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Authorised form of nameArmstrong; William George (1810 - 1900); Baron Armstrong of Cragside; armaments manufacturer and industrialist
Dates1810 - 1900
NationalityBritish
Place of birthNo 9 [formerly No 6] Pleasant Row, Shieldfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Date of birth26 November 1810
Place of deathCragside, Northumberland, England
Date of death27/12/1900
DatesAndPlacesBurial:
Rothbury, Northumberland
OccupationSolicitor
Research fieldMechanics
Structural engineering
Engineering
Electricity
ActivityEducation:
Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
Career:
Practised as a solicitor, Newcastle (until 1844); took up engineering and invented the hydraulic crane, and Armstrong guns; Engineer of rifled ordnance to the War Department (1858-1863); Founder and Chairman of the Elswick Ordnance Company.
Honours:
CB 1859; Kt 1859; Baron 1887
Memberships:
MIMechE (President three times)
British Association (President 1863)
Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers
Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election07/05/1846
Age at election36
ProposerWilliam Buckland; Michael Faraday; William Robert Grove; William Thomas Brande; John Taylor; Richard Owen; Henry Thomas de la Beche; Thomas Sopwith; Richard Phillips; David Thomas Ansted; Edward Forbes; Thomas Graham; Charles Wheatstone
RelationshipsParents: William Armstrong (1778–1857), corn merchant and local politician, of Tyneside, and Ann, daughter of William Potter, a minor coal owner of Walbottle House.
Spouse: Margaret Ramshaw (1807–1893) (1835)
PublishedWorksRCN 25387
OtherInfoRemembered as the inventor of modern artillery.
He built Cragside in Northumberland, the first house to be powered by hydroelectricity.
Developed the "Armstrong Hydroelectric Machine".
Invented the hydraulic crane.
Advocated the use of renewable energy.
Related imagesDiscover a selection of related images in our picture library
Image

Armstrong W G, IM000131.jpg

SourceSources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Graces Guides [URL: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/William_George_Armstrong; last accessed 29/05/2024)
Obituaries:
Proc Roy Soc 1905 vol 75 pp 217-227 signed by A N
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/310510892
CodeNA3460
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
EC/1846/22Armstrong, William George, Baron Armstrong of Cragside: certificate of election to the Royal Society
IM/000131Armstrong, William George, Baron Armstrong of Cragside1887
NLB/1/27Copy letter from Michael Foster, to Sir William George Armstrong1 December 1885
MC/14/168Copy of a letter from John Evans, The Royal Society, to Sir William [George] Armstrong13 November 1886
NLB/1/268Copy letter from John Evans, to Sir William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society17 November 1886
NLB/1/415Copy letter from John Evans, to Sir William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society3 March 1887
NLB/1/402Copy letter from John Evans, to Sir William George Armstrong18 February 1887
NLB/1/398Copy letter from John Evans, to Sir William George Armstrong 10 February 1887
NLB/6/542Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs West, Newman & Company30 May 1892
NLB/6/992Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs Harrison & Sons29 September 1892
NLB/6/523Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Mr Collings27 May 1892
NLB/6/997Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs Harrison & Sons30 September 1892
NLB/6/635Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong18 June 1892
NLB/6/774Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs West, Newman & Company12 July 1892
NLB/6/669Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord Kelvin [William Thomson]23 June 1892
NLB/6/632Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Reverend Henry William Watson, Fellow of the Royal Society20 June 1892
NLB/6/659Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord Kelvin [William Thomson], President of the Royal Society23 June 1892
NLB/6/660Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Sir John Evans, Treasurer, Royal Society23 June 1892
NLB/6/657Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society23 June 1892
NLB/6/667Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Professor William Edward Ayrton23 June 1892
NLB/6/1029Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs West, Newman & Company6 October 1892
NLB/6/993Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs West, Newman & Company29 September 1892
NLB/6/714Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Professor William Edward Ayrton1 July 1892
NLB/6/762Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Captain Andrew Noble, Fellow of the Royal Society9 July 1892
NLB/6/950Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs West, Newman & Company24 September 1892
NLB/6/967Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society27 September 1892
NLB/6/949Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong 24 September 1892
NLB/6/991Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society29 September 1892
NLB/6/1201Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Michael Foster9 November 1892
NLB/7/145Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong 10 December 1892
NLB/7/141Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society9 December 1892
NLB/7/752Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong19 April 1893
NLB/7/701Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society12 April 1893
NLB/8/1017Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society10 February 1894
NLB/11/102Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society20 April 1895
NLB/11/4Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Reginald Hawthorn Hooker, Royal Statistical Society, 9 Adelphi Terrace, Strand, W.C.2 April 1895
NLB/11/308Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society29 May 1895
NLB/11/329Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord Rayleigh [John William Strutt]5 June 1895
RR/7/242Referee's report by William George Armstrong, on a paper 'On the durability and preservation of iron ships, and on riveted joints' by William Fairbairn10 July 1873
IM/000126Armstrong, Wlliam George, Baron Armstrong of Cragsidend
NLB/1/276Copy letter from John Evans, to Sir William George Armstrong20 November 1886
NLB/6/577Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord Kelvin [William Thomson], Fellow of the Royal Society3 June 1892
NLB/11/341Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society7 June 1895
PP/20/16/1Printed proof, 'On a multiple induction machine for producing high tension electricity, and on some remarkable results obtained with it' by William George Armstrong1892
PP/20/16Paper, 'On a multiple induction machine for producing high tension electricity, and on some remarkable results obtained with it' by William George Armstrong1892
PP/20/16/2Figures, multiple induction machine and dust figures by William George Armstrong1892
MC/14/167Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside Rothbury, to [John] Evans12 November 1886
MC/14/170Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Morpeth, to [John] Evans[18] November 1886
MC/14/172Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Morpeth, to [John] Evans21 November 1886
MC/14/96Letter from [Sir William George] Armstrong, Cragside Morpeth, to the Royal Society to Sir [Andrew] Noble28 December 1885
MC/14Volume 14 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1885-1888
ACS/1/1/50Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W21 October 1892
ACS/1/1/11Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W2 January 1891
ACS/1/1/6Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W24 August 1890
ACS/1/1/2Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W14 July 1890
ACS/1/1/4Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W11 August 1890
ACS/1/1/13Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W22 January 1891
ACS/1/1/10Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W29 December 1890
ACS/1/1/12Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W16 January 1891
ACS/1/1/9Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W16 December 1890
ACS/1/1/16Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W20 February 1891
ACS/1/1/17Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W13 April 1891
ACS/1/1/14Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Morpeth, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W27 January 1891
ACS/1/1/28Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W28 June 1891
ACS/1/1/20Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W24 April 1891
ACS/1/1/24Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W11 June 1891
ACS/1/1/25Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W14 June 1891
ACS/1/1/29Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W21 June 1891
ACS/1/1/26Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W16 June 1891
ACS/1/1/58Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W12 March 1893
ACS/1/1/21Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W26 April 1891
ACS/1/1/33Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W14 July 1891
ACS/1/1/30Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W26 June 1891
ACS/1/1/18Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W16 April 1891
ACS/1/1/35Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W15 September 1891
ACS/1/1/31Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W6 July 1891
ACS/1/1/22Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W7 June 1891
ACS/1/1/38Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W8 January 1892
ACS/1/1/40Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W1 March 1892
ACS/1/1/34Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W9 August 1891
ACS/1/1/39Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W14 January 1892
ACS/1/1/36Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W13 September 1891
ACS/1/1/41Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W2 March 1892
ACS/1/1/42Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W21 March 1892
ACS/1/1/48Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W24 June 1892
ACS/1/1/53Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W1 December 1892
ACS/1/1/43Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W3 May 1892
ACS/1/1/45Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W16 May 1892
ACS/1/1/46Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W28 May 1892
ACS/1/1/51Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W15 November 1892
ACS/1/1/52Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W23 November 1892
ACS/1/1/54Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W4 December 1892
ACS/1/1/57Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W10 February 1893
ACS/1/1/55Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W9 December 1892
ACS/1/1/331Letter from Rayleigh [John William Strutt], Terling Place, Witham, Essex, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W.14 June 1901
ACS/6/3'Pocket Kodak' Album by Alan Archibald Campbell Swinton1895-1897
ACS/6/8Photograph Album 'AACS' c 1897
ACS/5/3Press cuttings: Photography, Swinton's book publication, and Conversazione exhibit 1883-1893
ACS/1/1/1Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall, London, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W19 May 1890
ACS/1/1/3Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W22 July 1890
ACS/1/1/5Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W12 August 1898
ACS/1/1/7Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W16 October 1890
ACS/1/1/8Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W25 November 1890
ACS/1/1/15Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W11 February 1891
ACS/1/1/19Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W17-22 April 1891
ACS/1/1/23Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W9 June 1891
ACS/1/1/27Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W18 June 1891
ACS/1/1/32Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W12 July 1891
ACS/1/1/37Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W4 December 1891
ACS/1/1/44Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W13 May 1892
ACS/1/1/47Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W21 June 1892
ACS/1/1/49Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W20 October 1892
ACS/1/1/56Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Rothbury, to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton, 66 Victoria [Street], London, S.W16 January 1893
ACS/1/1/150Letter from [John Meade Falkner], Elswick Works, Newcastle upon Tyne, to [Alan Archibald] Campbell Swinton19 December 1895
ACS/6/2/2/34Portrait of William George Armstrong, taken by Alan Archibald Campbell Swintonc. 1875
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