Tuesday 4 November 2014

Starting as a bicycle mechanic, he became first Irishman to to fly & build plane; also pioneered 4 wheel drive in formula 1 race


Henry George "Harry" Ferguson (4 November 1884 – 25 October 1960) was a British engineer and inventor who is noted for his role in the development of the modern agricultural tractor, for becoming the first Irishman to build and fly his own aeroplane, and for developing the first four-wheel drive Formula One car, the Ferguson P99. Today his name lives on in the name of the Massey Ferguson company. Harry Ferguson became the first Irishman to fly and the first citizen of the United Kingdom to build and fly his own aeroplane. Ferguson and his team of longtime colleagues, including Willie Sands and Archie Greer, soon developed a hydraulic version, which was patented in 1926.  Ferguson's research division went on to develop various cars and tractors, including the first Formula One four-wheel-drive car. Feguson's four wheel drive system, utilising an open centre differential gear, were used in Formula 1 race cars and in the Range Rover and later in constant four-wheel-drive Land Rovers. Read more...