John Philip Holland

John Philip Holland was born on 29 February 1840 in a coastguard cottage in Liscannor, County Clare, Ireland where his father, John Sr., was a member of the Royal Coastguard Service. He was the second of four siblings, all boys,

Holland’s childhood at a coastguard station clearly left him with a find of knowledge likely to be valuable to him when grown up.

Holland attended St. Macreehy’s National School and he taught school until 1872 in Ireland and in 1873 emigrated to the United States.

After working as a schoolteacher in Paterson, New Jersey, he began designing submarines. Holland had long been fascinated by the possibilities of the submarine.

He built the Holland I, a tiny two-ton, petrol-driven sub in 1877. The designs of Holland’s submarines later reformed warfare for the Americans and Germans – particularly in the 2nd World War.

In 1895 his J.P. Holland Torpedo Boat Company received a contract from the U.S. Navy to build a submarine, and in 1898 he was able to launch the Holland, a ship nearly 54 feet long and equipped with batteries for underwater cruising. It was purchased by the government in 1900, and six more were ordered.

As well as selling his designs to the British Navy, Holland built two submarines for Japan which were used against Russian in the war of 1904-5. He received the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan for his contribution to the Japanese Naval victory.

John Philip Holland died on August 12, 1914 in Newark, New Jersey. Holland died within a few days of the outbreak of World War I, the war which proved the effectiveness of his weapon.
John Philip Holland

George Westinghouse (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914)

George Westinghouse was born on the 6th October, 1846, in Central Bridge, New York, the son of George Westinghouse Sr. and Emiline (Vedder). He was eighth out of ten children. His father was the owner of a machine shop and this probably the reason why son George was talented with machinery and in business.

He developed a rotary steam engine, acquiring his first patent in 1865. Moreover, he invented a steel car replacer and frog, for railways, and applied for patents for these inventions.

He served in the Union army and navy during the Civil War and then attended Union College before striking out on his own.

It was not until the early 1880s that George Westinghouse became interested in electrical engineering. By the time he was 40 years old, he had formed the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, developed a system of pipes to conduct natural gas safely into homes, and invented the gas meter.

He organized the Westinghouse Electric Company in 1886, which he used as a base to advocate successfully the ac system. Westinghouse was one of America's greatest inventors andone of the true giants of United States industry.

During the 1870s George Westinghouse spent the greater part of his time in Europe. One of his aims was to sell his air brake system to British railway companies. In 1872 the Westinghouse Continuous Brake Company was established, in New York, to manage the European export business, eventually resulting in the formation of the Westinghouse Brake Company Limited, in England, in 1881.
George Westinghouse (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914)

Soichiro Honda – Japanese engineer and industrialist

Soichiro Honda (November 17, 1906 – August 5, 1991) was born in Yamahigashi, which is located in the center of the Japanese mainland. It was near his home that he first saw an automobile coming down the country road.

He father Gihei was a blacksmith.  Form the time he was a small child, Soichiro was always around his father, observing him at work. At the tender age so 15, he began an apprenticeship as a mechanic in Tokyo. Since he was diligent and industrious, he mastered all the techniques of auto repair in four years.

At 21 years of age he opened his own repair shop. He then moved into manufacture, starting with an initially unsuccessful venture in making position rings – he lacked necessary knowledge. Honda’s love of cars extended to racing them, and he set a new record speed record in 1936.

He then developed his own design of piston ring in 1938 and won the contract with Toyota. However during World War 2, his entire piston manufacturing facilities was destroyed. Then he started a new company and attached the engine to the bicycle which cheaper and efficient.

In October 1946, after the end of the war, Soichiro established the Honda Technical Research Institute the forerunner of the Honda Motor Company in the city of Hamamatsu.

The organization’s main project was refitting small wartime surplus engines to bicycles. This project soon led Soichiro to manufacture his own motorcycle.

In 1948, Soichiro teamed up with Takeo Fujisawa, an investor and businessman to launch the Honda Motor Company, with Soichiro as the president. Soichiro retained responsibility for engineering, while Fujisawa dealt with marketing and sales.
Soichiro Honda – Japanese engineer and industrialist