William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
The barony of Armstrong was revived in favour of William Watson-Armstrong
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William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong was an English engineer and industrialist who founded the Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing concern on Tyneside. He was also an eminent scientist, inventor and philanthropist. In collaboration with the architect Richard Norman Shaw, he built Cragside in Northumberland, the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity. He is regarded as the in…
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business · English inventor, scientist, engineer and industrialist (1810–1900) · engineer · inventor · entrepreneur · civil engineer · lawyer · mechanical engineer · politician · also William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, Baron Armstrong, William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, W. G. Armstrong Baron, William George, Baron Armstrong, W. G. Baron Armstrong
Born 26 November 1810 · Died 27 December 1900 · Q335115
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
The barony of Armstrong was revived in favour of William Watson-Armstrong
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
His heir, William Watson-Armstrong gave £100,000 (equivalent to £10,626,992 in 2025), for the building of the new Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Died 1900-12-27.
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
The company merged with the company of Armstrong's old rival, Joseph Whitworth, and became Sir W
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Elswick built and installed the steam-driven pumping engines, hydraulic accumulators and hydraulic pumping engines to operate London's Tower Bridge
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Was the purchase and restoration of the huge Bamburgh Castle on the Northumberland coast, which remains in the hands of the Armstrong family
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
And sank with the loss of 358 men, including Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Received the Bessemer Gold Medal from the Iron and Steel Institute
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
During Queen Victoria's golden jubilee year, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Armstrong, of Cragside
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Was elected to honorary membership of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Was raised to the peerage as a Hereditary peer, allowing him to sit in the House of Lords
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Was raised to the peerage as Baron Armstrong, of Cragside in the County of Northumberland
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Was persuaded to stand as a Unionist Liberal candidate for Newcastle, but was unsuccessful, coming third in the election
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Was awarded the Freedom of the City of Newcastle
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
A shipyard opened at Elswick to specialise in warship production
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Armstrong gave Jesmond Dene, together with its banqueting hall to the city of Newcastle
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
As well as Armstrong Bridge and Armstrong Park nearby
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Armstrong's company merged with Mitchell's to form Sir William Armstrong, Mitchell and Co
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Career landmark: president (1881–1881).
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Won Albert Medal (1878).
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Received the Albert Medal from the Royal Society of Arts
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Because the 18th-century bridge at Newcastle restricted access by ships to the Elswick works, Armstrong's company paid for a new Swing Bridge to be built, so that warships could have their guns fitted at Elswick
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Was elected an International Member of the American Philosophical Society
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Served as High Sheriff of Northumberland
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Career landmark: High Sheriff of Northumberland (1873–1874).
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Of the College of Physical Science – a forerunner of the University of Newcastle, renamed Armstrong College in 1906
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Commissioned the celebrated architect Richard Norman Shaw to enlarge and improve the house, and this was done over a period of 15 years
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Armstrong reached an agreement with Charles Mitchell, a shipbuilder in Low Walker, whereby Mitchells would build warships and Elswick would provide the guns
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
That Britain would cease to produce coal within two centuries
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Bought some land in a steep-sided, narrow valley where the Debdon Burn flows towards the River Coquet near Rothbury
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
The government decided to stop ordering the new gun and return to muzzle loaders
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Paid local architect John Dobson to design a Banqueting Hall overlooking the Dene, which still survives, though it is now roofless
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
William Armstrong was knighted as a Knight Bachelor (Kt)
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
After giving his gun patents to the government
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Had a five-pounder ready for inspection by a government committee
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
During the Crimean War, Armstrong read about the difficulties the British Army experienced in manoeuvring its heavy field guns
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Over 300 men were employed at the works, but by 1863 this had risen to 3,800
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
The company produced 45 cranes and two years later, 75
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Received the Telford Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
His work as an amateur scientist was recognized when he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Was made a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
A scheme was set in motion to provide piped water from distant reservoirs to the households of Newcastle
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Laid the foundations for the engineering and environmental consultancy which is today known as Wardell Armstrong
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
And the firm became Donkin, Stable and Armstrong
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
And they built a house in Jesmond Dene, on the eastern edge of Newcastle
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Born 1810-11-26.
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William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
Was named after his mother, the daughter of Addison Potter
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