Sir William George Armstrong, 1. Baron Armstrong (* 26 November 1810 in Newcastle upon Tyne; "† 27 December 1900 in Cragside close Rothbury in Northumberland) was an important British Industrieller 19. Century and founder of the Armstrong Siddeley of company, which was active particularly in the range of the stealing and heavy industry. He is the inventor of the first industrially manufactured Hinterladerkanonen, which were used by the British navy. In the range of the production of such weapons he was a direct competitor of Joseph Whitworth and Alfred Krupp.

Life

When son of an owner of a grain trade in Newcastle, which in addition a strong interest in natural history and mathematics had, should hit William George Armstrong the career of a lawyer. It successfully completed its legal training and worked as partner in a law office. Despite this training it showed like its father a strong interest in natural sciences, whereby its principal interest was however with the draft and the construction of machines. In the club of the literary-scientific society Newcastle it held a set of noteworthy lectures to this topic area. 1842 it finally designed its first machine with an hydraulicelectrical generator. This invention was based on the observation of an electrostatic unloading of a steam boiler, which was in a mine in Northumberland.

1846 it began to be occupied with the construction of hydraulic machines. It won a set of investors, who made it for it possible to develop a hydraulic crane. This development became also in financial regard such a success, which was possible it it 1847 to give up and only to the structure of its first factory for crane production in Elswick dedicate itself its law office.

After the outbreak of the Krimkrieges Armstrong began strengthens the weapon business to dedicate. Its first products were a Hinterladergewehr and a Hinterladerkanone with caliber of 2 tariff (51 mm) starting from 1854 to the British fleet were sold. Five years later it had developed a with caliber of 7 tariff (178 mm), which was likewise taken over by the British navy. It became generally accepted with it against a cannon, which was developed and manufactured by Joseph Whitworth. Its cannons were sold to numerous armies in Europe, it supplied in the American civil war from 1861 to 1865 the and the union armies with cannons. It suffered a setback, when 1863 turned out with the bombardment of Kagoshima, which its heavy constructional lack exhibited, which cost the life to 13 British sailors. A front loader cannon in the caliber of 17.72 tariff (the one total weight of 100t has), developed by Armstrong, was used among other things by the British and Italian navy on warships and in coastal attachments - from these cannons today still 2 copies, one exist in Gibraltar, the other one in away Rinella on the island Malta.

At 1863 Armstrong began itself to withdraw ever more from the line of its company and to dedicate themselves to other interests (family, landscape market garden). It was ennobled and could be developed the Landgut Cragside to the family seat. Cragside was the first building of the world, which was lit up through water-electrically produced river. Its company merged 1897 with the company from Whitworth to Armstrong Whitworth of which to the Vickers company was again later transferred. With its death busy its company over 20000 coworkers and was thus one the largest Industrieimperien of the Viktoriani age.

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