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inflated with air so that the wheels presented "a cushion of air to the ground, rail or track on which they run". This elastic belt of rubberized canvas was enclosed within a strong outer casing of leather which was bolted to the wheel. Thomson's "Aerial Wheels" were demonstrated in London's
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on 26 July 1822. Robert was the eleventh of twelve children of a local woolen mill owner. His family wished him to study for the ministry, but Robert refused, one reason being his inability to master
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could be passed through the rollers in either direction, and had completed the first working model of his elliptic rotary
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Robert's father gave him a workshop, and by the time he was 17 years old he had rebuilt his mother's washing
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540:"The Engineer - Late, great engineers: Robert William Thomson - of aerial wheels and fountain pens"
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He amassed a large sum from his inventions and lived in a huge townhouse at 3 Moray Place on the
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137:(29 June 1822 – 8 March 1873) was a Scottish inventor known for inventing the refillable
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in west
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Biographical Index of Former
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Biographical Index of Former
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002
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Thomson married Clara Hertz (daughter of a diamond merchant) on the island of
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charges by the use of electricity, thus greatly reducing the loss of lives in
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He died at home in
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in 1846 and in the US in 1847. His tyre consisted of a hollow belt of
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firm of civil engineers where he devised a new method of detonating
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to a merchant. Two years later he returned home and taught himself
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478:"Scotland's Forgotten Inventor – Robert William Thomson"
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Thomson next worked as a railway engineer and supervised the
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which was accepted by
Parliament and eventually developed.
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Writing and drawing instruments (the self-filling pen)
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in March 1847 and were fitted to several horse-drawn
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Elastic belts, seats and other supports or cushions.
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Dividing hard substances such as rock stone and coal
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Improvements in obtaining and applying motive power
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Thomson's house (right) at 3 Moray Place, Edinburgh
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377:A tribute to Thomson in his birthplace, Stonehaven
341:The grave of Robert William Thomson, Dean Cemetery
316:. From 1869 to 1871 he served as president of the
366:. His wife survived him and remarried in 1875 to
438:Use of electricity to detonate explosive charges
354:. They had two sons and two daughters including
219:which he perfected in later life. He served an
565:. The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006.
507:. The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006.
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671:Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame inductees
636:. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
432:The washing mangle with reversible mangles
368:John Fletcher Moulton (later Lord Moulton)
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421:Guiding road steamers on street tramways
412:Applying steam power in cultivating land
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308:In 1863 he was elected a Fellow of the
180:. Robert left school es, where he was
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691:19th-century Scottish businesspeople
585:edinburgh Post Office Directory 1872
428:Thomson was also the originator of:
596:"Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame"
301:In 1849 he invented the refillable
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458:Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame
456:In 2020 he was inducted into the
441:Machinery for sugar manufacturing
273:Thomson was 23 years old when he
27:Scottish businessman and inventor
633:Dictionary of National Biography
627:"Thomson, Robert William"
164:He was born on 29 June 1822 in
318:Royal Scottish Society of Arts
239:. He then went to work for an
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686:British railway entrepreneurs
281:. He was granted a patent in
681:Burials at the Dean Cemetery
406:Improvements in steam gauges
48:Illustration of Thomson for
172:, He was baptised into the
50:The Illustrated London News
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310:Royal Society of Edinburgh
221:engineering apprenticeship
600:engineeringhalloffame.org
196:with the help of a local
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444:The portable steam crane
435:Elliptical rotary engine
382:Patents and developments
268:Eastern Counties Railway
661:People from Stonehaven
528:see the US Patent 5104
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251:throughout the world.
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129:Robert William Thomson
36:Robert William Thomson
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358:and Elspeth, wife of
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312:, his proposer being
264:South Eastern Railway
258:of chalk cliffs near
200:who had knowledge of
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80:8 March 1873 (age 50)
314:Charles Piazzi Smyth
168:in the northeast of
676:Steam road vehicles
415:Elastic wheel tyres
360:Wind in the Willows
327:in west Edinburgh.
666:Scottish inventors
546:. 18 January 2023.
447:Hydraulic dry dock
389:see US Patent 5104
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370:and died in 1888.
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174:Church of Scotland
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480:. Historic-UK.com
387:Pneumatic tyre (
356:Courtauld Thomson
233:civil engineering
231:before joining a
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604:. Retrieved
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482:. Retrieved
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303:fountain pen
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287:India-rubber
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217:steam engine
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139:fountain pen
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96:Burial place
61:29 June 1822
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656:1873 deaths
651:1822 births
606:19 February
235:company in
202:mathematics
190:electricity
182:apprenticed
122:and Elspeth
110:Clara Hertz
102:, Edinburgh
645:Categories
484:26 October
464:References
166:Stonehaven
65:Stonehaven
296:carriages
245:explosive
241:Edinburgh
194:astronomy
186:chemistry
143:pneumatic
120:Courtauld
84:Edinburgh
275:patented
262:for the
256:blasting
225:Aberdeen
170:Scotland
141:and the
115:Children
88:Scotland
69:Scotland
452:Honours
362:author
237:Glasgow
602:. 2012
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511:
346:Family
283:France
229:Dundee
209:mangle
198:weaver
107:Spouse
563:(PDF)
505:(PDF)
260:Dover
249:mines
213:linen
178:Latin
132:PRSSA
608:2022
567:ISBN
509:ISBN
486:2008
352:Java
277:his
227:and
192:and
152:Life
146:tyre
135:FRSE
90:, UK
77:Died
71:, UK
58:Born
223:in
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