During his apprenticeship he made the acquaintance of Henry Houldsworth of Glasgow, a mechanic and constructor of cotton machinery, under whom he was placed as foreman, ultimately being appointed traveller to the firm.
In 1821 he left Houldsworth to take a situation on the continent. In France he stayed a year, acquiring technical knowledge; and after a period in the Manchester establishment of his brother William accepted a partnership with his former employer, Houldsworth.
Business career
In 1828 he left Glasgow and began business in Leeds as a machine maker. He had no capital; but Leeds was then in the first flush of its manufacturing prosperity.Fairbairn had already devoted attention to flax-spinning machinery, which had been developed in Leeds by Philippe de Girard
Philippe de Girard
Philippe Henri de Girard was a French engineer and inventor of the first flax spinning frame in 1810, as well as the name-sake for the town of Żyrardów in Poland. He was also the uncredited inventor of food preservation using tin cans. Girard was born in the village of Lourmarin in the département...
, a French inventor. Fairbairn suggested an improvement by which the process was simplified and a great saving effected. He proposed to use eighty spindles instead of forty, and to substitute screws for the old ‘fallers’ and ‘gills.’ John Anderson, a Glasgow workman, joined him in perfecting the machine, which was constructed in a small room in Lady Lane, Leeds.
John Marshall, a prominent local flax-spinner, promised to replace his old machines with Fairbairn's as fast as they could be turned out. Fairbairn said that he had neither workshop nor money; Marshall encouraged him to take the Wellington foundry at the New Road End, which was then to let. Fairbairn became in time independent of Marshall's support. Further improvements were introduced, and he constructed woollen as well as flax machinery. His improvement in the roving-frame, and his adaptation of what is known as the ‘differential motion’ to it, his success in working the ‘screw gill’ motion, and his introduction of the rotary gill, were all factors in the growth of mechanical efficiency.
Other inventions included machines for preparing and spinning silk waste
Silk waste
Silk waste includes all kinds of raw silk which may be unwindable, and therefore unsuited to the throwing process. Before the introduction of machinery applicable to the spinning of silk waste, the refuse from cocoon reeling, and also from silk winding, which is now used in producing spun silk...
, and improvements in machinery for making rope yarn. The construction engineering tools was later included at the Wellington foundry, and the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
gave an impetus to this branch of the business. Fairbairn constructed large machines, utilised at Woolwich and Enfield, for the purposes of cutting, twisting, boring, and tearing iron and steel: cannon-rifling machines, milling machines, planing and slotting machines, and others. His foundry had become a major concern before his death, on 4 January 1861.
Public office
In 1836 Peter Fairbairn was elected to the Leeds town council, on which he sat until 1842, resigning in that year on account of the increasing demands of his business. In 1854 he was elected an alderman, and, after being appointed a magistrate, was mayor in 1857–8 and 1858–9. Leeds Town HallLeeds Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall was built between 1853 and 1858 on Park Lane , Leeds, West Yorkshire, England to a design by architect Cuthbert Brodrick.-Background:...
was opened by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert during his mayoralty, and Fairbairn, who distinguished himself as a host, received the honour of knighthood.
During his mayoralty the British Association visited Leeds. He presented to the town hall a statue of the queen by Matthew Noble
Matthew Noble
Matthew Noble was a British sculptor.-Life:Noble was born in Hackness, near Scarborough, as the son of a stonemason, and served his apprenticeship under his father. He left Yorkshire for London when quite young, there he studied under John Francis...
. The inhabitants of Leeds subscribed for a portrait of Fairbairn by Sir Francis Grant
Francis Grant (artist)
Sir Francis Grant, RA , was a Scottish portrait painter, who painted Queen Victoria and many distinguished British aristocratic and political figures of the day...
, which hung in the council chamber, and for a bronze statue of him by Noble.