Francis Pettit Smith

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For other people named Francis Smith, see Francis Smith (disambiguation).

Sir Francis Pettit Smith
Francis Pettit Smith in 1856
Born9 February 1808
Hythe, Kent, England
Died12 February 1874(1874-02-12) (aged 66)
Kensington, London, England
Occupation(s)Farmer, engineer
Known forInvention of the screw propeller

Sir Francis Pettit Smith (9 February 1808 – 12 February 1874) was an English inventor and, along with

screw propeller. He was also the driving force behind the construction of the world's first screw-propelled steamship, SS Archimedes.[1]

Early life

He was born at Hythe, Kent, where his father was the postmaster. He was educated at a private school in Ashford run by the Rev. Alexander Power, before working as a grazing Farmer on Romney Marsh, later moving to Hendon in Middlesex where he continued to farm for 37 years.

Career

Mariners Museum

As a boy he had acquired great skill in the construction of model boats and took special interest in their means of propulsion. This fascination with boats remained with him and in 1834 on a reservoir near his farm, he perfected the propulsion of a model boat by means of a wooden screw driven by a spring. He became utterly convinced that this form of propulsion was greatly superior to the paddle wheel

which was in use at the time. The following year he built a superior model with which he performed a number of experiments at Hendon and in 1836 took out a patent for propelling vessels by means of a screw revolving beneath the water at the stern.

After securing the financial backing of several parties, he helped organize the Propeller Steamship Company which in 1839 built the world's first successful screw-propelled steamship, SS Archimedes. A short time later, he was instrumental in persuading

British Admiralty
to adopt screw propulsion.

Smith travelled on the SS Great Britain in May 1852, between Liverpool and New York.[2]

Later life

Between 1864 and 1870 he resided in an elegant Victorian house at 17 Sydenham Hill

Blue Plaque.[3]

In 1860 the government appointed him to the post of curator of the Patent Museum at South Kensington. In 1871 a knighthood was conferred upon him.

Smith died at 15 Thurloe Place, South Kensington in February 1874, and is buried in St Leonards Cemetery, Hythe, Kent.

Personal life

Smith married twice and had children by each marriage.

Legacy

Smith negotiated with the Governors of

Charles Barry, Jr. (the eldest son of Sir Charles Barry). The house still stands today. In the grounds Smith had planted a considerable shrubbery and had use of woodlands down to College Road. A later resident added a Pulhamite
fountain and small grotto to the rear of the residence and renamed the house Dilkoosh. It was later renamed to its present title – Fountain House.

Notes

  1. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25798. Retrieved 2 May 2019. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  2. ^ SS Great Britain : Brunel's ss Great Britain
  3. ^ "SMITH, Sir Francis Pettit (1808-1874) | English Heritage". www.english-heritage.org.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2017.

External links

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