George Wilson Heath
George Wilson Heath (c1849-1937)
of Heath and Co
1937 Obituary [1]
GEORGE WILSON HEATH virtually created the firm of scientific instrument manufacturers associated with his name. He was apprenticed in 1863 to Messrs. George Heath, the firm founded by his father in 1845. His apprenticeship terminated in 1870, and two years later he became proprietor of the business. In 1882 the firm was reconstituted as a limited liability company under the style Heath and Company, Ltd., with Mr. Heath as managing director. He built two factories, at Crayford and New Eltham respectively, to cope with the firm's growing requirements, and he specialized in the design and manufacture of navigational and thermometrical instruments. The business is now incorporated with Messrs. W. F. Stanley and Company, Ltd. Mr. Heath's inventions included many mechanical improvements in nautical instruments, ship's compasses, course correctors, sextants, and thermometers, especially those used for marine refrigeration. Mr. Heath had been a Member of the Institution since 1889. His death occurred at Sidcup on 24th May 1937, in his eightyeighth year.