List of English inventors and designers

This is a list of English inventors and designers.

A

• Roma Agrawal, structural engineer who contributed to the design of The Shard building in London
• Sir Richard Arkwright (1732–1792) invented the spinning frame (also known as the water frame)
• Joseph Aspdin (1788–1855), Portland cement

B

• Roger Bacon (1214–1292), magnifying glass
• Edward Barber (1969– ), London 2012 Olympic Torch
• Julia Barfield (1952– ), architect who contributed to the design of the London Eye and the i360 observation tower in Brighton, England
• Trevor Baylis (1937–2018), wind-up radio
• Tim Berners-Lee (1955– ), World Wide Web

C

• Margaret Calvert (1936– ), graphic designer who designed many of the road signs used throughout the United Kingdom
• Edmund Cartwright (1743–1823) invented the power loom
• George Cayley (1773–1854), man-carrying glider, tension spoke wheels, hot air engine, continuous track "universal railway" vehicle propulsion system
• Imran Chaudhri (1973– ) invented the user interface and interactions of the iPhone, also worked on the Mac, iPod, iPad, Apple TV and Apple Watch
• John Clark (1785-1853) invented the first automated poetry generator, The Eureka, and patented a method to waterproof fabric for air beds and air cushions in 1813.
• Terence Conran (1931–2020), Design Museum founder
• Samuel Crompton (1753–1827) invented the spinning mule

D

• Rick Dickinson (c. 1957–2018), designer of early computers, the touch-sensitive keyboard, as well as the rubber keyboard of the ZX Spectrum
• Sir James Dyson (b. 1947) invented the bagless vacuum cleaner

F

• Michael Faraday (1791–1867), electric transformer
• John Ambrose Fleming (1848–1945), vacuum diode
• Tommy Flowers (1905–1998), Colossus computer, an early electronic computer
• Samson Fox (1838–1903) invented the corrugated boiler flue
• William Friese-Greene (1855–1921), cinematography

G

• Kenneth Grange (1929– ), industrial design including the InterCity 125

H

• James Hargreaves (c. 1720–1778) invented the spinning jenny
• Sir John Harington (d. 1612) invented the first modern flushing toilet
• John Harrison (1693–1776), marine chronometer
• Rowland Hill (1795–1879), postage stamp
• Frank Hornby (1863–1936), Meccano

I

• Jonathan Ive (1967– ), Chief Design Officer of Apple Inc. and designer of many of Apple's products, including the MacBook Pro, iMac, MacBook Air, Mac mini, iPod, iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini, Apple Watch and iOS

K

• Tom Karen (1926–2022), industrial designer who designed cars, bicycles, and radios in the 1970s
• Jock Kinneir (1917–1994), graphic designer who designed many of the road signs used throughout the United Kingdom

M

• George William Manby (1765–1854), fire extinguisher
• David Marks, architect who contributed to the design of the London Eye and the i360 observation tower in Brighton, England

N

• Thomas Newcomen (1664–1729) invented the atmospheric engine
• Isaac Newton (1642–1727), reflecting telescope

O

• Jay Osgerby (1969– ), London 2012 Olympic Torch

P

• Alexander Parkes (1831–1890), celluloid
• Stephen Perry, rubber band
• George Pocock (1774–1843) invented the 'Charvolant' (a kite-drawn carriage)
• Joseph Priestley (1733–1804), soda water
• Philip Thorpe Priestley (1936-2018), inventor in thermometric reaction instrumentation

R

• Andrew Ritchie (1947– ), Brompton bicycle

S

• Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), shrapnel shell ammunition
• Jedediah Strutt (1726–1797) invented the Derby Rib machine

T

• Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) invented the salt print and calotype photographic processes
• J.J. Thomson (1856–1940), mass spectrometer
• Jethro Tull (1674–1740), horse-drawn seed drill

W

• Edward Craven Walker (1918-2000) invented the lava lamp
• Barnes Wallis (1887–1979), bouncing bomb
• Josiah Wedgwood (1730–1795) invented jasperware
• Edward Weston (1850–1936), Weston cell
• Frank Whittle (1907–1996), co-inventor of the jet engine
• William Winlaw (d.1796), patented agricultural machinery
• Arthur Wynne (1862–1945), inventor of crossword puzzle

See also

• List of British innovations and discoveries
• List of Cornish engineers and inventors
• List of Cornish scientists
• List of English inventions and discoveries
• List of Welsh inventors

Further reading

• Smiles, Samuel (2015). Men of Invention and Industry - English Inventors. Read Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1473371194.

External links

• The Brits Who Designed the Modern World Artsnight - Series 4: 7, BBC Two