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Richard Hornsby(ElshaminLincolnshire4 June 1790 – 6 January 1864) was an inventor and founder of a major agricultural machinery firm that developedsteam engines.His firm also developed earlydieselsandcaterpillar tracks.He came from a farming family, the son of William Hornsby and his wife Sarah.
Formation of company
editIn 1805, at the age of fifteen, he started his apprenticeship for Havercroft Wheelwright inBarnetby(North Lincolnshire).[1]He came toGranthamin 1810 looking for work.[1]He approached Richard Seaman, the village blacksmith ofBarrowby.When working in Barrowby, he had the idea to put a set of wheels on an adjustableharrow.Seeing this inventiveness, Seaman offered him a partnership in his company. Seaman & Hornsby was started in 1812 with business partner and blacksmith, Richard Seaman, a fellowmethodist.The firm becameRichard Hornsby & Sonsin 1828, when Seaman retired.[1]The company madeploughsandseed drills.By 1840, the company madesteam engines,which were used fortraction enginesin the 1850s. These were used for harvesting crops.
After Hornsby's death, his firm built the first working (experimental) diesel engine in 1892; it went on to develop thecontinuous trackfor agricultural usage in 1905, which revolutionized land warfare.
Personal life and family
editFive of his children were Richard (born 1827), Louisa, James (born 1836), Helen Mary Anne and William (born 1838).
He died on 6 January 1864.[1]His wife, Mary, died on 15 October 1866, aged 66. At the time of his death he had eight grandchildren. Two of his great-grand children would go toEton.Although there is no monument to Richard Hornsby, one of his great-grandsons, Richard William Hornsby, is listed on the war memorial in Barrowby, after being killed in theFirst World Warin Greece. His family were quite wealthy, owning 421 acres (1.70 km2) of land, as the Hornsby company was a world leader in engine manufacture, until 1918.
References
edit- ^abcd"Death of Richard Hornsby, Esq".Agriculture.Chelmsford Chronicle.Chelmsford, Essex, England. 15 January 1864. p. 2.