Men of Yore: Philo Farnsworth

This is another in a series of posts about men from history who have either achieved great things in one form or another by pushing boundaries: either in themselves or in society or science or exploration of some form.  Boundary pushing and growth is what men do, it's their nature: to grow and push outwards.  We, as men, are the frontiers men, the first to discover/uncover new territory, in a metaphysical sense (i.e. including both material and the immaterial) that is later colonised and 'civilised' by the rest of humanity. 

It is also partly intended to show images, be they paintings, statues or photographs of the countenaces of men of yore.  Because, quite frankly, many men wear the countenances of women these days: smiling, smirking, cooing, rolling their eyes, looking smug etc.  It's a sign of the times, and by showing some images of men from the past, I hope to show some modern men why looking surly, frowning and giving hard-ball stares at people is something to do, something to practice.

Philo Farnsworth, 1939 (aged 33)

Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor and television pioneer.[2] Although he made many contributions that were crucial to the early development of all-electronic television, he is perhaps best known for inventing the first fully functional all-electronic image pickup device (video camera tube), the "image dissector", the first fully functional and complete all-electronic television system, and for being the first person to demonstrate such a system to the public.[3][4] Farnsworth developed a television system complete with receiver and camera, which he produced commercially in the firm of the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation, from 1938 to 1951.[5][6]
In later life, Farnsworth invented a small nuclear fusion device, the Farnsworth–Hirsch fusor, or simply "fusor", employing inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC). Although not a practical device for generating nuclear energy, the fusor serves as a viable source of neutrons.[7] The design of this device has been the acknowledged inspiration for other fusion approaches including the Polywell reactor concept in terms of a general approach to fusion design.[8] Farnsworth held 165 patents, mostly in radio and television.

Early Life
Philo T. Farnsworth was born August 19, 1906, the eldest of five children[9] of Lewis Edwin Farnsworth and Serena Amanda Bastian, a Mormon couple then living in a small log cabin built by Lewis's father in a place called Indian Creek[citation needed] near Beaver, Utah. The family moved to a farm in Rigby, Idaho, in 1918, where Lewis supplemented his farming income by hauling freight with his horse-drawn wagon. Philo was excited to find his new home was wired for electricity, with a Delco generator providing power for lighting and farm machinery. He was a quick study in mechanical and electrical technology, repairing the troublesome generator, and upon finding a burned out electric motor among some items discarded by the previous tenants, proceeding to rewind the armature and convert his mother's hand-powered washing machine into an electric-powered one
[..]
He asked his high school science teacher, Justin Tolman, for advice about an electronic television system he was contemplating. He provided the teacher with sketches and diagrams covering several blackboards to show how it might be accomplished electronically. He asked his teacher if he should go ahead with his ideas, and he was encouraged to do so
[..]

Philo worked while his sister Agnes, the older of the two, took charge of the family home and the second-floor boarding house (with the help of a cousin then living with the family). The Farnsworths later moved into half of a duplex, with family friends the Gardners moving into the other side when it became vacant.[14] Philo developed a close friendship with Cliff Gardner, who shared Farnsworth's interest in electronics. The two moved to Salt Lake City to start a radio repair business.[11]

The business failed and Gardner returned to Provo. But Farnsworth remained in Salt Lake City, and through enrollment in a University of Utah job-placement service became acquainted with Leslie Gorrell and George Everson, a pair of San Francisco philanthropists who were then conducting a Salt Lake City Community Chest fundraising campaign.[15][16]
They agreed to fund Farnsworth's early television research with an initial $6,000 in backing,[17] and set up a laboratory in Los Angeles for Farnsworth to carry out his experiments.

[..]

A few months after arriving in California, Farnsworth was prepared to show his models and drawings to a patent attorney who was nationally recognized as an authority on electrophysics. Everson and Gorrell agreed that Farnsworth should apply for patents for his designs, a decision which proved crucial in later disputes with RCA.

[..]

On September 7, 1927, Farnsworth's image dissector camera tube transmitted its first image, a simple straight line, to a receiver in another room of his laboratory at 202 Green Street in San Francisco.[17] Pem Farnsworth recalled in 1985 that her husband broke the stunned silence of his lab assistants by saying, "There you are — electronic television!”

[..]

Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation was purchased by International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) in 1951. During his time at ITT, Farnsworth worked in a basement lab known as “the cave” on Pontiac Street in Fort Wayne. From there he introduced a number of breakthrough concepts, including a defense early warning signal, submarine detection devices, radar calibration equipment and an infrared telescope. “Philo was a very deep person – tough to engage in conversation because he was always thinking about what he could do next,” said Art Resler, an ITT photographer who documented Farnsworth’s work in pictures.[6] One of Farnsworth's most significant contributions at ITT was the PPI Projector, an enhancement on the iconic "circular sweep" radar display, which allowed safe air traffic control from the ground. This system developed in the 1950s was the forerunner of today’s air traffic control systems.[1]
In addition to his electronics research, ITT management agreed to nominally fund Farnsworth's nuclear fusion research.
[..]
Memorials and legacy
In a 1996 videotaped interview by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, available on YouTube,[56] Elma Farnsworth recounts Philo's change of heart about the value of television, after seeing how it showed man walking on the moon, in real time, to millions of viewers:

Interviewer: The image dissector was used to send shots back from the moon to earth.

Elma Farnsworth: Right.

Interviewer: What did Phil think of that?

Elma Farnsworth: We were watching it, and, when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, Phil turned to me and said, "Pem, this has made it all worthwhile." Before then, he wasn't too sure.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philo_Farnsworth




I think that it's important to note the encouragement and freedoms that he was shown in his youth which fostered his enthusiasm for electrical and mechanical appliances: when he was allowed to repair faulty appliances by his parents, and was encouraged to pursue his dreams of constructing a television system by his teacher.


Check out some of the other entries from the 'Men of Yore' series:

Gregor Mendel
James Cook

Titus Salt
Tadeusz Kościuszko
John Rarey
Stephen the III of Moldavia

George Petrovich (Black George)

Vlad II, Prince of Wallachia

Skanderbeg

King Alfred, the Great

John MacDouall Stuart

Robert Owen

Richard Trevithick

Wyatt Earp

William 'Wild Bill' Cody

Andrew Carnegie

Duke of Viseu (Henry the Navigator)

Meriwether Lewis

Arthur Schopenhauer

Theodore Roosevelt

Rudolph Diesel

John Snow

Ludwig van Beethoven

Henry Ford

George Custer

[End.]

Havamal Snippets 58: The early bird catches the worm

It's Wednesday (Woden/Odin's Day) which means that it's time for another verse from the Havamal 'Sayings of the High One - Odin'. The poem full of wisdom, both everyday and ethereal. (The poem can be found in full HERE):

58. He should early rise,
who another’s property or life
desires to have.
Seldom a sluggish wolf
gets prey,
or a sleeping man victory.

(Source: http://heathengods.com/havamal/thorpe.htm)

Zeal, ernestness, hunger, desire. 'Will' is required for anything to succeed. The opposite of Will is Apathy. If you are Willful then you stand a good chance of success, if you are Apathetic then you stand a good chance of failure. This applies to acadmic results, physique, scoring with women. As the saying goes "turning up is half the battle."


[End.]

Havamal Snippets 57: Like begets like

It's Wednesday (Woden/Odin's Day) which means that it's time for another verse from the Havamal 'Sayings of the High One - Odin'. The poem full of wisdom, both everyday and ethereal. (The poem can be found in full HERE):

57. Brand burns from brand
until it is burnt out;
fire is from fire quickened.
Man to man
becomes known by speech,
but a fool by his bashful silence.

(Source: http://heathengods.com/havamal/thorpe.htm)

Likeness begets likeness. If you want to get smarter, learn from a smart man. If you want to get tougher, then fight a tougher opponent. If you want to become more emasculated, then hang around emasculated men listening to Alanis Morrisette and Coldplay. Depression is socially contagious and Obesity are also socially contagious, so steer clear of the morbid and the fat.


[End.]

Men of Yore: Gregor Mendel

This is another in a series of posts about men from history who have either achieved great things in one form or another by pushing boundaries: either in themselves or in society or science or exploration of some form.  Boundary pushing and growth is what men do, it's their nature: to grow and push outwards.  We, as men, are the frontiers men, the first to discover/uncover new territory, in a metaphysical sense (i.e. including both material and the immaterial) that is later colonised and 'civilised' by the rest of humanity. 

It is also partly intended to show images, be they paintings, statues or photographs of the countenaces of men of yore.  Because, quite frankly, many men wear the countenances of women these days: smiling, smirking, cooing, rolling their eyes, looking smug etc.  It's a sign of the times, and by showing some images of men from the past, I hope to show some modern men why looking surly, frowning and giving hard-ball stares at people is something to do, something to practice.

Gregor Mendel

Gregor Johann Mendel (July 20, 1822^[1] – January 6, 1884) was a German-speaking Silesian^[2][3] scientist and Augustinian friar who gained posthumous fame as the founder of the new science of genetics. Mendel demonstrated that the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance. The profound significance of Mendel's work was not recognized until the turn of the 20th century, when the independent rediscovery of these laws initiated the modern science of genetics.

[..]

Gregor Mendel was born into an ethnic German family in Heinzendorf bei Odrau, Austrian Silesia, Austrian Empire (now Hynčice, Czech Republic). He was the son of Anton and Rosine (Schwirtlich) Mendel, and had one older sister (Veronica) and one younger (Theresia). They lived and worked on a farm which had been owned by the Mendel family for at least 130 years.^[5] During his childhood, Mendel worked as a gardener, studied beekeeping, and as a young man attended gymnasium in Opava. From 1840 to 1843, he studied practical and theoretical philosophy as well as physics at the University of Olomouc Faculty of Philosophy[.]

[..]

Mendel's work was rejected at first, and was not widely accepted until after he died. During his own lifetime, most biologists held the idea that all characteristics were passed to the next generation through blending inheritance, in which the traits from each parent are averaged together.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregor_Mendel 

The belief of ‘blending inheritance’ of the biologists of Mendels day, seems to be the same belief of the political Left who live today.  They seem to want to androgynise the genders, and mix the races, and mix communism and capitalism all together, etc; in order to get ‘the best of both worlds’.  As Mendel showed, this isn’t possible.

Check out some of the other entries from the 'Men of Yore' series:
James Cook
Stephen the III of Moldavia
George Petrovich (Black George)
Vlad II, Prince of Wallachia
Skanderbeg
King Alfred, the Great
John MacDouall Stuart
Robert Owen
Richard Trevithick
Wyatt Earp
William 'Wild Bill' Cody
Andrew Carnegie
Duke of Viseu (Henry the Navigator)
Meriwether Lewis
Arthur Schopenhauer
Theodore Roosevelt
Rudolph Diesel
John Snow
Ludwig van Beethoven
Henry Ford
George Custer


[End.]

Havamal Snippets 56: No-one should know his fate

It's Wednesday (Woden/Odin's Day) which means that it's time for another verse from the Havamal 'Sayings of the High One - Odin'. The poem full of wisdom, both everyday and ethereal. (The poem can be found in full HERE):

56. Moderately wise
should each one be,
but never over-wise.
His destiny let know
no man beforehand;
his mind will be freest from care.

(Source: http://heathengods.com/havamal/thorpe.htm)

Too much wisdom is a bad thing, and a fatalistic worldview to boot. Why? Does this mean that our fates are determined beforehand? Before our mortal lives? If so, then how much agency/free-will do we have? Is it only a few degrees either side of your fate line? Does that mean that the genuine victims of the world actaully chose their suffering? Is this what Christ is talking of when he speaks about "not judging" other people, because they have actually chosen their lives, thus the actions are not bad? "All of the world is a stage and man is it actor" as Shakespeare said.


[End.]

Havamal Snippets 55: The wise man's heart is seldom glad

It's Wednesday (Woden/Odin's Day) which means that it's time for another verse from the Havamal 'Sayings of the High One - Odin'. The poem full of wisdom, both everyday and ethereal. (The poem can be found in full HERE):

55. Moderately wise
should each one be,
but never over-wise;
for a wise man’s heart
is seldom glad,
if he is all-wise who owns it.

(Source: http://heathengods.com/havamal/thorpe.htm)

Like with the previous stanza, 54[LINK], it seems to imply that too much wisdom is a bad thing. Perhaps wisdom and happiness (gladness) are two ends of the same pole. You can either tend toward happiness at the expense of wisdom, or wisdom at the expense of happiness.


[End.]

Havamal Snippets 54: Partial ignorance is bliss

It's Wednesday (Woden/Odin's Day) which means that it's time for another verse from the Havamal 'Sayings of the High One - Odin'. The poem full of wisdom, both everyday and ethereal. (The poem can be found in full HERE):

54. Moderately wise
should each one be,
but never over-wise:
of those men
the lives are fairest,
who know much well.

(Source: http://heathengods.com/havamal/thorpe.htm)

It's awfully cold and lonely the top of the organisation, the top of the ladder. More so at the top of Mount Noos (mind). To be at the top means to have your head in the clouds and to know the future, but be unable to shape it, that's where the loneliness comes from. Read the melancholic writings of Philip K Dick[LINK] and other prophets to see this misery incarnate: they are not especially cheerful people. They tend more towards the 'darker' the 'melancholic'. The anti-pode of this (of dwelling on the top of Mount Noos) is living on the Plains of Phusis (physical), living in the 'now', 'the present', 'living for the moment'. The people who live on the Plains of Phusis are happy, but dumb. Hence the stanza says: 'it is most pleasant to live when they don't know a great many things.'


[End.]

Havamal Snippets 53: For every wise man there is a fool

It's Wednesday (Woden/Odin's Day) which means that it's time for another verse from the Havamal 'Sayings of the High One - Odin'. The poem full of wisdom, both everyday and ethereal. (The poem can be found in full HERE):

53. Little are the sandgrains,
little the wits,
little the minds of (some) men;
for all men
are not wise alike:
men are everywhere by halves.

(Source: http://heathengods.com/havamal/thorpe.htm)

This stanza is an observation of the basic injustice of duality in the cosmos: for every wise man there is a dunce; for every strong man there is a weakling. The modern 'Bell Curve' of height, IQ or anything else attests to this. While the injustice of duality is covered in this stanza, the 'blessed AND cursed' aspect of duality is dealt with in stanza 69 when it explains that each man '..is not wholly wretched though he be in rotten health; one is blessed with sons, another with kinsmen...'.

The concept of duality is an important one to understand, because the cosmos was/is/shall-be created by God/Being/Will (call it what you will) dividing 'Nothingness' (zero) into two opposing things (in conceptual terms, 'A' and 'Not-A'). So for every -1 there is a +1, for every electron there is a proton, for every yesterday there is a tomorrow, for every man there is a woman, for every life there is a death, for every capitalist there is a communist, for every murderer there is a murdered, for every nobleman there is an ignoble rascal, for every nagging wife there is a brow-beaten husband, and so on. Once you see this, then you must understand that it is God/Being/Will that decides the Context in which the two opposing things will exist. For example:

Context: direction; opposites: inbound and outbound.
Context: extent; opposite: infinite and finite.
Context: monochrome; opposites: white and black.
Context: charged subatomic particle; opposites: proton and electron.
Context: human gender; opposites: man and woman.
Context: foot attire; opposites: workmans boots and stilleto shoes.

Humans are at one with God/Being/Will (as is the rest of the cosmos) so humans can Will certain contexts into being. In an everyday example if you approach a woman and act in a masculine manner then she will form the opposite, a feminine woman. When you know this fact then you can use it in everyday dealings with people: choose the Context and make the other person form the Opposite. Be a leader and they will follow, be a comedian and they will laugh, be an antagonist and they will be provoked to hating you.


[End.]

Men of Yore: Captain James Cook

This is another in a series of posts about men from history who have either achieved great things in one form or another by pushing boundaries: either in themselves or in society or science or exploration of some form.  Boundary pushing and growth is what men do, it's their nature: to grow and push outwards.  We, as men, are the frontiers men, the first to discover/uncover new territory, in a metaphysical sense (i.e. including both material and the immaterial) that is later colonised and 'civilised' by the rest of humanity. 

It is also partly intended to show images, be they paintings, statues or photographs of the countenaces of men of yore.  Because, quite frankly, many men wear the countenances of women these days: smiling, smirking, cooing, rolling their eyes, looking smug etc.  It's a sign of the times, and by showing some images of men from the past, I hope to show some modern men why looking surly, frowning and giving hard-ball stares at people is something to do, something to practice.

James Cook, 1775 (aged 47)

Captain James Cook, FRS, RN (7 November 1728^{[NB 1]} – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.
Cook joined the British merchant navy as a teenager and joined the Royal Navy in 1755. He saw action in the Seven Years' War, and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec. This helped bring Cook to the attention of the Admiralty and Royal Society. This notice came at a crucial moment in both Cook's career and the direction of British overseas exploration, and led to his commission in 1766 as commander of HM Bark Endeavour for the first of three Pacific voyages.
In three voyages Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas of the globe. He mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean in greater detail and on a scale not previously achieved. As he progressed on his voyages of discovery he surveyed and named features, and recorded islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions.
Cook was killed in Hawaii in a fight with Hawaiians during his third exploratory voyage in the Pacific in 1779. He left a legacy of scientific and geographical knowledge which was to influence his successors well into the 20th century and numerous memorials worldwide have been dedicated to him.
[..]

Early life and family

[edit]James Cook was born in the village of Marton in Yorkshire, now a suburb of Middlesbrough.^[1] He was baptised in the local church of St. Cuthbert, where his name can be seen in the church register. Cook was the second of eight children of James Cook, a Scottish farm labourer from Ednam near Kelso, and his locally born wife, Grace Pace, from Thornaby-on-Tees.^[1][2][3] In 1736, his family moved to Airey Holme farm at Great Ayton, where his father's employer, Thomas Skottowe, paid for him to attend the local school. In 1741, after five years schooling, he began work for his father, who had by now been promoted to farm manager. For leisure, he would climb a nearby hill, Roseberry Topping, enjoying the opportunity for solitude.
[..]
Cook began working on trading ships in the Baltic Sea. After passing his examinations in 1752, he soon progressed through the merchant navy ranks, starting with his promotion in that year to mate aboard the collier brig Friendship.^[6] In 1755, within a month of being offered command of this vessel, he volunteered for service in the Royal Navy, when Britain was re-arming for what was to become the Seven Years' War.
[..]
Death
The esteem in which he was nevertheless held by the Hawaiians [who killed him during a fight over the theft of rowing ships] resulted in his body being retained by their chiefs and elders. Following the practice of the time, Cook's body underwent funerary rituals similar to those reserved for the chiefs and highest elders of the society. The body was disembowelled, baked to facilitate removal of the flesh, and the bones were carefully
[..]
David Samwell, who sailed with Cook on the Resolution, wrote of him: "He was a modest man, and rather bashful; of an agreeable lively conversation, sensible and intelligent. In temper he was somewhat hasty, but of a disposition the most friendly, benevolent and humane. His person was above six feet high: and, though a good looking man, he was plain both in dress and appearance. His face was full of expression: his nose extremely well shaped: his eyes which were small and of a brown cast, were quick and piercing; his eyebrows prominent, which gave his countenance altogether an air of austerity."
[..]
Navigation and Science

Cook succeeded in circumnavigating the world on his first voyage without losing a single man to scurvy, an unusual accomplishment at the time. He tested several preventive measures but the most important was frequent replenishment of fresh food.^[53] It was for presenting a paper on this aspect of the voyage to the Royal Society that he was presented with the Copley Medal in 1776.^[54][55] Ever the observer, Cook was the first European to have extensive contact with various people of the Pacific. He correctly concluded there was a relationship among all the people in the Pacific, despite their being separated by thousands of miles of ocean (see Malayo-Polynesian languages). Cook came up with the theory that Polynesians originated from Asia, which was later proved to be correct by scientist Bryan Sykes
^[..]

Legacy

His contributions to knowledge were internationally recognised during his lifetime. In 1779, while the American colonies were at war with Britain in their war for independence, Benjamin Franklin wrote to captains of American warships at sea, recommending that if they came into contact with Cook's vessel, they were to "not consider her an enemy, nor suffer any plunder to be made of the effects contained in her, nor obstruct her immediate return to England by detaining her or sending her into any other part of Europe or to America; but that you treat the said Captain Cook and his people with all civility and kindness, [...] as common friends to mankind."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Cook



From the brief description of Cook by Samwell it strikes me that Cook was what you could call a well rounded individual: he both valued his solitude and was bashful in front of others, yet his quiet manner didn’t tend towards cold heartedness, for he was a benevolent man who cared about his crew and was friendly towards all; so much so that even Britains enemie's of the time (USA) thought he should be treated well.




Check out some of the other entries from the 'Men of Yore' series:
Stephen the III of Moldavia
George Petrovich (Black George)
Vlad II, Prince of Wallachia
Skanderbeg
King Alfred, the Great
John MacDouall Stuart
Robert Owen
Richard Trevithick
Wyatt Earp
William 'Wild Bill' Cody
Andrew Carnegie
Duke of Viseu (Henry the Navigator)
Meriwether Lewis
Arthur Schopenhauer
Theodore Roosevelt
Rudolph Diesel
John Snow
Ludwig van Beethoven
Henry Ford
George Custer


[End.]

Havamal Snippets 52: A small gift can go a long way

It's Wednesday (Woden/Odin's Day) which means that it's time for another verse from the Havamal 'Sayings of the High One - Odin'. The poem full of wisdom, both everyday and ethereal. (The poem can be found in full HERE):

52. Something great
is not (always) to be given,
praise is often for a trifle bought.
With half a loaf
and a tilted vessel
I got myself a comrade.

(Source: http://heathengods.com/havamal/thorpe.htm)

Give only as much as you need to if you are bartering for somthing, be it loyalty or material possessions. Know the value of things and people.


[End.]

Havamal Snippets 51: Good things last bad things don't

It's Wednesday (Woden/Odin's Day) which means that it's time for another verse from the Havamal 'Sayings of the High One - Odin'. The poem full of wisdom, both everyday and ethereal. (The poem can be found in full HERE):

51. Hotter than fire
love for five days burns
between false friends;
but is quenched
when the sixth day comes,
and friendship is all impaired.

(Source: http://heathengods.com/havamal/thorpe.htm)

Good things last, bad things don't. Whether in friendships, relationships, businesses, empires or whatever, the good is eternal, longer lasting, closer to the almighty, to God.


[End.]

Havamal Snippets 50: How OAP's fared in pre-industrial times

It's Wednesday (Woden/Odin's Day) which means that it's time for another verse from the Havamal 'Sayings of the High One - Odin'. The poem full of wisdom, both everyday and ethereal. (The poem can be found in full HERE):

50. A tree withers
that on a hill-top stands;
protects it neither bark nor leaves:
such is the man
whom no one favours:
why should he live long?

(Source: http://heathengods.com/havamal/thorpe.htm)

This is not really applicable in present day industrialized countries, where pensions are paid to old people by the state.


[End.]

Men of Yore: Titus Salt

This is the second in a series of posts about men from history who have either achieved great things in one form or another by pushing boundaries: either in themselves or in society or science or exploration of some form.  Boundary pushing and growth is what men do, it's their nature: to grow and push outwards.  We, as men, are the frontiers men, the first to discover/uncover new territory, in a metaphysical sense (i.e. including both material and the immaterial) that is later colonised and 'civilised' by the rest of humanity. 

It is also partly intended to show images, be they paintings, statues or photographs of the countenaces of men of yore.  Because, quite frankly, many men wear the countenances of women these days: smiling, smirking, cooing, rolling their eyes, looking smug etc.  It's a sign of the times, and by showing some images of men from the past, I hope to show some modern men why looking surly, frowning and giving hard-ball stares at people is something to do, something to practice.

Titus Salt

Titus Salt, the son of Daniel Salt, a woolstapler, was born in Morley near Leeds on 20th September, 1803. Daniel Salt was a fairly successful businessman and was able to afford to send Titus to Heath Grammar School. After working for two years at a Wakefield woolstapler, Titus joined the family firm in 1824. Titus, who married Caroline Whitlam in 1830, became the firm's wool buyer. Daniel Salt & Son prospered and became one of the most important textile companies in Bradford.

When Daniel Salt retired in 1833, Titus took over the running of the company. Over the next twenty years Titus Salt became the largest employer in Bradford. Between 1801 and 1851 the population of Bradford grew from 13,000 to 104,000. With over 200 factory chimneys continually churning out black, sulphurous smoke, Bradford gained the reputation of being the most polluted town in England. Bradford's sewage was dumped into the River Beck. As people also obtained their drinking water from the river, this created serious health problems. There were regular outbreaks of cholera and typhoid, and only 30% of children born to textile workers reached the age of fifteen. Life expectancy, of just over eighteen years, was one of the lowest in the country.

George Weerth visited Bradford in 1846: "Every other factory town in England is a paradise in comparison to this hole. In Manchester the air lies like lead upon you; in Birmingham it is just as if you were sitting with your nose in a stove pipe; in Leeds you have to cough with the dust and the stink as if you had swallowed a pound of Cayenne pepper in one go - but you can put up with all that. In Bradford, however, you think you have been lodged with the devil incarnate. If anyone wants to feel how a poor sinner is tormented in Purgatory, let him travel to Bradford."

Titus Salt, who now owned five textile mills in Bradford, was one of the few employers in the town who showed any concern for this problem. After much experimentation, Salt discovered that the Rodda Smoke Burner produced very little pollution. In 1842 he arranged for these burners to be used in all his factories.

In 1848 Salt became mayor of Bradford. He tried hard to persuade the council to pass a by-law that would force all factory owners in the town to use these new smoke burners. The other factory owners in Bradford were opposed to the idea. Most of them refused to accept that the smoke produced by their factories was damaging people's health.

When Titus Salt realised the council was unwilling to take action, he decided to move from Bradford. In 1850, Salt announced his plans to build a new industrial community called Saltaire at a nearby beauty spot on the banks of the River Aire. Saltaire, which was three miles from Bradford, took twenty years to build. At the centre of the village was Salt's textile mill. The mill was the largest and most modern in Europe. Noise in the factory was reduced by placing underground much of the shafting which drove the machinery. Large flues removed the dust and dirt from the factory floor. To ensure that the neighbourhood did not suffer from polluted air, the mill chimney was fitted with Rodda Smoke Burners.

Sam Kydd wrote in The Reynolds newspaper: "The site chosen for Saltaire is, in many ways, desirable. The scenery in the immediate neighbourhood is romantic, rural and beautiful. A better looking body of factory 'hands' than those in Saltaire I have not seen. They are far above the average of their class in Lancashire, and are considerably above the majority in Yorkshire."

At first Salt's 3,500 workers travelled to Saltaire from Bradford. However, during the next few years, 850 houses were built for his workers. Saltaire also had its own park, church, school, hospital, library and a whole range of different shops. The houses in Saltaire were far superior to those available in Bradford and other industrial towns. Fresh water was piped into each home from Saltaire's own 500,000 gallon reservoir. Gas was also laid on to provide lighting and heating. Unlike the people of Bradford, every family in Saltaire had its own outside lavatory. To encourage people to keep themselves clean, Salt also arranged for public baths and wash-houses to be built in Saltaire.

Titus Salt was also active in politics. Salt supported adult suffrage and did not believe that the 1832 Reform Act went far enough. In 1835 he was a founder of the Bradford Reform Association and publicly supported the Chartists. Disturbed by the growth of the Physical Force Chartists, Salt helped establish the United Reform Society, an attempt to unite middle and working class reformers.

Titus Salt was a severe critic of the 1834 Poor Law. He also supported the move to reduce working hours and was the first employer in the Bradford area to introduce the ten hour day. However, Salt held conservative views on some issues. He refused permission for his workers to join trade unions and disagreed with those like Richard Oastler and John Fielden who wanted Parliament to pass legislation on child labour. Salt employed young children in his factories and were totally opposed to the 1833 Factory Act that attempted to prevent children under the age of nine working in textile mills.

Salt gave his support to the Radical candidate in Bradford's parliamentary elections. However, at the request of the local Chamber of Commerce, Salt became a candidate in the 1859 General Election. Salt was elected but after two years in the House of Commons he resigned because of ill-health.

Titus Salt died on 29th December, 1876. Although he had been an extremely rich man, his family was horrified that his fortune was gone. It has been estimated that during his life he had given away over £500,000 to good causes. On his death The Bradford Observer commented: "Titus was perhaps the greatest captain of industry in England not only because he gathered thousands under him but also because, according to the light that was in him, he tried to care for all those thousands. We do not say that he succeeded in realising all his views or that it is possible to harmonise at present all relations between capital and labour. Upright in business, admirable in his private relations he came without seeking the honour to be admittedly the best representative of the employer class in this part of the country if not the whole kingdom."

Source: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRsalt.htm




Titus Salt, a private businessman, showed compassion for his fellow man by trying to get the council to enact clean water policies, yet the council, a public institution supposedly their to look after the people, did nothing.  This goes counter to the typical impression that 'big business' doesn't care about people and the government does: this view is wrong.  People care about people whether they are self-employed or not, organisations and institutions do not.  This is probably why Christ, Buddha etc did not leave institutions behind them, but taught and spoke to individual people one a one to one basis: thi si where compassion and human love truely lay.



Check out some of the other entries from the 'Men of Yore' series:
Stephen the III of Moldavia
George Petrovich (Black George)
Vlad II, Prince of Wallachia
Skanderbeg
King Alfred, the Great
John MacDouall Stuart
Robert Owen
Richard Trevithick
Wyatt Earp
William 'Wild Bill' Cody
Andrew Carnegie
Duke of Viseu (Henry the Navigator)
Meriwether Lewis
Arthur Schopenhauer
Theodore Roosevelt
Rudolph Diesel
John Snow
Ludwig van Beethoven
Henry Ford
George Custer


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