Christopher Cockerell

Sir Christopher Cockerell Sydney (born 4 June 1910 in Cambridge, † June 1, 1999 in Hythe, Hampshire ) was a British engineer and inventor of the hovercraft.

Life and work

Cockerell's father, Sir Sydney Cockerell, was curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum. Cockerell showed early technical skill, which his father but did not impress. Nevertheless Cockerell took after Gresham 's School in Norfolk to study at Cambridge University. In 1935, he joined Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company. During this time he was awarded 36 patents, most of them had to do with radio control equipment for aircraft. He worked during the Second World War also on radar systems. In 1950 he and his wife had a small inheritance. He left Marconi and operated a boat workshop. During this time he developed the prototype of a hovercraft, which he called hovercraft.

1966 Cockerell was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society. In 1969, he was beaten for his invention of a knight. In 1983 he received the James Watt Medal.