Richard Bissell Prosser
Encyclopedia
Richard Bissell Prosser was a patent examiner and a biographical writer. He was the eldest son of Richard Prosser
, the Birmingham
, England
, engineer and inventor. R. B. Prosser was educated at University College School
, London where he was a fellow pupil of Joseph Chamberlain
.
Richard Prosser was heavily involved with the introduction of the Patent Law Amendment Act 1852, and his 700-volume library, combined with that of Bennet Woodcroft
,(1803-1879) formed the basis of the Patent Office Library, which opened March 5, 1854.
Richard Prosser died in 1854; in 1856 R. B. Prosser joined the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, London, where he later rose to become Chief Examiner. He was forced to retire early, in 1888, because of partial blindness, but continued to take an active part in local government and church life in St Pancras, London
, where he lived. He was much involved in national Church of England
organisations. He married Anne Ostell, daughter of William Ostell of Bloomsbury, London; she died in 1911. They had a daughter and three sons.
R. B. Prosser was greatly interested in technical history, and in particular the biographies of inventors. This was due to his work on patent
s, where he needed to be able to assess the priority of them - a knowledge of patents history was vital for this. He wrote 58 lives for the Dictionary of National Biography
, and supplied much material for the New English Dictionary. Prosser also wrote Birmingham Inventors and Inventions, 1881, in a limited edition of 50 copies. This was a cumulation of notes he had published earlier in the Birmingham Gazette
. A similar work on Manchester inventors was never finished. His 315 contributions to 'St Pancras Notes and Queries' in the St. Pancras Guardian between 3 February 1897 and 2 January 1903 were later published in a book of 150 copies. He was a frequent contributor to Notes and Queries
, as well as to technical periodicals. Prosser had in mind to write a history of invention, written around the abstracts of British Patent Specifications, but the project never got further than the planning stage.
Prosser died, aged 79. His library was dispersed by auction, and his files of biographical notes were sold for about £50. They surfaced again in the 1970s, to be bought by the British Library
, Dept of Manuscripts, Add Ms 54,496 - 54,507. They comprise 24 volumes and cover over 1600 names. More of Prosser's papers are in Birmingham and Manchester reference libraries, having been presented either by himself in his life-time or by his family after his death. The on-line catalogue of the National Archives lists small collections of Prosser's papers for patentees in the South West of England, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. These might be part of his history of inventions project, noted above.
Prosser was a pioneer of the study of technical history, and his published biographies and manuscript records are an incomparable source for present-day researchers.
Richard Prosser
Richard Prosser is a New Zealand politician and a current member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is a member of New Zealand First party and was elected as a list MP at the 2011 election.-Early life:...
, the Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, engineer and inventor. R. B. Prosser was educated at University College School
University College School
University College School, generally known as UCS, is an Independent school charity situated in Hampstead, north west London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views...
, London where he was a fellow pupil of Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
.
Richard Prosser was heavily involved with the introduction of the Patent Law Amendment Act 1852, and his 700-volume library, combined with that of Bennet Woodcroft
Bennet Woodcroft
Bennet Woodcroft FRS was an English textile manufacturer, industrial archaeologist, pioneer of marine propulsion, a leading figure in patent reform and the first clerk to the commissioners of patents.-Career:...
,(1803-1879) formed the basis of the Patent Office Library, which opened March 5, 1854.
Richard Prosser died in 1854; in 1856 R. B. Prosser joined the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, London, where he later rose to become Chief Examiner. He was forced to retire early, in 1888, because of partial blindness, but continued to take an active part in local government and church life in St Pancras, London
St Pancras, London
St Pancras is an area of London. For many centuries the name has been used for various officially-designated areas, but now is used informally and rarely having been largely superseded by several other names for overlapping districts.-Ancient parish:...
, where he lived. He was much involved in national Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
organisations. He married Anne Ostell, daughter of William Ostell of Bloomsbury, London; she died in 1911. They had a daughter and three sons.
R. B. Prosser was greatly interested in technical history, and in particular the biographies of inventors. This was due to his work on patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s, where he needed to be able to assess the priority of them - a knowledge of patents history was vital for this. He wrote 58 lives for the Dictionary of National Biography
Dictionary of National Biography
The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
, and supplied much material for the New English Dictionary. Prosser also wrote Birmingham Inventors and Inventions, 1881, in a limited edition of 50 copies. This was a cumulation of notes he had published earlier in the Birmingham Gazette
Birmingham Gazette
The Birmingham Gazette, known for much of its existence as Aris's Birmingham Gazette, was a newspaper that was published and circulated in Birmingham, England from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries...
. A similar work on Manchester inventors was never finished. His 315 contributions to 'St Pancras Notes and Queries' in the St. Pancras Guardian between 3 February 1897 and 2 January 1903 were later published in a book of 150 copies. He was a frequent contributor to Notes and Queries
Notes and Queries
Notes and Queries is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to "English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism". Its emphasis is on "the factual rather than the speculative"...
, as well as to technical periodicals. Prosser had in mind to write a history of invention, written around the abstracts of British Patent Specifications, but the project never got further than the planning stage.
Prosser died, aged 79. His library was dispersed by auction, and his files of biographical notes were sold for about £50. They surfaced again in the 1970s, to be bought by the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, Dept of Manuscripts, Add Ms 54,496 - 54,507. They comprise 24 volumes and cover over 1600 names. More of Prosser's papers are in Birmingham and Manchester reference libraries, having been presented either by himself in his life-time or by his family after his death. The on-line catalogue of the National Archives lists small collections of Prosser's papers for patentees in the South West of England, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. These might be part of his history of inventions project, noted above.
Prosser was a pioneer of the study of technical history, and his published biographies and manuscript records are an incomparable source for present-day researchers.