Richard Broom Hodgson of 54, West field Road, King's Heath, Birmingham (1898)
M.I.Mech.E., Man. Dir., R. B. Hodgson and Co. (Sheffield), Ltd. (1922)
1866 Born
Educated by Private Tuition.
Midland Inst. and School of Art. Passed Exams., S. Kensington and City and Guilds Inst.
1887 Cert. Teacher of Machine Construction; gained experience in Mech. Eng. in various Workshops.
1890-95 Chief Engr., F. Brampton and Co.
1895 Designed Tools and Equipment to manufacture Driving Chains for Alfred Appleby Chain Co.
1895 equipped Workshops of Aston Manor Tech. School, and appointed Engr. Teacher, Machine Construction and Drawing, Selly Oak and Bournbrook Tech. Inst.
1896-97 Man. Engr., Baron Rose of Halesowen (designing New Works and Equipment).
1898-1903 With Meldrum Brothers, Ltd., as Midland Engr. and Representative.
Superintendent engineer, Meldrum Brothers
1898 Associate of I Mech E
1900-1. Member of Council, Bir. Assoc. of Mech. E.,
1904 Read a paper to the Birmingham Association of Mechanical Engineers on "Styrian Steel".
1904 Brit. Agent, Bohler Brothers, Austria.
1905 In business as a Mech. Engr. and Steel Expert.
1908-18 Gen. Man., Crookes, Roberts and Co., Argus Steelworks, Sheffield.
1911 Member of I Mech E. Manager of Crookes, Roberts and Co, Sheffield
1918 Founder and Man. Dir., R. B. Hodgson and Co., Ltd.
1951 Obituary [1]
"RICHARD BROOM HODGSON was the founder of R. B. Hodgson and Co, afterwards becoming managing director of R. B. Hodgson and Company (Sheffield), Ltd., Sentinel Steel Works, Sheffield. In the course of his long professional career, which dated back to 1887, he was closely concerned as an expert with testing steels for machines and tools, his advice in this direction being extensively sought by numerous engineering firms.
He received his technical education at the Birmingham and Midland Institute and the Birmingham School of Art. After serving his time in the engineering works of Messrs. Stanford and Beesley, Ltd., from 1880 to 1887, and gaining some experience as a toolmaker with Messrs. Corder and Turley, he was engaged as draughtsman and engineer to Messrs. Brampton Brothers, Ltd., cycle-chain makers, and subsequently superintended the erection of new buildings and numerous extensions to the plant. This was only one of several firms with whom he held important positions.
In 1896 he began to practise as a consulting engineer and for the following twelve years acted as adviser to a number of firms in the Midland area in the engineering and allied industries. In 1908 he removed to Sheffield where the company he had established was registered as a limited company in 1919 and he continued to direct it up to the time of his death at his home in Sheffield on 30th August 1950. Mr. Hodgson was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1898 and transferred to Membership in 1911. He was the author of a text-book, which dealt with machines and tools for metal cutting, and published books entitled "Emery Grinding Machinery" and "Machinery and Tools Employed for Working Sheet Metals". He also contributed a number of papers to the Birmingham Association of Mechanical Engineers, and for one paper gained the Association Diploma. He had been a Member since 1894. In addition he read a paper on the Destruction of Towns' Refuse before the Public Health Congress, at Blackpool, in 1899."
See Also
Sources of Information
- Mechanical engineer records