Joseph Whitworth, 1st baronet
1803–87
Mechanical engineer and machine-tool manufacturer. Worked as a mechanic in Manchester from 1821. Joined Maudslay and Field, London, 1825; developed a technique for producing highly accurate planes. Set up in business as a toolmaker, Manchester, 1833. Improved or invented several machine tools and a system of measures that opened the way for the production of standardised parts in tools and machinery. Developed the Whitworth rifle, 1857, and made several advances in armaments manufacture. Created baronet, 1869. FRS 1857.
Source
ODNB
Bibliography
ODNB: Oxford dictionary of national biography: from the earliest times to the year 2000. (Revised edition.) Edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. 60 vols. and index. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2004.
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