John Jones (1768-1835)
John Jones (Джон Джонс) was born in Birmingham on 29 September 1768.
In 1817 he emigrated to Tula, in Russia, as an experienced gunsmith, where he mastered the Russian language. In official documents he was called Ivan Ivanovich.
He is credited with organizing the production of standardized weapons at the Tula Arms Plant. He established the mechanical stamping of the parts of the gun lock, developed a system of manual screw presses, made a special anvil for making barrels and designed machine tools.
In 1826, the Tula Arms Factory was visited by representatives of the rulers of Russia and Europe. who were impressed by the possibility of assembling gun locks from standard parts.
The Russian government highly appreciated the merits of John Jones, awarding him the Orders of St. Anne, 2nd degree, and St. Vladimir, 4th degree.
John Jones died on 7 January 1835.
The above information is condensed from here [1]
Jones presumably worked closely with the ingenious Russian engineer P. D. Zakhavo at Tula.
Some of the machines designed by Jones and Zakhavo for the Tula factory described and illustrated in a book published in Moscow in 1826. See here. It appears that Jones concentrated largely on the forging and stamping processes, while Zakhavo focused on machining processes.
His grave is in the Chulkovo (Pulkovo) cemetery in Tula. Nearby is a monument to the children of John Jones who died before their father, with text in English: "Dedicated to the memory of John Jones of Birmingham, England, who died in Tula on November 20, 1830 at the age of 35. He was his father's assistant, working as a mechanic for more than 13 years at the state arms factory, as well as to the memory of Martha Jones, his sister, who died in Tula on July 7, 1831 at the age of 29"[2]
One of his great grandsons was Valentin Nikolaevich Jones (1865-1931), a Russian scientist and professor. See here.