| Authorised form of name | White; Sir; William Henry (1845 - 1913); naval architect |
| Dates | 1845 - 1913 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Devonport, Devon, England |
| Date of birth | 02 February 1845 |
| Place of death | Westminster Hospital, Westminster, London, England |
| Date of death | 27/02/1913 |
| Occupation | naval architect |
| Research field | Engineering |
| Naval architecture |
| Activity | Education:
Private school, Devonport; Royal School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at South Kensington (1864-1867)
Career:
Apprentice at the Dockyard, Devenport; joined the Admiralty; Confidential Assistant to Sir Edward James Reed (FRS 1876); Secretary to the Council of Construction, the Admiralty (1872); Assistant Constructor (1875); Chief Constructor (1881); left the Admiralty (1883); organized a department for constructing large battleships at the Armstrong works, Elswick; returned to the Admiralty (1885-1902); Assistant Controller and Director of Naval Construction; died suddenly from a paralytic seizure (1913).
Honours:
KCB 1895
Memberships:
Institution of Civil Engineers
Institute of Mechanical Engineers
Institution of Marine Engineers |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 07/06/1888 |
| Age at election | 43 |
| Proposer | William James Lloyd Wharton |
| John Percy |
| Douglas Galton |
| James Dewar |
| Frederick Augustus Abel |
| Andrew Noble |
| William George Armstrong |
| James Thomas Walker |
| William Odling |
| James Joseph Sylvester |
| Relationships | Parents: Richard White, a currier, of Devonport, and Jane, daughter of W. Matthews, of Lostwithiel, Cornwall.
Spouse: 1) (1875) Alice (d. 1886), daughter of F. Martin, of Pembroke, chief constructor, RN 2) (1890) Annie (who survived him), daughter of F. C. Marshall JP, of Tynemouth.
Children: Three sons and one daughter. |
| Published works | RCN R67740
RCN R67741 |
| General context | Responsible for the construction of more than 200 ships |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Image | 
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| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB
Obituaries:
Proc Roy Soc Series A 1913-1914 vol 89 pp xiv-xix signed by P W |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/42618743 |
| Royal Society code | NA6967 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| MM/12/116 | Letter from Charles Pritchard to William White | 12 June 1880 |
| IM/Maull/004872 | White, Sir William Henry | nd |
| NLB/5/1043 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to William Henry White, Admiralty, Fellow of the Royal Society | 18 December 1891 |
| NLB/10/598 | Copy letter from Theodore E James, to Harrison & Sons | [January 1895] |
| NLB/19/79 | Copy letter from Theodore E James, to Messrs Harrison & Sons | 14 June 1899 |
| NLB/30/831 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir William Henry White, Fellow of the Royal Society | 29 May 1905 |
| NLB/32/7 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir William Henry White, Fellow of the Royal Society, 8 Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W. | 12 December 1905 |
| NLB/35/549 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir William White, Fellow of the Royal Society | 12 June 1907 |
| NLB/35/576 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir William White, Fellow of the Royal Society | 14 June 1907 |
| NLB/39/459 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir William [Henry] White, KCB, Fellow of the Royal Society | 23 January 1909 |
| NLB/39/454 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Sir W [William Henry] White, KCB, Fellow of the Royal Society | 25 January 1909 |
| NLB/41/415 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir William White, Fellow of the Royal Society | 10 December 1909 |
| MC/24/209 | Letter from [William Henry] White, Cedarcroft, Putney Heath, SW, to Robert Harrison, Assistant Secretary, Royal Society | 26 January 1909 |
| NLB/43/588 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir William Henry White, Fellow of the Royal Society | 17 February 1911 |
| NLB/43/678 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir William Henry White, Fellow of the Royal Society | 8 March 1911 |
| NLB/46/302 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir William White, Fellow of the Royal Society | 9 July 1912 |
| EC/1888/25 | White, Sir William Henry: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| MC/14/332 | Letter from [William Henry] White, The Admiralty, Whitehall, to [Michael] Foster, Secretary of the Royal Society | 11 June 1888 |
| MC/14 | Volume 14 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1885-1888 |
| MC/24/210 | Letter from [William Henry] White, Cedarcroft, Putney Heath, SW, to [Robert] Harrison, Assistant Secretary, Royal Society | 25 October 1909 |
| NLB/35/472 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir William White, Fellow of the Royal Society | 4 June 1907 |
| MC/22/514 | Letter from William H White, Cedarcroft, Putney Heath, to Robert [William Frederick] Harrison | 3 June 1907 |
| MC/22 | Volume 22 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1907 |
| ACS/1/1/426 | Letter from [William Henry] White, Cedarcroft, Putney Heath, S. W., to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton | 4 October 1910 |
| ACS/1/1/425 | Letter from [William Henry] White, 8 Victoria Street, Westminster, S. W., to [Alan Archibald] Campbell Swinton [Esquire] | 31 March 1910 |
| ACS/1/1/428 | Letter from [William Henry] White, Goldsmiths' Hall, London, E. C., to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton | 12 July 1911 |
| ACS/1/1/427 | Letter from [William Henry] White, Cedarcroft, Putney Heath, S. W., to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton [Esquire] | 12 December 1910 |
| ACS/1/1/423 | Letter from [William Henry] White, Admiralty, S. W., to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton | 13 May 1901 |
| ACS/1/1/422 | Letter from [William Henry] White, Admiralty, S. W., to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton | 22 May 1896 |
| ACS/1/1/424 | Letter from [William Henry] White, Cedarcroft, Putney Heath, S. W., to [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton | 26 December 1906 |
| ACS/1/1/421 | Letter from [William Henry] White, Sir W. G. Armstrong, Mitchell & Co, Limited, Newcastle upon Tyne, to Mr [Alan Archibald Campbell] Swinton | 11 August 1889 |
| ACS/6/1/55 | Group and individual portraits taken by Alan Archibald Campbell Swinton | 1909-1914 |