James Martin (engineer)
Sir James Martin | |
|---|---|
 A plaque commemorating Sir James Martin in his home town of Crossgar | |
| Born | 11 September 1893 Crossgar, County Down, Ireland |
| Died | 5 January 1981 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | British, Irish |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Known for | Inventor of the ejector seat and founder of the Martin-Baker aircraft company |
| Spouse | Muriel Haines |
Sir James Martin CBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng (11 September 1893 – 5 January 1981) was an Irish engineer who together with Captain Valentine Baker founded the Martin-Baker aircraft company which is now a leading producer of aircraft ejection seats.
Life
James Martin was born 11 September 1893 in Glasswater Road, Crossgar, County Down in Ireland. He established his own engineering firm in 1929.[1]
In 1934, he and Valentine Baker formed Martin-Baker; Captain Baker took the test pilot role. It was in a crash of their third design, the MB 3, that Baker was killed.
In 1964 Martin was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club.[2][failed verification]
In 2004, Martin was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.[3]
Northern Bank
Martin's contribution to engineering was commemorated by the Northern Bank in its Inventor series of banknotes, which featured his portrait on the bank's £100 note. The note was discontinued in 2013 when the bank reissued its banknotes under the new Danske Bank brand.[4]
Notes and references
- ^ http://www.devlin-family.com/martin.htm
- ^ "The Medals & Awards of the Royal Aero Club". The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- ^ Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. ISBN 978-1-57864-397-4.
- ^ "Current Banknotes: Danske Bank". The Association of Commercial Banknote Issuers. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
 | This article about an engineer, inventor or industrial designer from the United Kingdom or its predecessor states is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This biographical article related to aviation is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Use dmy dates from November 2012
- 1893 births
- 1981 deaths
- British inventors
- British aerospace engineers
- Irish inventors
- Irish military engineers
- English people of Irish descent
- British people of Irish descent
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- People from County Down
- 20th-century inventors
- Knights Bachelor
- British engineer stubs
- Aviation biography stubs