Joseph Clement
| Joseph Clement | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 June 1779 Great Asby, Westmorland |
| Died |
28 February 1844 (aged 64) Southwark |
| Nationality | British |
| Children | Sarah Clement |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Engineering |
| Projects | Charles Babbage's Difference engine |
| Awards | Isis medal of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts: 1818, 1827, 1828 |
Joseph Clement (13 June 1779 – 28 February 1844) was a British engineer and industrialist, chiefly remembered as the maker of Charles Babbage's first Difference engine, between 1824 and 1833.
Joseph Clement was born on 13 June 1779 at Great Asby in Westmorland, the son of a hand-loom weaver. Although he was taught to read and write at the local school, he learned mechanics and natural history from his father, Thomas, who had built himself a lathe. He worked, first as a weaver, then as a slater, and learned metalwork from the local blacksmith. With these skills, he built himself his own lathe, on which he turned woodwind musical instruments, which he then learned to play.
By 1805 he was making looms at a factory in Kirkby Stephen, then moved first to Carlisle, then to Glasgow where he learned draughtsmanship from Peter Nicholson. By 1812 he was with Leys, Masson & Co. in Aberdeen, where he attended lectures in natural philosophy at Marischal College.
In 1813, he moved to London, first working for Alexander Galloway in Holborn. He soon left in search of wages more suiting his skills, moving to Joseph Bramah at Pimlico. Bramah doubled the wages Galloway had paid and entered into a formal agreement with Clement for a term of five years, dated 1 April 1814, making him chief draughtsman and superintendent of Bramah's Pimlico works.
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