Sir Thomas Tassell Grant
Encyclopedia
Sir Thomas Tassell Grant KCB
FRS (1795-15 October 1859) was a notable inventor in the 19th century.
He was born in Portsea, Hampshire, the son of Thomas and Ann (née Tassell) Grant of Soberton, Hampshire.
In 1829 he invented steam-powered machinery for making ship's biscuits that were stamped into hexagonal shapes, thereby ensuring that there was no waste. This process speeded up the production process and substantially reduced its costs. Other government departments copied the invention, saving the British taxpayer a great deal of money. As a reward Grant was given a £2000 grant by parliament and received a medal from the French king, Louis Philippe
, and a gold medal from the Society of Arts in London.
In 1834 he invented a desalination plant which distilled fresh water at sea and was described by the Times in 1859 as "the greatest benefit ever conferred on the sailor, materially advancing the sanitary and moral condition of the navy". Installed on HMS Wye it produced 10,000 gallons a day during the Crimean War.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
, Grant's other inventions included "a naval fuel (briquettes known as Grant's Patent Fuel), a steam kitchen, which was given its first trials in the warship HMS Illustrious
. He also constructed a new type of lifebuoy, and a feathering paddle wheel."
He became a prominent member of the Royal Society
, having been elected a Fellow in 1840. In 1850 he was promoted to the comptrollership of the Admiralty's victualling and transport service.
The outbreak of the Crimean War
in 1854 tested Grant a great deal. However, his inventions helped to offset the widely condemned shortcomings of the war-time supply arrangements for the forces.
Grant was knighted for his achievements, and Queen Victoria presented him with a gold and silver vase. He died of cancer in London on 15 October 1859. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography remarked, "Despite the marked improvements they bestowed on the quality of the beneficiaries' lives, Grant's inventions were perhaps too homely to receive the mention they deserved in the histories of technology." He died at his house in Regents Park, London.
He had married Emma. They had two sons: Vice-admiral William Burley Grant and Richard Tassell Grant. His granddaughter Hilda Lucy Grant married Sir Charles Seely, 2nd Baronet
in 1891.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
FRS (1795-15 October 1859) was a notable inventor in the 19th century.
He was born in Portsea, Hampshire, the son of Thomas and Ann (née Tassell) Grant of Soberton, Hampshire.
In 1829 he invented steam-powered machinery for making ship's biscuits that were stamped into hexagonal shapes, thereby ensuring that there was no waste. This process speeded up the production process and substantially reduced its costs. Other government departments copied the invention, saving the British taxpayer a great deal of money. As a reward Grant was given a £2000 grant by parliament and received a medal from the French king, Louis Philippe
Louis Philippe
Louis Philippe may refer to:*Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, last King of France*Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, called King Louis Philippe II by some factions*Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans*Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans...
, and a gold medal from the Society of Arts in London.
In 1834 he invented a desalination plant which distilled fresh water at sea and was described by the Times in 1859 as "the greatest benefit ever conferred on the sailor, materially advancing the sanitary and moral condition of the navy". Installed on HMS Wye it produced 10,000 gallons a day during the Crimean War.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Dictionary of National Biography
The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
, Grant's other inventions included "a naval fuel (briquettes known as Grant's Patent Fuel), a steam kitchen, which was given its first trials in the warship HMS Illustrious
HMS Illustrious (1803)
HMS Illustrious was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 September 1803 at Rotherhithe.Illustrious served as a gunnery ship from 1854, and was broken up in 1868....
. He also constructed a new type of lifebuoy, and a feathering paddle wheel."
He became a prominent member 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"...
, having been elected a Fellow in 1840. In 1850 he was promoted to the comptrollership of the Admiralty's victualling and transport service.
The outbreak of 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...
in 1854 tested Grant a great deal. However, his inventions helped to offset the widely condemned shortcomings of the war-time supply arrangements for the forces.
Grant was knighted for his achievements, and Queen Victoria presented him with a gold and silver vase. He died of cancer in London on 15 October 1859. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography remarked, "Despite the marked improvements they bestowed on the quality of the beneficiaries' lives, Grant's inventions were perhaps too homely to receive the mention they deserved in the histories of technology." He died at his house in Regents Park, London.
He had married Emma. They had two sons: Vice-admiral William Burley Grant and Richard Tassell Grant. His granddaughter Hilda Lucy Grant married Sir Charles Seely, 2nd Baronet
Sir Charles Seely, 2nd Baronet
Sir Charles Hilton Seely, 2nd Baronet KGStJ was a British industrialist, landowner and Liberal Unionist politician who served as Member of Parliament for Lincoln from 1895 to 1906 and for Mansfield from 1916 to 1918. He was a Justice of the Peace for Hampshire and Nottinghamshire and the Deputy...
in 1891.