Goldsworthy Gurney

Sir Goldsworthy Gurney
Goldsworthy Gurney in earlier life.
Born	14 February 1793 Treator near Padstow, Cornwall, England
Died	1875
Occupation	Surgeon, chemist, lecturer, consultant, architect, builder, gentleman scientist, inventor

Sir Goldsworthy Gurney (1793–1875) was a surgeon, chemist, lecturer, consultant, architect, builder and prototypical British gentleman scientist and inventor, of the Victorian era.

Amongst many accomplishments, he developed the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, and later applied its principles to a novel form of illumination, the Bude light; developed a series of early steam-powered road vehicles; and laid claim—still discussed and disputed today—to the blastpipe, a key component in the success of steam locomotives, engines, and other coal-fired systems.

Events surrounding the failure of his steam vehicle enterprise gave rise to controversy in his time, with considerable polarisation of opinion. His daughter Anna Jane Gurney (1816–1895) was devoted to him. During her lifetime, she engaged in an extraordinary campaign to ensure the blastpipe was seen as his invention.

Gurney was born in the village of Treator near Padstow, Cornwall on 14 February 1793. His unusual Christian name was his grandmother's surname but taken from his godmother who was a Maid of Honour to Queen Charlotte. The Gurney family was long-established, and could trace its lineage back to the Counts de Gourney, who arrived in Britain with William the Conqueror; another line of the family was established in Norfolk; see Gurney. Gurney's grandfather married into money, allowing his father, and to an extent himself, to live as gentlemen.

He was schooled at the Grammar School at Truro, where he showed an interest in contemporary sciences; and had the opportunity through friends to meet Richard Trevithick and see his 'Puffing Devil', a full-size steam road carriage, at Camborne.