Jonathan Hornblower
| Jonathan Hornblower | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 July 1753 Chacewater, Cornwall |
| Died | 23 February 1815 (aged 61) Penryn, Cornwall |
| Resting place | St Gluvias |
| Nationality |
 Kingdom of Great Britain
|
| Known for | compound steam engine, Double beat valve |
Jonathan Hornblower (Chacewater, 5 July 1753 – Penryn, 23 February 1815) was a British pioneer of steam power.
The son of Jonathan Hornblower the Elder and the brother of Jabez Carter Hornblower, two fellow pioneers, the young Hornblower was educated at Truro Grammar School. He was baptised at Trelever on 25 July 1773, aged 20 (he and his family were much involved in Baptist churches in Cornwall), and was apprenticed to a metal-working tradesman at Penryn. He married twice, first to Rosamund Phillips in 1775 and later to Elizabeth Jordan with whom he had two surviving daughters, Rosamund (1789) and Elizabeth (1790). He died on 23 February 1815 and is buried in St Gluvias Churchyard.
He invented the compound steam engine in 1781 and patented it on 16 July in the same year. This type of engine has two cylinders instead of old single-cylinder engine, it contains a high-pressure and a low-pressure steam cylinder. The principle is that the steam first expands in the high-pressure cylinder and afterwards expands again in the low-pressure cylinder. Even though this was a revolutionary new steam technology, he was unfortunately prevented from pursuing his invention by litigation with James Watt (Boulton & Watt) over intellectual property. His compound engine principle was not revived until 1804 (by Arthur Woolf ) following the expiration of Boulton and Watt's patent. Hornblower's compound engine principle contributed significantly to the increases in steam engine efficiency, and it was the foundation of the expansion engine.
After the patent litigation with Boulton & Watt, Hornblower came up with an idea for a new kind of rotary engine. He worked on it for several years and patented it on 5 June 1798. The engine's construction was the most complex so far, but as before he ran into trouble with Watt's patents on these subjects.
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