Authorised form of name | Darwin; Sir; Horace (1851 - 1928); civil engineer and manufacturer of scientific instruments |
Dates | 1851 - 1928 |
Nationality | British |
Place of birth | Down House, Down, Kent, England |
Date of birth | 13 May 1851 |
Place of death | The Orchard, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, England |
Date of death | 22/09/1928 |
Dates and places | Burial: St Giles' cemetery, now Ascension Cemetery, Cambridge, England |
Occupation | Scientific Instrument maker |
Research field | Engineering |
Activity | Education: Clapham grammar school; MA (Cantab) Career: Served a three-year apprenticeship with Easton and Anderson, engineers, of Erith, Kent, returning to Cambridge upon its completion; consulting engineer on land reclamation and drainage schemes; founded the ‘Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company’ in partnership with Albert Dew-Smith (1881); took sole control of the company (1891); moved to larger premises due to due increasing demand for scientific instruments by researchers in the University laboratories becoming a Limited Liability Company (1895); the company assisted the war effort by undertaking work for the Ministry of Munitions (1914-1918). Honours: KBE 1918 Memberships: Institution of Civil Engineers 1877 Institution of Mechanical Engineers 1878 |
Membership category | Fellow |
Date of election | 11/06/1903 |
Age at election | 52 |
Proposer | John Newport Langley; Walter Holbrook Gaskell; Ernest Howard Griffiths; William Napier Shaw; Richard Tetley Glazebrook; Francis Henry Neville; Charles Thomas Heycock; Henry Woodward; Henry Selby Hele-Shaw; Silvanus Phillips Thompson; David Gill |
Charles Vernon Boys; John Perry; William de Wiveleslie Abney; George Forbes; John Milne; Raphael Meldola; John William Strutt; William Edward Ayrton; Shelford Bidwell; James Alfred Ewing; George Howard Darwin |
Relationships | Parents: Charles Robert Darwin (FRS 1839) and Emma (1808–1896), daughter of Josiah Wedgwood. Grandfather: Robert Waring Darwin (FRS 1788) Great grandfather: Erasmus Darwin (FRS 1761) Siblings: George Howard Darwin (FRS 1879) and Francis Darwin (FRS 1882) Spouse: Hon. Emma Cecilia (Ida) (1854-1946), daughter of Thomas Henry Farrer, first Baron Farrer (1880). Children: Erasmus Darwin IV (killed in WWI in 1915); Ruth Frances Darwin; Nora Barlow. |
General context | Remembered for his precision in designing and manufacturing scientific instruments. He was mayor of Cambridge between 1896 and 1897. |
Sources | Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB Obituaries: Proc Roy Soc Series A 1929 vol 122 pp xv-xviii, plate, signed by R T G References: Meg Weston Smith, 'E A Milne and the Creation of Air Defence: Some Letters From an Unprincipled Brigand, 1916-1919' in NR 1990 vol 44 pp 241-255 James R Moore, 'On the Education of Darwin's Sons: The Correspondence Between Charles Darwin and the Reverend G V Reed, 1857-1864' in NR 1977-8 vol 32 pp 51-70 |
Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/62346547 |
Royal Society code | NA10516 |
Reference number | Title | Date |
MC/31/37 | Letter from Horace Darwin, The Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company, Limited, Cambridge, England, to Dr [Arthur] Schuster, Royal Society, Burlington House, London | 27 May 1916 |
MC/33/42 | Letter from Horace Darwin, Air Inventions Committee, 2 Clements Inn, Strand, W.C.2., to Mr [Robert] Harrison, Assistant Secretary, Royal Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, W | 17 January 1918 |
MC/22 | Volume 22 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1907 |
MC/34/47 | Letter from Horace Darwin, The Orchard, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, to The Assistant Secretary, Burlington House, London, W | 3 November 1919 |