George Richards Elkington
George Richards Elkington (born October 17, 1801 in Birmingham , † September 22, 1865 ) was an important founder of electroplating in England .
Life
The son of an eyewear manufacturer , he trained with his uncle, a silver-maker in Birmingham, and became the sole owner of the company after his death. But later he took on his cousin Henry Elkington as a business partner.
The science of electrometallurgy was then in the development stage, but the Elkingtons quickly saw the potential. They already had several patents for the application of electricity to metals when, in 1840, the Birmingham surgeon John Wright discovered the valuable properties of a solution of cyanide on silver in potassium cyanide on potassium for electroplating . The Elkingtons bought and patented the process from Wright, and later acquired rights to further processes and improvements. Major new plating and gilding plants opened in Birmingham in 1841 and Josiah Mason became a partner in Elkington & Co. the following year . George Richards Elkington died on September 22, 1865, and Henry Elkington on October 26, 1852.
A Blue Plaque plaque was unveiled many years later at his Elkington Silver Electroplating Works on Newhall Street in Birmingham.
literature
- Elkington, George Richards . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 9 : Edwardes - Evangelical Association . London 1910, p. 288 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Elkington, George Richards |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English entrepreneur, founder of electroplating in England |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 17, 1801 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Birmingham |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 22, 1865 |