Josiah Vavasseur
| Josiah Vavasseur | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1834 Braintree, Essex |
| Died | November 13, 1908 Thetford, Norfolk |
| Nationality | English |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth Clifton |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Civil, Mechanical |
| Institutions | Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers |
| Significant design | Vavasseur mounting, gun designs, projectile designs |
Josiah Vavasseur CB (26 November 1834 – 13 November 1908) was an English industrialist who founded Vavasseur and Co. (also known as London Ordnance Works). In 1883 the company merged with W.G. Armstrong and Company, and Vavasseur became a director of the firm. Late in life he adopted Cecil Fisher, only son of admiral John Fisher, and the Fisher family inherited his fortune, including Kilverstone Hall.
Vavasseur was born in Braintree, Essex in 1834, and following school he spent six years as an apprentice to the engineering firm of James Horn and Company in Whitechapel. In 1857 he partnered with David Guthrie in establishing the Patent Dyewood and Drug Mills, at 17 New Park Street, Southwark. By 1860, he was in business as Josiah Vavasseur and Company, engineers of 8 Sumner Street, Southwark. He obtained a patent for improvements in cannon rifling and the firm bought a small iron works at 28 Gravel Lane, Southwark. In the same year Vavasseur became a member of the Honourable Artillery Company. In 1861 he developed a portable machine for the rifling of smooth-bore guns, which he later sold to Russia.
In 1862 Vavasseur's firm became subcontractor to captain Alexander Blakely, RA, who held a number of patents in gun construction and sold guns to countries in Europe, South America and particularly North America, where demand was high due to the Civil War. Vavasseur initially produced a series of 2.9 inch guns for the Confederate States, but the ship carrying them foundered, and they never reached their destination. Vavasseur's rifling machine was employed by Blakely for the rifling of some of his largest guns. In 1863 Vavasseur and Blakely collaborated on the production of spherical steel shot, intended to penetrate the armour of ironclads coming into service at the time. Later in 1863 Josiah Vavasseur and Company merged with The Blakely Cannon Company, resulting in the Blakely Ordnance Company, with Josiah Vavasseur as engineer and manager. In 1865 the new company became The Blakely Ordnance Company, Limited with Vavasseur as Resident Engineer. One year later, the panic of 1866 caused a squeeze on liquidity that forced The Blakely Ordnance Company, Limited into liquidation, and Vavasseur out of his job.
...
Wikipedia