R. E. B. Crompton | |
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Colonel R. E. Crompton
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Born |
Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton 31 May 1845 near Thirsk, Yorkshire |
Died | 15 February 1940 Yorkshire |
(aged 94)
Occupation |
electrical engineer industrialist inventor |
Awards | Faraday Medal (1926) |
Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton, CB, FRS (31 May 1845 – 15 February 1940) was a British electrical engineer, industrialist and inventor. He was a pioneer of electric lighting and public electricity supply systems. The company he formed, Crompton & Co., was one of the world's first large-scale manufactures of electrical equipment. He was also an early campaigner for an international standard for electrical systems. He was involved with both the practical and academic sides of his discipline, being a founder member of the International Electrotechnical Commission and twice president of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. He was a fellow of the Royal Society and a founder member of the Royal Automobile Club.
Evelyn Crompton was born at Sion Hill, near Thirsk, Yorkshire, one of five children. From an early age he was interested in machines and engineering. His autobiography tells how a trip to the Great Exhibition aged 6 had a profound impact on him:
"For me, the unforgettable part and focus of the whole exhibition was the Machinery Hall...neither Koh-I-Noor diamond, nor Osler's crystal fountain...had any attractions for me to compare with those of the locomotives, with their brilliantly polished piston rods and brasses burnished like gold."
His schooling started at Sharow, near Ripon in Yorkshire, along with 19 other boys, aged between 7 and 15. In 1856 he went to school at Elstree, and then on to Harrow (1858–60).