John Edward Thornycroft

Who was John Edward Thornycroft?

Sir John Edward Thornycroft, KBE was a British mechanical and civil engineer.

Thornycroft was born in Chiswick in 1872 and was the eldest son of Sir John Isaac Thornycroft, the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company. He was educated at St Paul's School, London before receiving engineering training at the Central Technical College in South Kensington. Following this training Thornycroft joined his father's shipyard where he worked on the construction of ships. He became managing director of the company in 1901. He worked on the design and construction of vessels for the Royal Navy during the First World War, a service for which he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1918. He also developed road vehicles including a steam powered wagon and an oil engined tractor. He was elected president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for 1937 to 1938. Thornycroft was also elected president of the Institute of Civil Engineers for the November 1942 to November 1943 session. In 1946 he was made a fellow of Imperial College London. He resigned as Chairman of the Company on 20 July 1960, being then elected as President of the Company.