Henry Samuel Potter
Henry Samuel Potter (1876-1948)
1950 Obituary [1]
"HENRY SAMUEL POTTER was closely concerned with the production of pneumatic tools and appliances during almost the whole of his professional career. He was born in 1876, and received his theoretical training in mechanical engineering at the Regent Street Polytechnic and the Northampton Institute, London.
After serving his apprenticeship with Messrs. Mark Feetham and Company from 1891 to 1895 he was employed as a fitter and patternmaker by the Referee Cycle Co for the next four years. He then gained practical experience as a craftsman to the Tate Howard Pneumatic Tool Company, Ltd., and as chief craftsman and designer for the Consolidated Pneumatic Tool Company, Ltd.
In 1904 he was made works manager for this firm, and in the meantime acted as mechanical assistant to the late Mr. John P. O'Donnell, M.I.Mech.E., in connection with patents for pneumatic tools. He visited South Africa in 1908 to study mining conditions with a view to producing a rock drill for the Stope Drill Contest and later was appointed manager and representative for the Consolidated Pneumatic Tool Co. Subsequently he went into business on his own account and practised in Johannesburg as a specialist in pneumatic tools up to the time of his death, which occurred on 22nd December 1948. Mr. Potter was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1905 and was transferred to Membership in 1911."