Joseph Whitworth
Encyclopedia
Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet (21 December 1803 – 22 January 1887) was an English
engineer
, entrepreneur
, inventor and philanthropist
. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth
system, which created an accepted standard for screw threads. Whitworth also created the Whitworth rifle
, often called the 'sharpshooter' because of it's accuracy and is considered one of the earliest examples of a sniper rifle
.
Upon his death in 1887, he bequeathed much of his fortune for the people of Manchester, with the Whitworth Art Gallery
and Christie Hospital
partly funded by Whitworth's money. Whitworth Street
and Whitworth Hall
in Manchester are named in his honour.
, the son of Charles Whitworth, a teacher and Congregational minister, and at an early age developed an interest in machinery. He was educated at Idle
, near Leeds; his aptitude for mechanics became apparent when he began work for his uncle.
. This was for a four year term after which he worked for another four years as a mechanic in a factory in Manchester
. He then moved to London
where he found employment working for Henry Maudslay
, the inventor of the screw-cutting lathe
, alongside such people as James Nasmyth
(inventor of the steam hammer
) and Richard Roberts
.
Whitworth developed great skill as a mechanic while working for Maudslay, developing various precision machine tools and also introducing a box casting scheme for the iron
frames of machine tools that simultaneously increased their rigidity and reduced their weight.
Whitworth also worked for Holtzapffel & Co
(makers of ornamental lathes) and Joseph Clement
. While at Clement's workshop he helped with the manufacture of Charles Babbage
's calculating machine, the Difference engine
. He returned to Openshaw
, Manchester, in 1833 to start his own business manufacturing lathes and other machine tools, which became renowned for their high standard of workmanship. Whitworth is attributed with the introduction of the thou in 1844. In 1853, along with his lifelong friend, artist and art educator George Wallis
(1811–1891), he was appointed a British commissioner for the New-York International Exhibition. They toured around industrial sites of several American States, and the result of their journey was a report 'The Industry of the United States in Machinery, Manufactures and Useful and Applied Arts, compiled from the Official Reports of Messrs Whitworth and Wallis, London, 1854.'
In 1850, architect Edward Walters was commissioned to build The Firs for Whitworth. This was a grand mansion at Fallowfield
, Manchester, which still stands today, functioning as Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre
.
Whitworth popularized a method of producing accurate flat surfaces (see Surface plate
) during the 1830s, using engineer's blue
and scraping
techniques on three trial surfaces. Up until his introduction of the scraping technique, the same three plate method was employed using polishing techniques, giving less accurate results. This led to an explosion of development of precision instruments using these flat surface generation techniques as a basis for further construction of precise shapes.
His next innovation, in 1840, was a measuring technique called "end measurements" that used a precision flat plane and measuring screw, both of his own invention. The system, with a precision of one millionth of an inch, was demonstrated at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
In 1841 Whitworth devised a standard for screw threads with a fixed thread angle of 55° and having a standard pitch for a given diameter. This soon became the first nationally standardized system; its adoption by the railway companies, who until then had all used different screw threads, leading to its widespread acceptance. It later became a British Standard, "British Standard Whitworth
", abbreviated to BSW and governed by BS 84:1956.
of the British government to design a replacement for the calibre .577-inch Pattern 1853 Enfield
, whose shortcomings had been revealed during the recent Crimean War
. The Whitworth rifle
had a smaller bore of 0.451 inch (11 mm) which was hexagonal, fired an elongated hexagonal bullet and had a faster rate of twist rifling [one turn in twenty inches] than the Enfield, and its performance during tests in 1859 was superior to the Enfield's in every way. The test was reported in The Times
on 23 April as a great success. However, the new bore design was found to be prone to fouling and it was four times more expensive to manufacture than the Enfield, so it was rejected by the British government, only to be adopted by the French Army
. An unspecified number of Whitworth rifles found their way to the Confederate
states in the American Civil War
, where they were called "Whitworth Sharpshooters
".
The Enfield rifle was converted to Snider-Enfield Rifle
by Jacob Snider
, a Dutch-American wine merchant from Philadelphia. By converting existing Enfield rifles this way, the cost of a "new" breech-loading Snider-Enfield rifle was only 12 shillings.
Queen Victoria
opened the first meeting of the British Rifle Association
at Wimbledon, in 1860 by firing a Whitworth rifle from a fixed mechanical rest. The rifle scored a bull's eye at a range of 400 yards (366 m).
Whitworth also designed a large rifled breech loading
gun with a 2.75 inch (70 mm) bore, a 12 pound 11 ounce (5.75 kg) projectile and a range of about six miles (10 km). The spirally-grooved projectile was patented in 1855. This was rejected by the British army, who preferred the guns from Armstrong
, but was used in the American Civil War.
While trying to increase the bursting strength of his gun barrels, Whitworth patented a process called "fluid-compressed steel" for casting steel
under pressure, and built a new steel works near Manchester. Some of his castings were shown at the Great Exhibition in Paris ca. 1883.
and President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
, he built a house called The Firs in Fallowfield, south Manchester. In 1854 he bought Stancliffe Hall
in Darley Dale
, Derbyshire and moved there with his second wife Louisa in 1872. He supplied four six-ton
blocks of stone from Darley Dale quarry, for the lions of St. George's Hall in Liverpool
. He endowed the Manchester Whitworth Institute, where the hospital was later founded in memory of his wife.
A strong believer in the value of technical education, Whitworth backed the new Mechanics' Institute in Manchester (later UMIST
) and helped found the Manchester School of Design. In 1868, he founded the Whitworth Scholarship
for the advancement of mechanical engineering. In recognition of his achievements and contributions to education in Manchester, the Whitworth Building on the University of Manchester
's Main Campus is named in his honour, and graduation ceremonies are held in its Whitworth Hall
. The University's Whitworth Art Gallery
and adjacent Whitworth Park
were established as part of his bequest to Manchester after his death. Nearby Whitworth Park Halls of Residence also bears his name, as does Whitworth Street
, one of the main streets in Manchester city centre, running from London Road to the south end of Deansgate. Near The Firs a cycleway behind Owens Park
is called Whitworth Lane. In Darley Dale is another Whitworth Park.
In 2011 the then Cheshire Cat and Queen of Hearts pubs
at 256 Wilmslow Road closed and reopened as one hostelry, the Sir Joseph Whitworth pub.
where he had travelled in the hope of improving his health. He was buried at St Helen's Church, Darley Dale, Derbyshire. A detailed obituary was published in the American magazine The Manufacturer and Builder (Volume 19, Issue 6, June 1887). He directed his trustees to spend his fortune on philanthropic projects, which they still do to this day. Part of his bequest was used to establish the Whitworth Art Gallery, now part of the University of Manchester.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, inventor and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth
British Standard Whitworth
British Standard Whitworth is one of a number of imperial unit based screw thread standards which use the same bolt heads and nut hexagonal sizes, the others being British Standard Fine thread and British Standard Cycle...
system, which created an accepted standard for screw threads. Whitworth also created the Whitworth rifle
Whitworth rifle
The Whitworth Rifle was a single-shot muzzle-loaded rifle used in the last half of the 19th century.-History:The Whitworth rifle was designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth, a prominent British engineer and entrepreneur. Whitworth had experimented with cannons using twisted hexagonal barrels instead of...
, often called the 'sharpshooter' because of it's accuracy and is considered one of the earliest examples of a sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
.
Upon his death in 1887, he bequeathed much of his fortune for the people of Manchester, with the Whitworth Art Gallery
Whitworth Art Gallery
The Whitworth Art Gallery is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The museum is located south of the Manchester University campus, in Whitworth Park....
and Christie Hospital
Christie Hospital
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is located in Withington, Manchester, and is one of the largest cancer treatment centres in Europe. The Christie became a NHS Foundation Trust in April 2007 and is also an international leader in cancer research and development, and home to the Paterson Institute...
partly funded by Whitworth's money. Whitworth Street
Whitworth Street
Whitworth Street is a street in Manchester, England. It runs between London Road and Oxford Street . West of Oxford Street it becomes Whitworth Street West which then goes as far as Deansgate . It was opened in 1899 and is lined with many large and grand warehouses. It is named after the engineer...
and Whitworth Hall
Whitworth Hall
The Whitworth Hall on Oxford Road and Burlington Street in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England is part of the University of Manchester. It has been listed Grade II* since 18 December 1963. The Hall lies at the south-east range of the Old Quadrangle of the University, with the Manchester Museum...
in Manchester are named in his honour.
Early life
Whitworth was born in StockportStockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, the son of Charles Whitworth, a teacher and Congregational minister, and at an early age developed an interest in machinery. He was educated at Idle
Idle, West Yorkshire
The village of Idle and its outskirts make up a mainly residential suburban area in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, in England. The area is loosely bordered by the areas of Eccleshill, Wrose, Thackley and Greengates, in the north east of the city....
, near Leeds; his aptitude for mechanics became apparent when he began work for his uncle.
Career
After leaving school Whitworth became an indentured apprentice to an uncle who was a cotton spinner in DerbyshireDerbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. This was for a four year term after which he worked for another four years as a mechanic in a factory in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. He then moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he found employment working for Henry Maudslay
Henry Maudslay
Henry Maudslay was a British machine tool innovator, tool and die maker, and inventor. He is considered a founding father of machine tool technology.-Early life:...
, the inventor of the screw-cutting lathe
Screw-cutting lathe
A screw-cutting lathe is a machine capable of cutting very accurate screw threads via single-point screw-cutting, which is the process of guiding the linear motion of the tool bit in a precisely known ratio to the rotating motion of the workpiece...
, alongside such people as James Nasmyth
James Nasmyth
James Hall Nasmyth was a Scottish engineer and inventor famous for his development of the steam hammer. He was the co-founder of Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company manufacturers of machine tools...
(inventor of the steam hammer
Steam hammer
A steam hammer is a power-driven hammer used to shape forgings. It consists of a hammer-like piston located within a cylinder. The hammer is raised by the pressure of steam injected into the lower part of a cylinder and falls down with a force by removing the steam. Usually, the hammer is made to...
) and Richard Roberts
Richard Roberts (engineer)
Richard Roberts was a British engineer whose development of high-precision machine tools contributed to the birth of production engineering and mass production.-Early life:...
.
Whitworth developed great skill as a mechanic while working for Maudslay, developing various precision machine tools and also introducing a box casting scheme for the iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
frames of machine tools that simultaneously increased their rigidity and reduced their weight.
Whitworth also worked for Holtzapffel & Co
Holtzapffel
Holtzapffel & Co. was a tool and lathe making company in London, founded by German immigrant, John Jacob Holtzapffel in 1793. The firm specialized in lathes for ornamental turning, something that was a popular leisure occupation for gentlemen at that time. Many ornamental lathes were bought by the...
(makers of ornamental lathes) and Joseph Clement
Joseph Clement
Joseph Clement was a British engineer and industrialist, chiefly remembered as the maker of Charles Babbage's first Difference engine, between 1824 and 1833.-Early life:...
. While at Clement's workshop he helped with the manufacture of Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
's calculating machine, the Difference engine
Difference engine
A difference engine is an automatic, mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions. Both logarithmic and trigonometric functions can be approximated by polynomials, so a difference engine can compute many useful sets of numbers.-History:...
. He returned to Openshaw
Openshaw
Openshaw is a ward of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, North West England. It lies about two miles east of Manchester city centre. Historically a part of Lancashire, Openshaw was incorporated into the city of Manchester in 1890. Its name derives from the Old English Opinschawe, which...
, Manchester, in 1833 to start his own business manufacturing lathes and other machine tools, which became renowned for their high standard of workmanship. Whitworth is attributed with the introduction of the thou in 1844. In 1853, along with his lifelong friend, artist and art educator George Wallis
George Wallis
George Wallis, FSA, , artist, museum curator and art educator, was the first Keeper of Fine Art Collection at South Kensington Museum .-Early years:...
(1811–1891), he was appointed a British commissioner for the New-York International Exhibition. They toured around industrial sites of several American States, and the result of their journey was a report 'The Industry of the United States in Machinery, Manufactures and Useful and Applied Arts, compiled from the Official Reports of Messrs Whitworth and Wallis, London, 1854.'
In 1850, architect Edward Walters was commissioned to build The Firs for Whitworth. This was a grand mansion at Fallowfield
Fallowfield
Ladybarn is the part of Fallowfield to the south-east. Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre is used by the University of Manchester: it was built by Edward Walters for Sir Joseph Whitworth, as were the Firs Botanical Grounds.-Religion:...
, Manchester, which still stands today, functioning as Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre
Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre
Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre , is a Grade II listed mansion in Fallowfield, Manchester, EnglandThe house was built in 1850 for Sir Joseph Whitworth, by Edward Walters, who was also responsible for Manchester’s Free Trade Hall and Strangeways Prison. The house was surrounded by a estate...
.
Accuracy and standardisation
Surface plate
A surface plate is a solid, flat plate used as the main horizontal reference plane for precision inspection, marking out , and tooling setup. The surface plate is often used as the baseline for all measurements to the workpiece, therefore one primary surface is finished extremely flat with...
) during the 1830s, using engineer's blue
Engineer's blue
Engineer's blue is a highly pigmented paste used to assist in the mating of two or more components.Joseph Whitworth popularized the first practical method of making accurate flat surfaces, during the 1830s, by using engineer's blue and scraping techniques on three trial surfaces...
and scraping
Hand scraper
A hand scraper is a single-edged tool used to scrape metal from a surface. This may be required where a surface needs to be trued, corrected for fit to a mating part, needs to retain oil , or even to give a decorative finish.Surface plates were traditionally made by scraping...
techniques on three trial surfaces. Up until his introduction of the scraping technique, the same three plate method was employed using polishing techniques, giving less accurate results. This led to an explosion of development of precision instruments using these flat surface generation techniques as a basis for further construction of precise shapes.
His next innovation, in 1840, was a measuring technique called "end measurements" that used a precision flat plane and measuring screw, both of his own invention. The system, with a precision of one millionth of an inch, was demonstrated at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
In 1841 Whitworth devised a standard for screw threads with a fixed thread angle of 55° and having a standard pitch for a given diameter. This soon became the first nationally standardized system; its adoption by the railway companies, who until then had all used different screw threads, leading to its widespread acceptance. It later became a British Standard, "British Standard Whitworth
British Standard Whitworth
British Standard Whitworth is one of a number of imperial unit based screw thread standards which use the same bolt heads and nut hexagonal sizes, the others being British Standard Fine thread and British Standard Cycle...
", abbreviated to BSW and governed by BS 84:1956.
Whitworth rifle
Whitworth was commissioned by the War DepartmentWar Department (UK)
The War Department was the United Kingdom government department responsible for the supply of equipment to the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the pursuance of military activity. In 1857 it became the War Office...
of the British government to design a replacement for the calibre .577-inch Pattern 1853 Enfield
Pattern 1853 Enfield
The Enfield Pattern 1853 Rifle-Musket was a .577 calibre Minié-type muzzle-loading rifle-musket, used by the British Empire from 1853 to 1867, after which many Enfield 1853 Rifle-Muskets were converted to the cartridge-loaded Snider-Enfield rifle.-History &...
, whose shortcomings had been revealed during the recent Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. The Whitworth rifle
Whitworth rifle
The Whitworth Rifle was a single-shot muzzle-loaded rifle used in the last half of the 19th century.-History:The Whitworth rifle was designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth, a prominent British engineer and entrepreneur. Whitworth had experimented with cannons using twisted hexagonal barrels instead of...
had a smaller bore of 0.451 inch (11 mm) which was hexagonal, fired an elongated hexagonal bullet and had a faster rate of twist rifling [one turn in twenty inches] than the Enfield, and its performance during tests in 1859 was superior to the Enfield's in every way. The test was reported in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
on 23 April as a great success. However, the new bore design was found to be prone to fouling and it was four times more expensive to manufacture than the Enfield, so it was rejected by the British government, only to be adopted by the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
. An unspecified number of Whitworth rifles found their way to the Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
states in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, where they were called "Whitworth Sharpshooters
Whitworth Sharpshooters
Whitworth Sharpshooters were the Confederates' answer to the Union sharpshooter regiments and used the English Whitworth rifle. These men accompanied regular infantrymen- their occupation was usually eliminating Union artillery gun crews.-The rifle:...
".
The Enfield rifle was converted to Snider-Enfield Rifle
Snider-Enfield
The British .577 Snider-Enfield was a type of breech loading rifle. The firearm action was invented by the American Jacob Snider, and the Snider-Enfield was one of the most widely used of the Snider varieties. It was adopted by British Army as a conversion system for its ubiquitous Pattern 1853...
by Jacob Snider
Jacob Snider
Jacob Snider was an American mechanical engineer and inventor. He invented and patented a method of converting existing muzzle-loading rifles into breech-loading rifles, notably the Snider-Enfield....
, a Dutch-American wine merchant from Philadelphia. By converting existing Enfield rifles this way, the cost of a "new" breech-loading Snider-Enfield rifle was only 12 shillings.
Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
opened the first meeting of the British Rifle Association
National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom
The National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom is the governing body of full bore rifle and pistol shooting sports in the United Kingdom.- History :...
at Wimbledon, in 1860 by firing a Whitworth rifle from a fixed mechanical rest. The rifle scored a bull's eye at a range of 400 yards (366 m).
Breech-loading artillery
Rifled breech loader
A rifled breech loader is an artillery piece which, unlike the smooth-bore cannon and rifled muzzle loader which preceded it, has rifling in the barrel and is loaded from the breech at the rear of the gun....
gun with a 2.75 inch (70 mm) bore, a 12 pound 11 ounce (5.75 kg) projectile and a range of about six miles (10 km). The spirally-grooved projectile was patented in 1855. This was rejected by the British army, who preferred the guns from Armstrong
William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong CB, FRS was an effective Tyneside industrialist who founded the Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing empire.-Early life:...
, but was used in the American Civil War.
While trying to increase the bursting strength of his gun barrels, Whitworth patented a process called "fluid-compressed steel" for casting steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
under pressure, and built a new steel works near Manchester. Some of his castings were shown at the Great Exhibition in Paris ca. 1883.
Awards and memorials
Whitworth received many awards for the excellence of his designs and was financially very successful. In 1850, then a Fellow of the Royal SocietyRoyal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers is the British engineering society based in central London, representing mechanical engineering. It is licensed by the Engineering Council UK to assess candidates for inclusion on ECUK's Register of professional Engineers...
, he built a house called The Firs in Fallowfield, south Manchester. In 1854 he bought Stancliffe Hall
Stancliffe Hall
Stancliffe Hall is a grade II Listed building on Whitworth Road in the settlement of Darley Dale, near Matlock, Derbyshire.-Early history:In 1817, Magna Britannia reported that...
in Darley Dale
Darley Dale
Darley Dale, also known simply as Darley, is a town in Derbyshire, England, with a population of around 6,000 people. It lies north of Matlock, on the River Derwent and the A6 road.- History :...
, Derbyshire and moved there with his second wife Louisa in 1872. He supplied four six-ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
blocks of stone from Darley Dale quarry, for the lions of St. George's Hall in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. He endowed the Manchester Whitworth Institute, where the hospital was later founded in memory of his wife.
A strong believer in the value of technical education, Whitworth backed the new Mechanics' Institute in Manchester (later UMIST
UMIST
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research...
) and helped found the Manchester School of Design. In 1868, he founded the Whitworth Scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
for the advancement of mechanical engineering. In recognition of his achievements and contributions to education in Manchester, the Whitworth Building on the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
's Main Campus is named in his honour, and graduation ceremonies are held in its Whitworth Hall
Whitworth Hall
The Whitworth Hall on Oxford Road and Burlington Street in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England is part of the University of Manchester. It has been listed Grade II* since 18 December 1963. The Hall lies at the south-east range of the Old Quadrangle of the University, with the Manchester Museum...
. The University's Whitworth Art Gallery
Whitworth Art Gallery
The Whitworth Art Gallery is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The museum is located south of the Manchester University campus, in Whitworth Park....
and adjacent Whitworth Park
Whitworth Park
See also Darley Dale and Whitworth Park Halls of ResidenceWhitworth Park is a public park in south Manchester, United Kingdom. The Whitworth Art Gallery and some of the University of Manchester student residences, popularly known as "Toblerones", are located there...
were established as part of his bequest to Manchester after his death. Nearby Whitworth Park Halls of Residence also bears his name, as does Whitworth Street
Whitworth Street
Whitworth Street is a street in Manchester, England. It runs between London Road and Oxford Street . West of Oxford Street it becomes Whitworth Street West which then goes as far as Deansgate . It was opened in 1899 and is lined with many large and grand warehouses. It is named after the engineer...
, one of the main streets in Manchester city centre, running from London Road to the south end of Deansgate. Near The Firs a cycleway behind Owens Park
Owens Park
Owens Park is a large hall of residence which is located in the Fallowfield district of the city of Manchester, England. The hall is owned by the University of Manchester and houses 1,056 students....
is called Whitworth Lane. In Darley Dale is another Whitworth Park.
In 2011 the then Cheshire Cat and Queen of Hearts pubs
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
at 256 Wilmslow Road closed and reopened as one hostelry, the Sir Joseph Whitworth pub.
Death
In January 1887 at the age of 83, Sir Joseph Whitworth died in Monte CarloMonte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
where he had travelled in the hope of improving his health. He was buried at St Helen's Church, Darley Dale, Derbyshire. A detailed obituary was published in the American magazine The Manufacturer and Builder (Volume 19, Issue 6, June 1887). He directed his trustees to spend his fortune on philanthropic projects, which they still do to this day. Part of his bequest was used to establish the Whitworth Art Gallery, now part of the University of Manchester.