William Bridges Adams

William Bridges Adams ( * 1797 in Madeley, Staffordshire, † July 23, 1872 in Broadstairs ) was a British journalist, railway engineer and entrepreneur.

Life

The son of a successful wheelwright he dealt first with the construction of horse-drawn carriages, to then turn to the design and construction of light locomotives. His design innovations were reflected in 34 patents, especially in the field of suspension and axles down. As a writer Adam was self-taught.

In his younger years, he could not afford a longer stay in South America ( Argentina and Chile) where he and his wife Elizabeth Place in Quintero, Chile, in 1821, the first son, William Alexander, was born.

After his return in 1826 he developed an extensive journalism, for which he the ambitious pseudonym " Junius Redivivus " ( " the reincarnation of Junius " ) grew up. He therefore appeals to those still not unmasked pamphleteers Junius, in letter form sharp attacks against the government and even King George III. In the years 1769 to 1772 in the journal " Public Advertiser " had published.

In London he met the editor of the magazine "Monthly Repository" and head of the Unitarian church in the South Place Chapel William Johnson Fox (1786-1864), which met a group of reformist -minded intellectuals (next to Fox included John Stuart Mill, Harriet Taylor, Harriet Martineau, Margaret Gillies, Eliza Flower). In this circle he met the actress and poet Sarah Fuller Flower, he married his second wife in 1834. In addition, he devoted himself to his work as an engineer and entrepreneur.

After his wife Sarah died in 1848, he married a third time; his youngest daughter from that marriage with Ellen Rendall is the doctor and suffragist Hope Bridges Adams Lehmann ( 1855-1916 ).

Works

  • A political dialogue, relative to our farming and trading distress, Between The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street [ d i the Bank of England] and Junius Redivivus. London: Sold by Simpkin and Marshall ... and all other booksellers, 1822
  • The Producing one 's companion; an essay on the present state of society, moral, political, and physical, in England. Addressed to the productive classes of the community. London: E. Wilson 2nd. ed in 1833 (first ed entitled The Rights of Morality, ibid 1832).
  • English Pleasure Carriages, Their origin, history, varieties, materials, construction, defects, improvements, and capabilities: with on analysis of the construction of common roads and railroads, and the public vehicles used on them; together with descriptions of new inventions. Illustrated by Numerous designs. For the use of carriage Purchasers and constructors. London:. C. Knight & Co., 1837.
  • Common Sense, edited by Junius Redivivus [ i e W. Bridges Adams ]. no 14 May 122, 1841 (Journal).
  • The Varieties of permanent way Practically used, or tried, on railways up to the present period ... And on some recent improvements in the permanent way of railways / By PM Parsons and William Bridges Adams. With an abstract of the discussion upon the papers. Edited by Charles Manby. Excerpt minutes of proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Vol XVI, etc. London:. 1857
  • Roads and rails and Their sequences, physical and moral. London: Chapman & Hall, 1862.

Proven patents

  • 6790/1835 spring ring wheels. 13 February 1835
  • 8197/1839 Improved articulated steering for carriages. 16 August 1839
  • 1033/1854 Rails for railways. 9 May 1854
  • 2140/1854 Rails for railways. 5 October 1854
  • 2454/1854 Projectiles. 20 November 1854
  • 306/1855 Elastic springs. 9 February 1855.
  • 1072/1855. Construction and propulsion of vessels. 12 May 1855
  • 1807/1855. Locomotive engines and Their trains. 9 August 1855
  • 1757/1861. Locomotives. 12 July 1861. Acts So as stationary engine and Capable of operating on sharp curves.
  • 440/1862. Improvements in springs. 16 February 1862.
  • 3482/1862. Railways and tramways. 31 December 1862.
  • 1674/1863. Wheels and Their tires. 6 July 1863.
  • 2896/1863. Improvements in wheels, tires, axles. 13 November 1863
  • 3195/1863. Locomotive engines. 18 December 1863.
  • 871/1864. Construction and propulsion of vessels. 7 April 1864
  • 2764/1864 Improvements in locomotive engines. 8 November 1864. For working on very sharp curves
  • 3081/1864 Railways and tramways. 13 December 1864.
Harriet Taylor Mill Sarah Fuller Flower Adams
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