Alex Moulton

Dr. Alexander Eric ("Alex") Moulton CBE (born 9 April 1920) is an English engineer and inventor, specialising in suspension design.

Moulton is the great-grandson of the rubber pioneer Stephen Moulton, the founder of the family business George Spencer Moulton & Co. Ltd., in which he worked after World War II, specialising in rubber suspension systems for vehicles.

In the late 1950s, after the acquisition of the family business by the Avon Rubber Company, Moulton started up a new company, Moulton Developments Limited, to design the suspension system for British Motor Corporation's new small car, the Mini, being designed by his friend Sir Alec Issigonis. The combination of conical rubber springs and small wheels was one of the many innovative developments which allowed Issigonis to achieve the Mini's small overall size. This was later refined into the hydrolastic and hydragas suspension systems used on later British Leyland cars such as the Austin Maxi and Rover Metro, and more recently on the MGF.

Moulton also designed the Moulton Bicycle, again using rubber suspension and small wheels. Alex Moulton Bicycles is based in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England.

Golden Book of Cycling

He has an entry in the Golden Book of Cycling, which he signed when he was 71.

Honours

In 1976, Moulton was awarded the CBE for services to industry. Other honours include:

• The Diploma di Medagli d'Oro, Milan (1964)
• Queen's Award for Technical Innovation (1967)
• Honorary Doctorates from the Royal College of Art (1967), University of Bath (1971) and Cranfield University (1994)
• Elected to the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry (1968), Master of the Faculty from 1981-1983
• Fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering (1980)
• Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 1985 to 1988.

See also

• Sustrans

External links

• Alex Moulton's Memoir
• Moulton Bicycles corporate website
• Loughborough University Honorary Degree Oration presenting Dr. Moulton the degree of Doctor of Technology.