Herbert Austin, 1st Baron Austin
Herbert Austin, 1st Baron Austin KBE (born November 8, 1866 in Little Missenden ( Buckinghamshire ), † May 23, 1941 in Lickey Orange ) was an English industrialist and politician.
Life
Herbert Austin was born the son of a farmer. In 1884, at the age of 17, he emigrated to Melbourne , where an uncle from the maternal line was employed as operations manager at a technical company. In Australia, Austin earned his living as a technician (building printing machines, gas engines, boilers for locomotives, equipment for sheep shearing, etc.). In 1893 he moved back home on behalf of his company, where he continued to design accessories for sheep shearing in Frederick Wolsley's factory .
In England, Austin began to be interested in automobiles. In 1895 he manufactured his first automobile , the three-wheeled Wolseley, in his workshops and caused a sensation. Four years later, a four-wheel successor model came on the market, which was also very successful. In 1905 Austin founded the first British automobile factory, the Austin Motor Company, with strong financial backers in a former printing works in Longbridge near Birmingham .
During the First World War , the Austin Motor Company was converted into an armaments and aircraft factory. From 1918 to 1922, Austin was a Conservative MP in the British House of Commons . For his services he received the accolade as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and was allowed to bear the title "Sir". In 1936 he was also raised to a hereditary peer as Baron Austin , of Longbridge in the City of Birmingham, which also included a seat in the British House of Lords , and a year later he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Birmingham .
The Second World War forced his company again to switch to armaments. Aside from various weapons and bombs, the Hawker Hurricane and Avro Lancaster were also made here. Austin died of pneumonia on May 23, 1941 in Lickey Orange during the war . He did not see the merger of his company with the Morris Motor Company in 1952 and the end of the Austin brand in 1987.
Web links
- Sir Herbert Austin at Hansard (English)
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| New title created | Baron Austin 1936-1941 |
Title expired |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Austin, Herbert, 1st Baron Austin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Austin, Sir Herbert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British industrialist and politician, Member of the House of Commons |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 8, 1866 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Little Missenden Buckinghamshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 23, 1941 |
| Place of death | Lickey orange |