From: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/north_east_england_history_page/Pioneers. htm WILLIAM ARMSTRONG - AN INDUSTRIAL GENIUS If George Stephenson was primarily associated with steam engineering then William George Armstrong (1810-1900) by comparison was a `Jack of All Trades'. Armstrong was just as much a scientist as a scholar or an engineer but was also very much an enterprising industrialist with the advantage of an open enquiring mind as demonstrated by the following lines once quoted by the man himself; "However high we climb in the pursuit of knowledgewe shall still see heights above us, and the more we extend our view, the more concious we shall be of the immensity which lies beyond." Armstrong was born in the Shieldfield area of Newcastle on the 26 November 1810. His father was the proprietor of a corn merchants' business on the Newcastle Quayside and had a strong interest in Natural History, Mathematics, and was a member of the Literary and Philosophical Society. Young William trained to be a solicitor and although he became a partner in a legal practice, he had inherited similar interests to his father, particularly in the field of science and engineering. Armstrong gave knowledgeable lectures on these subjects at the Newcastle Lit and Phil and in 1842 he constructed a Hydro Electric generator. This was constructed with the knowledge gained following the accidental discovery of a discharge of static electricity from a colliery boiler by an engineman at a Northumberland coal mine. Around 1846 Armstrong's interests shifted from Hydro Electricity to Hydraulics and he persuaded wealthy Newcastle men to back him in the development of hydraulic cranes for Newcastle which were powered with the assistance of the town's Whittle Dene Water Company. The scheme was such a great success that in 1847 Armstrong gave up his legal practice to establish the Newcastle Cranage company at Elswick which later became known as `Armstrong's Factory' as immortalised in the `Blaydon Races'. Following the Crimean War in the 1850s Armstrong became increasingly involved with the manufacture of armaments and his eighteen pound breach loading gun was one of many Armstrong weapons recognised as the best in the world. Such devices, often tested on the moors of Allendale, were ordered by armies and navies all over the the world from Russia and Japan to the United States. In fact, Armstrong supplied both armies in the American Civil War. From 1863 onward Armstrong became less and less involved in the day to day running of his company affairs and began to pursue other interests. He became particularly noted for his succesful pursuits in the field of landscape gardening. This was initially carried out in Newcastle's beautiful Jesmond Dene most of which he owned and where he had built a house for himself and his wife in the 1830s. Jesmond Dene was donated by Armstrong to the people of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1883. The later years of Armstrong's life were spent in his magnificent parkland mansion of Cragside near Rothbury in Northumberland. Cragside was, of course, the first house in the world to be lit by Hydro Electric power.

Hi Check out the Northumberland pages on our website at www.dominouk.clara.net for photos of Lord Armstrong's homes at Cragside House and Bamburgh Castle and a replica of the Armstrong Whitworth car of 1912 at Beamish Open Air museum. Kathy -----Original Message----- From: Debbie [mailto:debra.street@verizon.net] Sent: 20 November 2002 6:14 pm To: ARMSTRONG-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [ARMSTRONG-L] William Armstrong - Industrial Genius From: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/north_east_england_history_page/Pio neers. htm WILLIAM ARMSTRONG - AN INDUSTRIAL GENIUS If George Stephenson was primarily associated with steam engineering then William George Armstrong (1810-1900) by comparison was a `Jack of All Trades'. Armstrong was just as much a scientist as a scholar or an engineer but was also very much an enterprising industrialist with the advantage of an open enquiring mind as demonstrated by the following lines once quoted by the man himself; "However high we climb in the pursuit of knowledgewe shall still see heights above us, and the more we extend our view, the more concious we shall be of the immensity which lies beyond." Armstrong was born in the Shieldfield area of Newcastle on the 26 November 1810. His father was the proprietor of a corn merchants' business on the Newcastle Quayside and had a strong interest in Natural History, Mathematics, and was a member of the Literary and Philosophical Society. Young William trained to be a solicitor and although he became a partner in a legal practice, he had inherited similar interests to his father, particularly in the field of science and engineering. Armstrong gave knowledgeable lectures on these subjects at the Newcastle Lit and Phil and in 1842 he constructed a Hydro Electric generator. This was constructed with the knowledge gained following the accidental discovery of a discharge of static electricity from a colliery boiler by an engineman at a Northumberland coal mine. Around 1846 Armstrong's interests shifted from Hydro Electricity to Hydraulics and he persuaded wealthy Newcastle men to back him in the development of hydraulic cranes for Newcastle which were powered with the assistance of the town's Whittle Dene Water Company. The scheme was such a great success that in 1847 Armstrong gave up his legal practice to establish the Newcastle Cranage company at Elswick which later became known as `Armstrong's Factory' as immortalised in the `Blaydon Races'. Following the Crimean War in the 1850s Armstrong became increasingly involved with the manufacture of armaments and his eighteen pound breach loading gun was one of many Armstrong weapons recognised as the best in the world. Such devices, often tested on the moors of Allendale, were ordered by armies and navies all over the the world from Russia and Japan to the United States. In fact, Armstrong supplied both armies in the American Civil War. From 1863 onward Armstrong became less and less involved in the day to day running of his company affairs and began to pursue other interests. He became particularly noted for his succesful pursuits in the field of landscape gardening. This was initially carried out in Newcastle's beautiful Jesmond Dene most of which he owned and where he had built a house for himself and his wife in the 1830s. Jesmond Dene was donated by Armstrong to the people of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1883. The later years of Armstrong's life were spent in his magnificent parkland mansion of Cragside near Rothbury in Northumberland. Cragside was, of course, the first house in the world to be lit by Hydro Electric power. ______________________________