| Authorised form of name | Armstrong; William George (1810 - 1900); Baron Armstrong of Cragside; armaments manufacturer and industrialist |
| Dates | 1810 - 1900 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | No 9 [formerly No 6] Pleasant Row, Shieldfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Date of birth | 26 November 1810 |
| Place of death | Cragside, Northumberland, England |
| Date of death | 27/12/1900 |
| Dates and places | Burial:
Rothbury, Northumberland |
| Occupation | Solicitor |
| Research field | Mechanics |
| Structural engineering |
| Engineering |
| Electricity |
| Activity | Education:
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 category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 07/05/1846 |
| Age at election | 36 |
| Proposer | William 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 |
| Relationships | Parents: 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) |
| Published works | RCN 25387 |
| General context | Remembered 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 images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
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| Sources | Sources:
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 File | http://viaf.org/viaf/310510892 |
| Royal Society code | NA3460 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| EC/1846/22 | Armstrong, William George, Baron Armstrong of Cragside: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| IM/000131 | Armstrong, William George, Baron Armstrong of Cragside | 1887 |
| NLB/1/27 | Copy letter from Michael Foster, to Sir William George Armstrong | 1 December 1885 |
| MC/14/168 | Copy of a letter from John Evans, The Royal Society, to Sir William [George] Armstrong | 13 November 1886 |
| NLB/1/268 | Copy letter from John Evans, to Sir William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society | 17 November 1886 |
| NLB/1/415 | Copy letter from John Evans, to Sir William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society | 3 March 1887 |
| NLB/1/402 | Copy letter from John Evans, to Sir William George Armstrong | 18 February 1887 |
| NLB/1/398 | Copy letter from John Evans, to Sir William George Armstrong | 10 February 1887 |
| NLB/6/542 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs West, Newman & Company | 30 May 1892 |
| NLB/6/992 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs Harrison & Sons | 29 September 1892 |
| NLB/6/523 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Mr Collings | 27 May 1892 |
| NLB/6/997 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs Harrison & Sons | 30 September 1892 |
| NLB/6/635 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong | 18 June 1892 |
| NLB/6/774 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs West, Newman & Company | 12 July 1892 |
| NLB/6/669 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord Kelvin [William Thomson] | 23 June 1892 |
| NLB/6/632 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Reverend Henry William Watson, Fellow of the Royal Society | 20 June 1892 |
| NLB/6/659 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord Kelvin [William Thomson], President of the Royal Society | 23 June 1892 |
| NLB/6/660 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Sir John Evans, Treasurer, Royal Society | 23 June 1892 |
| NLB/6/657 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society | 23 June 1892 |
| NLB/6/667 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Professor William Edward Ayrton | 23 June 1892 |
| NLB/6/1029 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs West, Newman & Company | 6 October 1892 |
| NLB/6/993 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs West, Newman & Company | 29 September 1892 |
| NLB/6/714 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Professor William Edward Ayrton | 1 July 1892 |
| NLB/6/762 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Captain Andrew Noble, Fellow of the Royal Society | 9 July 1892 |
| NLB/6/950 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Messrs West, Newman & Company | 24 September 1892 |
| NLB/6/967 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society | 27 September 1892 |
| NLB/6/949 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong | 24 September 1892 |
| NLB/6/991 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society | 29 September 1892 |
| NLB/6/1201 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Michael Foster | 9 November 1892 |
| NLB/7/145 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong | 10 December 1892 |
| NLB/7/141 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society | 9 December 1892 |
| NLB/7/752 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong | 19 April 1893 |
| NLB/7/701 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society | 12 April 1893 |
| NLB/8/1017 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society | 10 February 1894 |
| NLB/11/102 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society | 20 April 1895 |
| NLB/11/4 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Reginald Hawthorn Hooker, Royal Statistical Society, 9 Adelphi Terrace, Strand, W.C. | 2 April 1895 |
| NLB/11/308 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society | 29 May 1895 |
| NLB/11/329 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord Rayleigh [John William Strutt] | 5 June 1895 |
| RR/7/242 | Referee's report by William George Armstrong, on a paper 'On the durability and preservation of iron ships, and on riveted joints' by William Fairbairn | 10 July 1873 |
| IM/000126 | Armstrong, Wlliam George, Baron Armstrong of Cragside | nd |
| NLB/1/276 | Copy letter from John Evans, to Sir William George Armstrong | 20 November 1886 |
| NLB/6/577 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord Kelvin [William Thomson], Fellow of the Royal Society | 3 June 1892 |
| NLB/11/341 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Lord William George Armstrong, Fellow of the Royal Society | 7 June 1895 |
| PP/20/16/1 | Printed proof, 'On a multiple induction machine for producing high tension electricity, and on some remarkable results obtained with it' by William George Armstrong | 1892 |
| PP/20/16 | Paper, 'On a multiple induction machine for producing high tension electricity, and on some remarkable results obtained with it' by William George Armstrong | 1892 |
| PP/20/16/2 | Figures, multiple induction machine and dust figures by William George Armstrong | 1892 |
| MC/14/167 | Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside Rothbury, to [John] Evans | 12 November 1886 |
| MC/14/170 | Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Morpeth, to [John] Evans | [18] November 1886 |
| MC/14/172 | Letter from [William George] Armstrong, Cragside, Morpeth, to [John] Evans | 21 November 1886 |
| MC/14/96 | Letter from [Sir William George] Armstrong, Cragside Morpeth, to the Royal Society to Sir [Andrew] Noble | 28 December 1885 |
| MC/14 | Volume 14 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1885-1888 |