Robert William Thomson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert William Thomson
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Illustration of Thomson for The Illustrated London News, 29 March 1873.
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| Born | 29 June 1822 Stonehaven, Scotland, UK
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| Died | 8 March 1873 (age 50) |
| Burial place | Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh |
| Spouse(s) | Clara Hertz |
| Children | 4, including Courtauld and Elspeth |
Robert William Thomson (born June 29, 1822 – died March 8, 1873) was a clever Scottish inventor. He is famous for creating two important things: the refillable fountain pen and the pneumatic tyre.
Contents
Robert Thomson's Life Story
Robert Thomson was born on June 29, 1822, in Stonehaven, a town in northeast Scotland. He was the eleventh of twelve children. His father owned a woolen mill.
Robert's family wanted him to become a minister. However, Robert did not want to. One reason was that he found Latin very difficult.
Early Years and Learning
Robert left school and became an apprentice to a merchant. After two years, he went back home. He taught himself many subjects. These included chemistry, electricity, and astronomy. He even got help from a local weaver who knew a lot about mathematics.
Robert's father gave him a workshop. By the time he was 17, Robert had already started inventing. He rebuilt his mother's washing mangle. This new mangle could pass wet linen through its rollers in both directions.
He also made the first working model of his special steam engine. It was called an elliptic rotary steam engine. He made it even better later in his life.
Starting His Engineering Career
Robert then trained as an engineer. He worked in Aberdeen and Dundee. After that, he joined a civil engineering company in Glasgow.
Later, he worked for an engineering firm in Edinburgh. Here, he came up with a new way to set off explosive charges. He used electricity for this. This invention made mines much safer around the world. It greatly reduced the number of lives lost.
Thomson also worked as a railway engineer. He helped blast chalk cliffs near Dover. This was for the South Eastern Railway. Soon, he started his own railway consulting business. He even suggested a railway line for the Eastern Counties Railway. Parliament approved his idea, and the line was built.
Famous Inventions
Robert Thomson was only 23 years old when he got a patent for his pneumatic tyre. He received a patent in France in 1846. He also got one in the US in 1847.
His tyre was a hollow belt made of India-rubber. It was filled with air. This meant the wheels had "a cushion of air" touching the ground. This rubber belt was inside a strong leather casing. It was bolted to the wheel.
Thomson's "Aerial Wheels" were shown in London in March 1847. They were put on several horse-drawn carriages. These tyres made travel much more comfortable. They also made carriages quieter. One set of tyres worked for 1200 miles without any problems.
In 1849, he invented another important item: the refillable fountain pen.
Later Life and Home
In 1863, Robert was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. From 1869 to 1871, he was the president of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts.
He earned a lot of money from his inventions. He lived in a very large house. It was at 3 Moray Place in west Edinburgh.
Robert William Thomson passed away at his home in Edinburgh on March 8, 1873. He was 50 years old. He was buried in Dean Cemetery in west Edinburgh.
Robert Thomson's Family
Thomson married Clara Hertz. Her father was a diamond merchant. They got married on the island of Java.
They had two sons and two daughters. One of their children was Courtauld Thomson. Another daughter was Elspeth. She later married Kenneth Grahame, who wrote the famous book The Wind in the Willows.
Robert's wife, Clara, lived longer than him. She remarried in 1875 to John Fletcher Moulton. Clara passed away in 1888.
Thomson's Inventions and Patents
Robert William Thomson was a very creative inventor. Here are some of his important patents and developments:
- Pneumatic tyre (see US Patent 5104)
- Writing and drawing tools (the self-filling pen)
- Ways to get and use power
- Cutting hard materials like rock, stone, and coal
- Steam boilers
- Better steam gauges
- Steam omnibuses (early buses powered by steam)
- Using steam power for farming
- Elastic wheel tyres
- Road steamers (steam-powered vehicles for roads)
- Guiding road steamers on street tramways
- Elastic belts, seats, and other soft supports or cushions.
Thomson also created:
- The washing mangle with rollers that could go both ways
- The elliptical rotary engine
- Using electricity to set off explosives
- Machines for making sugar
- The portable steam crane (a machine to lift heavy things)
- The hydraulic dry dock (a way to repair ships)
Honors and Recognition
In 2020, Robert William Thomson was honored. He was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame. This means he is recognized as one of Scotland's greatest engineers.
