David Gordon (inventor)

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David Gordon's steam bus, drawing based on the 1824 patent

David Gordon (* 1774 ; † 1829 ) was a Scottish inventor who made a name for himself primarily with the development of gas lamps and steam cars (an early form of automobile).

Portable gas

Gordon's first important patent from 1819 (together with Edward Heard) dealt with compressed "portable gas" in copper cylinders, from which the London Portable Gas Company in Clerkenwell in the London borough of Islington emerged . This invention made the widespread use of gas lamps possible. His general interest in energy cycles gave Gordon the idea of ​​surrounding a kettle with a second metal jacket in order to use the air in between to store heat. In the mid-19th century, such kettles were widespread in England:

“In normal stoves, a large part of the heated air escapes into the open without being of any use, whereas in Mr. Gordon's design it has been shown to bring the water to the boil earlier; from this follows an economy of both time and fuel. Mr. Gordon has made many other cooking vessels using the same pattern. "

Gordon's vision, however, went further: he wanted to use his oil-based and air-pressure gas tanks to power buses that were previously pulled by horses. He couldn't find anyone interested in it and from 1821 turned to the construction of buses that worked on the principle of the steam locomotive . His patent for “improvements to wheeled carriages” comes from this year. This was followed by further patents for these vehicles and a patent for "channel navigation" by 1824.

Propeller for steam buses

A patent adopted in December 1824 contained propellers as a central idea , which rotated on the underside of the automobile and were lowered into the ground on inclines. The idea of ​​counteracting the sliding of the wheels with rotating arms made of metal and wood was not new. David Gordon only used propellers (six) and not at the rear, but at the front. His last patent was about navigation in canals and also dates from 1824. At that time Gordon had already built up a company that powered mail cars with steam power, vacuum technology or pneumatics - the latter with his "portable gas".

David Gordon's father was the Scottish judge Sir Alexander Gordon. One of his three sons, Alexander Gordon, became known as a pioneer in the development of lighthouses.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brighton chemist
  2. ^ Luke Hebert: The engineer's and mechanic's encyclopædia , Volume 2, 1849, p. 15 - "Kettle". translated from English
  3. ↑ Mr. D. Gordon's New Steam Coach. The Times , December 31, 1827, p. 3
  4. ↑ David Gordon in Grace's Guide to British Industrial History
  5. ↑ Alexander Gordon in A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland (Ed .: AW Skempton), p. 261, Verlag Thomas Telford Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7277-2939-2


personal data
SURNAME Gordon, David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish inventor
DATE OF BIRTH 1774
DATE OF DEATH 1829