Bankruptcy blog

January 31, 2008

John Downman

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 11:09 pm

John Downman (1750 - 1824), English portrait painter, was the son of Francis Downman, attorney, of St Neots, by Charlotte Goodsend, eldest daughter of the private secretary to George I; his grandfather, Hugh Downman (1672-1729), having been the master of the House of Ordnance at Sheerness.

He is believed to have been born near Ruabon, Denbighshire, Wales, educated first at Chester, then at Liverpool, and finally at the Royal Academy schools, and he was for a while in the studio of Benjamin West. His exquisite pencil portrait drawings, slightly tinted in colour, usually from the reverse, are well known, and many of them are of remarkable beauty. Several volumes of sketches for these drawings are still in existence.

Downman is believed to have been “pressed” for the navy as a young man, and on his escape settled down for a while in Cambridge, eventually coming to London, and later (1804) going to reside in Kent in the village of West Malling. He afterwards spent some part of his life in the west of England, especially in Exeter, and then travelled all over the country painting his dainty portraits. In 1818 he settled down at Chester, finally removing to Wrexham, where his only daughter married and where he died and was buried. He was an associate of the Royal Academy.

The Downman family is usually known as a Devonshire one, but the exact connexion between the artist and the Devonshire branch has not been traced. Many of his portraits have attached to them remarks of considerable importance respecting the persons represented.

See John Downman, his Life and Works, by GC Williamson (London, 1907).

January 24, 2008

John Ramsbottom (engineer)

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John Ramsbottom (11 September 1814 — 20 May 1897) was an English mechanical engineer who created many inventions for railways, including the Ramsbottom safety valve, the displacement lubricator, and the water trough.


Biography

Born in Todmorden, Lancashire, Ramsbottom was the son of a steam cotton mill owner. He learned about steam engines, rebuilding his father’s and also invented the weft fork that enabled looms to be run at high speed.

In 1839 Ramsbottom joined Sharp, Roberts and Company of Manchester who made both industrial stationary engines and steam locomotives, and learned of the latter. He was recommended by Charles Beyer in 1842 to become locomotive superintendent of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway (M&BR). In 1846 the M&BR merged and became the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), and Ramsbottom became District Superintendent North Eastern Division.

In 1852 he invented the split piston ring, which provided a tight seal of the piston against the cylinder with low friction.

In 1857 Ramsbottom became locomotive superintendent of the Northern Division (lines north of Rugby), based at Crewe.

Ramsbottom became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1866. He was also president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1870 and 1871.

Ramsbottom retired in 1871, becoming in 1883 a consulting engineer and a director of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR). He was also a director of Beyer-Peacock.


External links

  • http://www.steamindex.com/people/ramsbott.htm

December 17, 2007

John Ramsbottom (engineer)

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 3:50 am

John Ramsbottom (11 September 1814 — 20 May 1897) was an English mechanical engineer who created many inventions for railways, including the Ramsbottom safety valve, the displacement lubricator, and the water trough.


Biography

Born in Todmorden, Lancashire, Ramsbottom was the son of a steam cotton mill owner. He learned about steam engines, rebuilding his father’s and also invented the weft fork that enabled looms to be run at high speed.

In 1839 Ramsbottom joined Sharp, Roberts and Company of Manchester who made both industrial stationary engines and steam locomotives, and learned of the latter. He was recommended by Charles Beyer in 1842 to become locomotive superintendent of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway (M&BR). In 1846 the M&BR merged and became the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), and Ramsbottom became District Superintendent North Eastern Division.

In 1852 he invented the split piston ring, which provided a tight seal of the piston against the cylinder with low friction.

In 1857 Ramsbottom became locomotive superintendent of the Northern Division (lines north of Rugby), based at Crewe.

Ramsbottom became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1866. He was also president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1870 and 1871.

Ramsbottom retired in 1871, becoming in 1883 a consulting engineer and a director of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR). He was also a director of Beyer-Peacock.


External links

  • http://www.steamindex.com/people/ramsbott.htm

November 13, 2007

John G. McNiven

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — admin @ 10:01 am

John Graham “Jock” McNiven was a mine engineer, mine operator and politician from the Northwest Territories, Canada.

McNiven was a 1923 graduate of the University of Toronto (M.Sc. in Mining Engineering) and worked for several years in mining camps in Ontario. He first came to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories in 1938 to work as mill superintendent of Negus Mines Ltd. His family joined him by in 1940. Upon the resignation of mine manager Bill Stuart, McNiven was promoted to this position in May 1939 where he remained until the mine closed in 1952. In 1946 he established a chapter of the Grand Lodge of Alberta (Freemason), the first lodge in the Northwest Territories.

McNiven became the first member of the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories from the Arctic; in 1947 he was appointed to the council, for Yellowknife. At that time he was the only member living in the territory to serve. He would serve on the council until it was dissolved for the 1951 general election.

In 1953, McNiven became the first mayor of Yellowknife, and served that position until 1954. In 1955, he took the position of mine manager at the Port Radium or Eldorado uranium mine on Great Bear Lake where he guided the mine to a close in September 1960. McNiven retired from Eldorado Nuclear Limited in 1965, and died at his Salt Springs, British Columbia home in September 1969.

A number of local points in Yellowknife are named after him, including Niven Lake, McNiven Beach and Niven Drive. A tug owned by the Northern Transportation Company Limited, based in Hay River, was also named after him - M/V Jock McNiven.

The University of Calgary has the MacPherson McNiven Insolvency Prize, given in memory of McNiven and Jack L. MacPherson.


External links

  • Yellowknife Municipal Council Minutes
  • History of the Grand Lodge of Alberta
  • Specifications of M/V Jock McNiven
  • NWT Historical Timeline

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