H. A. Humphrey
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2023) |
Herbert Alfred Humphrey MInstCE MIMechE MIEE FCGI (2 December 1868 – 9 March 1951) was a British engineer, inventor of the Humphrey pump.[1][2][3]
Early life and education
Humphrey was born in Gospel Oak, London, to Louisa (née Frost, 1831–1911) and John Charles Humphrey (1833–1903). His mother had been a dressmaker before marriage, and his father was a clerk at the London Metropolitan Board of Works and later London County Council. Edith Humphrey, thought to be the first British woman to obtain a doctorate in chemistry, was his younger sister.[4] He trained at the Finsbury Technical College and the Central Institution (which later became the City and Guilds College).
Invention of the Humphrey pump
He patented the Humphrey pump in 1906.[citation needed] During World War I he worked as a chemical engineer, working on improving the production of explosives.[citation needed]
He was awarded the Melchett Medal in 1939 by the Institute of Fuel. In 1945, he retired to Hermanus, Cape Province, Union of South Africa. He died there in 1951.[citation needed]
Personal life
He was married to Mary Elizabeth Horniblow. They had three sons and two daughters, including the bacteriologist John H. Humphrey.
A collection of Humphrey's papers is held in the archives of Imperial College London.[2]
External links
- "Herbert Alfred Humphrey". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- Slade, R. E.; Barrett, Anne (23 September 2004). "Humphrey, Herbert Alfred (1868–1951), mechanical and chemical engineer". In Barrett, Anne (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34052. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
References
- ^ ‘HUMPHREY, Herbert Alfred’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 10 Aug 2014
- ^ a b Pingree, Jeanne; Smith, Denis (1971). List of the papers of H. A. Humphrey in the Imperial College Archives (PDF). Imperial College London.
- ^ "Obituary: Mr. H. A. Humphrey, Inventor of Humphrey Gas Pump". The Times. No. 51948. 13 March 1951. p. 8.
- ^ "Humphrey, Edith Ellen (1875–1978), chemist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382359. Retrieved 12 August 2023.