Alex Moulton
| Alex Moulton | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Alexander Eric Moulton 9 April 1920 Stratford-upon-Avon, England, UK |
| Died |
9 December 2012 (aged 92) Royal United Hospital, Bath, Somerset |
| Education |
Marlborough College King's College, Cambridge |
|
Engineering career | |
| Projects | Moulton Bicycle |
| Awards |
Order of the British Empire Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering |
Alexander Eric ("Alex") Moulton CBE, FREng (9 April 1920 – 9 December 2012) was an English engineer and inventor, specialising in suspension design.[1][2][3][4][5]
Biography
Moulton was educated at Marlborough College and King's College, Cambridge.[6] He was the great-grandson of the rubber pioneer Stephen Moulton, the founder of the family business George Spencer Moulton & Co. Ltd., in which he worked after World War II, specialising in rubber suspension systems for vehicles. His father, John Coney Moulton, was a naturalist working in the Far East.
During the war he had worked on engine design at the Bristol Aeroplane Company.[6] In the late 1950s, after the acquisition of the family business by the Avon Rubber Company, Moulton started up a new company, Moulton Developments Limited, to design the suspension system for British Motor Corporation's new small car, the Mini, that was being designed by his friend Sir Alec Issigonis.[7] The combination of conical rubber springs and small wheels was one of the many innovative developments that allowed Issigonis to achieve the Mini's small overall size. This was later refined into the hydrolastic and hydragas suspension systems used on later British Leyland cars such as the Austin Maxi, Austin Allegro, Leyland Princess and Rover Metro, and most recently on the MGF.
Moulton also designed the Moulton Bicycle, again using rubber suspension and small wheels. Moulton Bicycle Company[8] is based in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England.
Awards and honours
In 1976, Moulton was awarded the CBE for services to industry. Other honours include:
- The Diploma di Medaglia d'Oro, Milan (1964)
- Queen's Award for Technical Innovation (1967)
- Honorary Doctorates from the Royal College of Art (1967), University of Bath (1971) and Cranfield University (1994)
- Elected to the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry (1968), Master of the Faculty from 1981 to 1983
- Fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering (1980)
- Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 1985 to 1988.
- He has an entry in the Golden Book of Cycling, which he signed when he was 71.
- In 1997 he was awarded the Sir Misha Black award and was added to the College of Medallists [9]
Dr Moulton died on 9 December 2012 at The Royal United Hospital, Bath, Somerset. His funeral which was attended by 'Moultoneers' from all over the world, took place at Holy Trinity Church Bradford-on-Avon on 19 December after which he was interred in the family grave at Christ Church, Bradford-on-Avon beside his Great Grandfather, Stephen Moulton who founded the Moulton dynasty in the Wiltshire town in 1848.
References
- ↑ Weber, Bruce (2012-12-18). "Alex Moulton, Creator of Quirky Small-Wheeled Bike, Dies at 92, New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
- ↑ Nahum, Andrew (2012-12-10). "Alex Moulton obituary | Technology | The Guardian". London. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
- ↑ "Alex Moulton Obituary, The Daily Telegraph". London. 2012-12-10. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
- ↑ "Dr Alex Moulton CBE 1920 - 2012". Retrieved 2012-12-22.
- ↑ "Dr Alex Moulton Dies". BikeRadar. 2012-12-10. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- 1 2 Parnell, Brid-Aine (2012-12-11). "Dr Alex Moulton: 'An inspiration for generations of engineers'". The Register. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ↑ "ALEX MOULTON". MiniWorld. Retrieved March 8, 2006.
- ↑ "MOULTON Bicycle Company". Retrieved 2012-12-22.
- ↑ "The Sir Misha Black Medal | Misha Black Awards". mishablackawards.org.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
External links
- Alex Moulton's Memoir
- Loughborough University Honorary Degree Oration presenting Dr. Moulton the degree of Doctor of Technology.