GURNEY, SIR GOLDSWORTHY


Meaning of GURNEY, SIR GOLDSWORTHY in English

born Feb. 14, 1793, Treator, Cornwall, Eng. died Feb. 28, 1875, Reeds, Cornwall prolific English inventor who built technically successful steam carriages a half century before the advent of the gasoline-powered automobile. Educated for a medical career, Gurney practiced as a surgeon in Wadebridge and London but soon turned his attention to solving practical scientific problems; he invented a steam jet, an oxyhydrogen blowpipe, and a musical instrument consisting of glasses played as a piano. Following the sensational success of George Stephenson's Rocket locomotive in 1829, Gurney undertook to build a steam-powered road vehicle. In the carriage that he constructed he drove from London to Bath and returned at a speed of 24 km (15 miles) per hour; so well did it perform that he built several more and opened a passenger service. Powerful opposition to his invention arose at once among the horse-coach interests, and, although Gurney's vehicles were not excessively heavy (1 1/2 to 2 1/2 tons), they were soon taxed out of existence. Gurney was knighted in 1863 as a result of an entirely different technical feat, that of improving the lighting and ventilation of the House of Commons.

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