Thomas Humber
Encyclopedia
Thomas Humber was a British cycle manufacturer who founded the Humber
bicycle company in 1869 in Beeston, Nottinghamshire
. By 1896 the company, under new management, ventured into Humber motor cars
and became the first maker of series production cars in England.
when he was 5 years old and he attended the Salthouse Lane school. On leaving school he was apprenticed to the blacksmith
William Campion, and then worked on sewing and weaving machines.
His son Samuel was born circa 1855 in Nottingham and worked as a bicycle fitter in the Beeston factory.
velocipede
where the pedals acted directly on the front wheel. Humber improved this design and in 1868 created a safety bicycle
whereby the pedals drove the rear wheel. Demand was great, so in 1869 Thomas founded 'Humber & Company Limited' at Beeston
, Nottinghamshire
.
In 1887 Thomas Humber sold the company to Joseph Horton of Birmingham
who already owned the 'Joseph Devey' bicycle company, and production was transferred to the Devey factory at Ashes Works, Pelham Street, Wolverhampton
, plus a factory in Great Brick-kiln Street. By 1896 the company had a factory in Pountney Street, and showrooms in Queen Street. In 1900 Humber moved production to the Stoke district in Coventry
.
Actually, from the Humber Museum's website: Humber was founded by Thomas Humber in 1868 to make the Ordinary. With the first diamond-frame in 1884, they became renowned bicycle manufacturers. Financial whiz-kid Terah Hooley subsequently took over the company and Humber left in 1892. http://www.oldbike.eu/humber/?page_id=60
won the world's first long distance race, Paris–Brest–Paris, riding a Humber bicycle fitted prototype removable pneumatic tyres made by Michelin
.
had acquired the Humber name by circa 1896. Some reports claim that Thomas left the business in 1892. To be clarified.
In 1887 Humber went into partnership with 'Marriott and Cooper' for whom Daniel Rudge
then built 'Humber' bicycles in Wolverhampton. Thus ‘Genuine Humber’ was coined to distinguish Thomas Humber's cycles.
The company's expansion in the 1870s and 1880s culminated in factories in Nottingham, Beeston and Wolverhampton and Coventry in 1889. They produced cycles, tricycles and quadricyles. By 1900 Humber Ltd was one of the largest bicycle firms in Britain.
produced the first practical motorcycle made in the UK by fitting a bicycle with an E. J. Pennington
two-horsepower motor.
built a prototype and nine production motorcars in the new Coventry premises. They were exhibited at the 'Stanley Cycle Show' in London, the first series production cars made in England.
In 1896 the Humber name was associated with the French conglomerate Clement, Gladiator
& Humber (France) Ltd that had merged the three cycle manufacturers under the leadership of Adolphe Clément
, Lord Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury
and (soon to be convicted) fraudster Harry John Lawson
of Dunlop
, in the form of the 'British Automobile Commercial Syndicate Ltd'. The range of cycles was expanded with tricycles, quadricycles, a motorised bicycle, cars and motorcycles.
The Beeston factory employed over 2,000 people around 1900 and went on to produce the exclusive 'Beeston-Humber'. It was closed in 1907/1908 after financial problems, after Humber moved the whole operation, including 2-3,000 people, to Coventry.
Humber cars were renowned for reliability and endurance, and by the time of his death in 1910 were the third most popular car in Britain behind Ford Motor Company
and Wolseley Motor Company
.
type monoplanes. This is assumed to not be directly associated with Thomas Humber as convicted fraudster Harry Lawson
had by this time completed his '1 year of hard labour' and was to re-emerge as a director of the Blériot Manufacturing Aircraft Company Ltd., the English branch of Louis Blériot's aircraft company.
In 1910 a Humber aeroplane was used for the world's first air-mail service in India.
Humber (bicycle)
Humber is an English brand of bicycle.One model is the Humber Sport 3-speed pictured on this page. It includes an unusual fork design, called "Duplex", in which each blade consist of two separate tubes, and a stylish chainring that includes the shape of five persons.-History:Made by Humber car...
bicycle company in 1869 in Beeston, Nottinghamshire
Beeston, Nottinghamshire
Beeston is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is southwest of Nottingham city centre. Although typically regarded as a suburb of the City of Nottingham, and officially designated as part of the Nottingham Urban Area, for local government purposes it is in the borough of Broxtowe, lying outside...
. By 1896 the company, under new management, ventured into Humber motor cars
Humber (car)
Humber is a dormant British automobile marque which could date its beginnings to Thomas Humber's bicycle company founded in 1868. Following their involvement in Humber through Hillman in 1928 the Rootes brothers acquired a controlling interest and joined the Humber board in 1932 making Humber part...
and became the first maker of series production cars in England.
Personal life
Thomas Humber was born in Sheffield in 1841 (or 1842). His parents moved to Kingston upon HullKingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
when he was 5 years old and he attended the Salthouse Lane school. On leaving school he was apprenticed to the blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
William Campion, and then worked on sewing and weaving machines.
His son Samuel was born circa 1855 in Nottingham and worked as a bicycle fitter in the Beeston factory.
Cycle manufacture
William Campion visited Paris in 1867 and purchased a simple MichauxPierre Michaux
Pierre Michaux was a blacksmith who furnished parts for the carriage trade in Paris during the 1850s and 1860s. He started building bicycles with pedals in the early 1860s. He, or his son Ernest, may have been the inventor of this machine, by adapting cranks and pedals on the front wheel of a...
velocipede
Velocipede
Velocipede is an umbrella term for any human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels. The most common type of velocipede today is the bicycle....
where the pedals acted directly on the front wheel. Humber improved this design and in 1868 created a safety bicycle
Safety bicycle
A safety bicycle is a type of bicycle that became very popular beginning in the late 1880s as an alternative to the penny-farthing or ordinary and is now the most common type of bicycle. Early bicycles of this style were known as safety bicycles because they were noted for, and marketed as, being...
whereby the pedals drove the rear wheel. Demand was great, so in 1869 Thomas founded 'Humber & Company Limited' at Beeston
Beeston, Nottinghamshire
Beeston is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is southwest of Nottingham city centre. Although typically regarded as a suburb of the City of Nottingham, and officially designated as part of the Nottingham Urban Area, for local government purposes it is in the borough of Broxtowe, lying outside...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
.
In 1887 Thomas Humber sold the company to Joseph Horton of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
who already owned the 'Joseph Devey' bicycle company, and production was transferred to the Devey factory at Ashes Works, Pelham Street, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, plus a factory in Great Brick-kiln Street. By 1896 the company had a factory in Pountney Street, and showrooms in Queen Street. In 1900 Humber moved production to the Stoke district in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
.
Actually, from the Humber Museum's website: Humber was founded by Thomas Humber in 1868 to make the Ordinary. With the first diamond-frame in 1884, they became renowned bicycle manufacturers. Financial whiz-kid Terah Hooley subsequently took over the company and Humber left in 1892. http://www.oldbike.eu/humber/?page_id=60
Cycle racing
In 1891 Charles TerrontCharles Terront
Charles Terront was the first major French cycling star. He won sprint, middle distance and endurance events in Europe and the United States. In September 1891 he won the first Paris–Brest–Paris cycle race, which at was more than double the length of any previous event...
won the world's first long distance race, Paris–Brest–Paris, riding a Humber bicycle fitted prototype removable pneumatic tyres made by Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
.
Humber Manufacturing after direct association with Thomas Humber
The 'sale' to Joseph Horton in 1887 may mark the end of Thomas Humber's direct association with the elements of the business. Harry LawsonHarry John Lawson
Henry John Lawson, also known as Harry Lawson, was a British bicycle designer, motor industry pioneer, and fraudster. As part of his attempt to create and control a British motor industry Lawson formed and floated The Daimler Motor Company Limited in London in 1896. It later began manufacture in...
had acquired the Humber name by circa 1896. Some reports claim that Thomas left the business in 1892. To be clarified.
In 1887 Humber went into partnership with 'Marriott and Cooper' for whom Daniel Rudge
Daniel Rudge
Daniel Rudge was a British engineer who built high-end bicycles and velocipedes. Rudge invented the adjustable ball bearing bicycle hub in 1878....
then built 'Humber' bicycles in Wolverhampton. Thus ‘Genuine Humber’ was coined to distinguish Thomas Humber's cycles.
The company's expansion in the 1870s and 1880s culminated in factories in Nottingham, Beeston and Wolverhampton and Coventry in 1889. They produced cycles, tricycles and quadricyles. By 1900 Humber Ltd was one of the largest bicycle firms in Britain.
Motorcycle manufacture
As a successful cycle manufacturer Humber was naturally interested motor manufacture. In 1896 Humber MotorcyclesHumber Motorcycles
Humber Motorcycles was a pioneering British motorcycle manufacturer. Thomas Humber established the company in Beeston, Nottinghamshire in 1868 to make top quality bicycles and was very successful, opening factories in Coventry and Wolverhampton. In 1896 Humber produced the first practical...
produced the first practical motorcycle made in the UK by fitting a bicycle with an E. J. Pennington
E. J. Pennington
Edward Joel Pennington was an inventor and promoter of many mechanical devices, including airships, motorcycles, and automobiles...
two-horsepower motor.
Motorcar manufacture
In 1896 HumberHumber (car)
Humber is a dormant British automobile marque which could date its beginnings to Thomas Humber's bicycle company founded in 1868. Following their involvement in Humber through Hillman in 1928 the Rootes brothers acquired a controlling interest and joined the Humber board in 1932 making Humber part...
built a prototype and nine production motorcars in the new Coventry premises. They were exhibited at the 'Stanley Cycle Show' in London, the first series production cars made in England.
In 1896 the Humber name was associated with the French conglomerate Clement, Gladiator
Gladiator Cycle Company
The Gladiator Cycle Company was a French manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles and cars based in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, Seine.Throughout its productive life from 1891 until its demise in 1920 the company was variously owned by the founders Alexandre Darracq and Paul Aucoq; from 1896 by Adolphe...
& Humber (France) Ltd that had merged the three cycle manufacturers under the leadership of Adolphe Clément
Adolphe Clément
Gustave Adolphe Clément-Bayard was a French entrepreneur...
, Lord Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury
Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury
Major Charles Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury, 20th Earl of Waterford, 5th Earl Talbot , was a British peer.Talbot was the only son and heir of the Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 19th Earl of Shrewsbury...
and (soon to be convicted) fraudster Harry John Lawson
Harry John Lawson
Henry John Lawson, also known as Harry Lawson, was a British bicycle designer, motor industry pioneer, and fraudster. As part of his attempt to create and control a British motor industry Lawson formed and floated The Daimler Motor Company Limited in London in 1896. It later began manufacture in...
of Dunlop
Dunlop Rubber
Dunlop Rubber was a company based in the United Kingdom which manufactured tyres and other rubber products for most of the 20th century. It was acquired by BTR plc in 1985. Since then, ownership of the Dunlop trade-names has been fragmented.-Early history:...
, in the form of the 'British Automobile Commercial Syndicate Ltd'. The range of cycles was expanded with tricycles, quadricycles, a motorised bicycle, cars and motorcycles.
The Beeston factory employed over 2,000 people around 1900 and went on to produce the exclusive 'Beeston-Humber'. It was closed in 1907/1908 after financial problems, after Humber moved the whole operation, including 2-3,000 people, to Coventry.
Humber cars were renowned for reliability and endurance, and by the time of his death in 1910 were the third most popular car in Britain behind Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and Wolseley Motor Company
Wolseley Motor Company
The Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1901. After 1935 it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.-History:...
.
Aircraft manufacture
In 1909, Humber opened an aircraft department where they built 50 Louis BlériotLouis Blériot
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...
type monoplanes. This is assumed to not be directly associated with Thomas Humber as convicted fraudster Harry Lawson
Harry John Lawson
Henry John Lawson, also known as Harry Lawson, was a British bicycle designer, motor industry pioneer, and fraudster. As part of his attempt to create and control a British motor industry Lawson formed and floated The Daimler Motor Company Limited in London in 1896. It later began manufacture in...
had by this time completed his '1 year of hard labour' and was to re-emerge as a director of the Blériot Manufacturing Aircraft Company Ltd., the English branch of Louis Blériot's aircraft company.
In 1910 a Humber aeroplane was used for the world's first air-mail service in India.
See also
- Humber (bicycle)Humber (bicycle)Humber is an English brand of bicycle.One model is the Humber Sport 3-speed pictured on this page. It includes an unusual fork design, called "Duplex", in which each blade consist of two separate tubes, and a stylish chainring that includes the shape of five persons.-History:Made by Humber car...
- Humber MotorcyclesHumber MotorcyclesHumber Motorcycles was a pioneering British motorcycle manufacturer. Thomas Humber established the company in Beeston, Nottinghamshire in 1868 to make top quality bicycles and was very successful, opening factories in Coventry and Wolverhampton. In 1896 Humber produced the first practical...
- Humber (car)Humber (car)Humber is a dormant British automobile marque which could date its beginnings to Thomas Humber's bicycle company founded in 1868. Following their involvement in Humber through Hillman in 1928 the Rootes brothers acquired a controlling interest and joined the Humber board in 1932 making Humber part...
- List of bicycle manufacturing companies
- Raleigh Cycles - Biggest UK manufacture at one period.