William Samuel Henson
Encyclopedia
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
aviation engineer and inventor.
Henson was born on 3 May 1812 (some sources incorrectly say 1805), in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, England
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...
. Henson was involved in lace-making in Chard, which increasingly was mechanized at that time, and he obtained a patent on improved lace-making machines in 1835. Henson is best known as an early pioneer in aviation, but patented many other inventions, some of which are in wide use today.
Aeronautical inventions
Starting c. 1838, Henson became interested in aviation. In April 1841 he patented an improved light-weight steam engine, and with fellow lacemaking-engineer John StringfellowJohn Stringfellow
John Stringfellow was born in Sheffield, England and is known for his work on the Aerial Steam Carriage with William Samuel Henson....
in c. 1842 he designed a large passenger-carrying steam-powered monoplane, with a wing span of 150 feet, which he named the "Henson Aerial Steam Carriage
Aerial Steam Carriage
The Aerial Steam Carriage, also named Ariel, was a flying machine patented in 1842 that was supposed to carry passengers into the air. It was, in practice, incapable of flight since it had insufficient power from its heavy steam engine to fly. A more successful model was built in 1848 which was...
". He received a patent on it in 1843 along with Stringfellow. Henson, Stringfellow, Frederick Marriott, and D.E. Colombine, incorporated as the Aerial Transit Company in 1843 in England, with the intention of raising money to construct the flying machine. Henson built a scale model of his design, which made one tentative steam-powered "hop" as it lifted, or bounced, off its guide wire. Attempts were made to fly the small model, and a larger model with a 20 foot wing span, between 1844 and 1847, without success. Henson grew discouraged, married and emigrated in 1849 to the United States, while Stringfellow continued to experiment with aviation.
Henson appeared as a character in a fictional newspaper story
The Balloon-Hoax
"The Balloon-Hoax" is the title used in collections and anthologies of a newspaper article written by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1844. Originally presented as a true story, it detailed European Monck Mason's trip across the Atlantic Ocean in only three days in a gas balloon...
by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
, which recounted a supposed trans-Atlantic balloon trip, in which Henson was one of the passengers on the balloon.
Henson and Stringfellow are frequently mentioned in books on the history of aviation. The Royal Aeronautical Society
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
holds annual "Henson-Stringfellow" lectures; as of 2008 they have held 52. A glacier in Antarctica was named after him due to his work in aviation (Henson Glacier: 64'06'S, 60'11'W).
Aerial Design
The Aerial's wings were rectangular, and were formed by wooden spars covered with fabric, and braced, internally and externally, with wires. The Aerial Steam Carriage was to be powered by two contra-rotating six-bladed propellers mounted in the rear in a push -type system. The design follows earlier "birdlike" gliders, and the ideas of George CayleyGeorge Cayley
Sir George Cayley, 6th Baronet was a prolific English engineer and one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. Many consider him the first true scientific aerial investigator and the first person to understand the underlying principles and forces of flight...
, and Henson corresponded with Cayley in an attempt to obtain funding after the efforts to obtain the support of Parliament and sell stock failed. The Aerial Transit Company never built the largest version of the Aerial Steam Carriage because of the failed attempts with the medium-sized model. Henson, Stringfellow, Marriott and Colombine dissolved the company around 1848.
Advertising
The Aerial Transit Company's publicist, Frederick MarriottFrederick Marriott
Frederick Marriott was an early aviation pioneer and creator of the Avitor Hermes Jr. which was the first unmanned aircraft to fly under its own power in the United States...
, commissioned prints in 1843 depicting the Aerial Steam Carriage over the pyramids in Egypt, in India, and over London, England, and other places, which drew considerable interest from the public. The prints have appeared on several stamps of various countries. Marriott later became himself an aviation pioneer in California.
Other inventions and innovations
Henson obtained a number of patents in widely varying areas. Major patents include:- Lace-making decoration, 1835
- Lightweight steam engines, 1841
- Flying machine, 1843
- T-handled safety razor, 1847
Henson invented the modern form of the razor, the 'T' shaped safety razor, and patented it in 1847: "the cutting blade of which is at right angles with the handle, and resembles somewhat the form of a common hoe." While a major improvement on the previous form of safety razor, an additional improvement was needed to make safety razors common. In 1901, Gillette combined Henson's T-shaped safety razor with disposable blades, and produced the modern razor.
Henson published a pamphlet on Astronomy in 1871 suggesting that the solar system formed from cold dust and gas, and discussed how it could condense into meteors and comets, and further condense into planets, moons and the sun, in the process heating up. He also discusses how this would lead to the planets orbiting in the ecliptic and rotating in the same general plane.
Henson created inventions in other areas as well. Among them were ice-making machines (1870), fabric waterproofing, and cistern-cleaning. He patented and submitted a proposal for an improved low-recoil breech-loading cannon design to the US Navy in 1861; it was rejected as impractical.
Emigration and life in the United States
In 1849 William Henson and his wife, Sarah, left England and moved to the United States, joining his father and settling in Newark, New JerseyNewark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. Henson never did any further aviation research while in the United States and worked as a machinist, civil engineer and inventor. He had 7 children, only 4 of whom lived to adulthood.
Henson died in 1888 in Newark. He and most of his family were buried in East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...
.
The Henson Aerial Steam Carriage
- Small model, wingspan unknown
- Medium model, wingspan 20 feet
- Full-size aircraft, wingspan 150 feet (never built)
Timeline
- 3 May 1812 Birth in Nottingham, England
- 1835 UK Patent #4405 on ornamental lace-making improvements ("William Henson of Chard, machinist" - could be William Samuel Henson's father, who was also an inventor)
- 1840 UK Patent #6207 on making fabrics ("William Henson of Lambeth, engineer")
- 1841, 1842/1843 UK Patents on lightweight steam engine and flying machine (#unknown and #9478) ("William S. Henson of Lambeth, engineer")
- 17 Jul 1847 Patent on the T-handled safety razor
- 1849 Emigration to the United States
- 1850 US Census in Newark, New JerseyNewark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
as machinist - 2 Mar 1852 US Patent on improvement to knitting looms
- 5 Nov 1861 US Patent #33646 for "Improvement in Breech-loading Ordinance".
- 13 Oct 1868 US Patent #83060 for an improvement to a steam engine governor
- circa 1869-1870: working in Peru in the mining industry
- 26 Jan 1869 US Patent #86264 for improvements to centrifugal screw pumps
- 1870 US Census in Newark, New JerseyNewark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
as civil engineer, US patent #108816 on ice-making machine - 1871 Publication of book on Astronomy; listed as a Master in the Newark MasonsFreemasonryFreemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
lodge - 14 Jul 1874 US Patent #152914 for ice-making improvements
- 15 May 1883 US Patent #277486 for cleaning cisterns
- 1888 Death in Newark, New JerseyNewark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...