Inventors & Innovators

Jeremy Wood 1756 - 1836

Jeremy Wood become a nationally recognised figure as the owner of the Gloucester Old Bank and was probably Britain’s first millionaire. His miserly ways inspired Charles Dickens to create the character of Ebenezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol".

Richard Trevithick (1771-1833)

The Cornish inventor born in Camborne ranks with Brunel. He invented the world’s first steam-powered vehicle. His inventions revolutionised deep-shaft mining. To many, he was the father of the industrial revolution.

Charles Babbage 1791 - 1871

Inventor of the Difference Engine, a mechanical calculating machine which was a forerunner of the modern computer, went to school in Alphington, Exeter.

Sir Charles Wheatstone 1802 - 1875

Born in Gloucester, Wheatstone invented the electric telegraph and was later knighted for his work in laying the first transatlantic telegraph cable.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel 1806 - 1859

Brunel has left a lasting legacy in Bristol and around the South West and helped shape large parts of the region’s history, economic development and industrial landscape.
www.brunel200.com for details.

Sir Oliver Lodge 1851 - 1940

A scientist living in the Woodford Valley, Wiltshire and who co-operated with Marconi in introducing wireless to Britain.

Hubert Cecil Booth 1871 - 1955

Born in 1871 in Gloucester, Hubert Cecil Booth patented his first vacuum cleaner “Puffing Billy” at the age of 30 after being told by an American inventor that it would be impossible to build a machine that would suck up dust!