John Compton (organ builder) facts for kids
John Compton (1876–1957) was a famous pipe organ builder. He was born in Newton Burgoland, England. His company, based in Nottingham and London, built many amazing organs between 1902 and 1965.
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John Compton's Life Story
John Compton went to King Edward's School, Birmingham. After school, he learned how to build organs by working with other organ builders. He worked for Halmshaw & Sons in Birmingham and then Brindley and Foster in Sheffield. Later, he joined Charles Lloyd in Nottingham.
In 1902, John Compton started his own business called Musson & Compton in Nottingham. He partnered with James Frederick Musson. This partnership ended in 1904. Later, in 1919, his business moved to London. They opened a new, bigger factory in Park Royal, London, in 1930.
Building New Organs
Compton mostly built organs that used electricity to make sound. These were called electric-action pipe organs. He also created electronic organs. His first electronic instrument was the Melotone. It added a special sound to theatre organs. Then came the Theatrone.
In 1938, he introduced the Electrone. This was an electronic organ that used spinning wheels to create sounds. John Compton worked with Leslie Bourn on these ideas.
Teamwork and Inventions
John Compton had a very skilled helper named James Isaac Taylor. James worked with Compton his whole life. He helped the company create many new things.
Compton also became friends with Albert Henry Midgley. Albert was a brilliant inventor. He had over 900 inventions! In 1925, Albert joined Compton's company. His amazing skills in electrical engineering helped the company build organs much faster. They even got many patents for their inventions. These patents showed that Albert Midgley invented many of their clever ideas.
World War II and Later Years
During World War II, in 1940, John Compton was on holiday in Italy. He was arrested and held there because he was from an enemy country. But even while he was held, he helped fix pipe organs. Eventually, he was allowed to return to England.
John Compton passed away in 1957. His company continued for a short time under James I Taylor. However, James Taylor died the next year, in 1958. The company closed down around 1965. The part of the business that built pipe organs was sold. The electronic organ part became Makin Organs.
Compton Organs: A Special Sound
Compton cinema organs were very popular in the UK. They were built by John Compton's company in Acton. About 261 of these organs were put into cinemas and theatres across Britain.
Compton also built many beautiful organs for churches and concert organs. Their cinema organs used the newest technology. Many of them are still working today! A very famous one is the large organ at the Odeon Cinema Leicester Square in central London. It has five keyboards!
Images for kids
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Restored Apollo pipe organ console
