Jonathan Hornblower (
ChacewaterChacewater is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom: it lies between Truro and Redruth.-Village:Chacewater sits in a valley between hills separating it from Threemilestone, Scorrier and St Day close to Wheal Busy and the Poldice Valley and the Coast to Coast cycle...
, 5 July 1753 -
PenrynPenryn is a town in Cornwall, England, UK on the Penryn river. Although now the area is largely dominated by Falmouth, in the medieval period it was an important harbour in its own right, exporting granite and tin. There are 7,166 people living in Penryn. Penryn is twinned with Audierne in...
, 23 February 1815) was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
pioneer of steam power, the son of
Jonathan HornblowerJonathan Hornblower was an English pioneer of steam power, the son of Joseph Hornblower and brother of Josiah Hornblower, two fellow steam pioneers....
and brother of
Jabez Carter HornblowerJabez Carter Hornblower was an English pioneer of steam power, the son of Jonathan Hornblower.Jabez Carter Hornblower was born in Broseley, Staffordshire, England on 21 May 1744, the eldest child of steam engineer Jonathan and Ann Carter Hornblower. He gained his engineering skills working for his...
, two fellow pioneers.
He developed a compound engine in 1781 but was prevented from pursuing his invention by litigation with James Watt (Boulton & Watt) over
intellectual propertyIntellectual property is a number of distinct types of legal monopolies over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law...
. His compound steam engine principle was not revived until 1804 by
Arthur WoolfArthur Woolf was a Cornish engineer, most famous for inventing a high-pressure compound steam engine. As such he made an outstanding contribution to the development and perfection of the Cornish Engine.Woolf left Cornwall in 1785 to work for Joseph Bramah's engineering works in London...
. Following the expiration of Boulton and Watt’s patent, Hornblower's compound steam engine principle contributed significantly to the increases in steam
engine efficiencyEngine efficiency of thermal engines is the relationship between the total energy contained in the fuel, and the amount of energy used to perform useful work...
.
He invented the
double-beat steam valveThe double-beat valve, drop valve or equilibrium valve is a type of poppet valve arranged to allow it to be opened against a high pressure with a minimum of force....
in around 1800.
In other developments in steam technology, however, he was more successful and he died a rich man at
PenrynPenryn is a town in Cornwall, England, UK on the Penryn river. Although now the area is largely dominated by Falmouth, in the medieval period it was an important harbour in its own right, exporting granite and tin. There are 7,166 people living in Penryn. Penryn is twinned with Audierne in...
in 1815.
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Jonathan Hornblower (
ChacewaterChacewater is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom: it lies between Truro and Redruth.-Village:Chacewater sits in a valley between hills separating it from Threemilestone, Scorrier and St Day close to Wheal Busy and the Poldice Valley and the Coast to Coast cycle...
, 5 July 1753 -
PenrynPenryn is a town in Cornwall, England, UK on the Penryn river. Although now the area is largely dominated by Falmouth, in the medieval period it was an important harbour in its own right, exporting granite and tin. There are 7,166 people living in Penryn. Penryn is twinned with Audierne in...
, 23 February 1815) was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
pioneer of steam power, the son of
Jonathan HornblowerJonathan Hornblower was an English pioneer of steam power, the son of Joseph Hornblower and brother of Josiah Hornblower, two fellow steam pioneers....
and brother of
Jabez Carter HornblowerJabez Carter Hornblower was an English pioneer of steam power, the son of Jonathan Hornblower.Jabez Carter Hornblower was born in Broseley, Staffordshire, England on 21 May 1744, the eldest child of steam engineer Jonathan and Ann Carter Hornblower. He gained his engineering skills working for his...
, two fellow pioneers.
He developed a compound engine in 1781 but was prevented from pursuing his invention by litigation with James Watt (Boulton & Watt) over
intellectual propertyIntellectual property is a number of distinct types of legal monopolies over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law...
. His compound steam engine principle was not revived until 1804 by
Arthur WoolfArthur Woolf was a Cornish engineer, most famous for inventing a high-pressure compound steam engine. As such he made an outstanding contribution to the development and perfection of the Cornish Engine.Woolf left Cornwall in 1785 to work for Joseph Bramah's engineering works in London...
. Following the expiration of Boulton and Watt’s patent, Hornblower's compound steam engine principle contributed significantly to the increases in steam
engine efficiencyEngine efficiency of thermal engines is the relationship between the total energy contained in the fuel, and the amount of energy used to perform useful work...
.
He invented the
double-beat steam valveThe double-beat valve, drop valve or equilibrium valve is a type of poppet valve arranged to allow it to be opened against a high pressure with a minimum of force....
in around 1800.
In other developments in steam technology, however, he was more successful and he died a rich man at
PenrynPenryn is a town in Cornwall, England, UK on the Penryn river. Although now the area is largely dominated by Falmouth, in the medieval period it was an important harbour in its own right, exporting granite and tin. There are 7,166 people living in Penryn. Penryn is twinned with Audierne in...
in 1815. He is buried in St Gluvias churchyard.
He had married twice,firstly to Rosalind Phillips in 1775 and afterwards to Elizabeth Jordan with whom he had two surviving daughters,Rosamund (1789) and Elizabeth (1790).
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