James Martin (engineer)
Sir James Martin | |
|---|---|
 Martin in 1974 | |
| Born | 11 September 1893 |
| Died | 5 January 1981 (aged 87) Southlands Manor, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Resting place | St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Known for | Inventor of the ejector seat and founder of the Martin-Baker aircraft company |
| Spouse | Muriel Haines |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent | Thomas Martin & Sarah Coulter |
Sir James Martin (11 September 1893 – 5 January 1981) was a British engineer who together with Captain Valentine Baker founded the Martin-Baker aircraft company which is now a leading producer of aircraft ejection seats.
Life
[edit]James Martin was born 11 September 1893 in the townland of Killinchy-in-the-Woods, known locally as Killinchy Woods (birthplace on what is now called Glasswater Road), Crossgar, County Down in Northern 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
[edit]
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
[edit]- ^ "Sir James Martin – Photograph and short history". Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
- ^ "The Medals & Awards of the Royal Aero Club". The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. 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.
External links
[edit]- Sir James Martin at martin-baker.com
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- 1893 births
- 1981 deaths
- 20th-century 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
- Engineers from County Down
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