H. A. Humphrey

Herbert Alfred Humphrey MInstCE MIMechE MIEE FCGI (2 December 1868 – 9 March 1951) was a British engineer, inventor of the Humphrey pump.[1][2][3]

H. A. Humphrey photograph in The Central, vol. VI, 1909
Caricature of Humphrey by Wallace Hester published 1905 in the Men of the Day series in Vanity Fair.

Early life and education

Humphrey was born in Gospel Oak, London, to Louisa (née Frost, 1831–1911) and John Charles Humphrey (1833–1903). His mother had been a dressmaker before marriage, and his father was a clerk at the London Metropolitan Board of Works and later London County Council. Edith Humphrey, thought to be the first British woman to obtain a doctorate in chemistry, was his younger sister.[4] He trained at the Finsbury Technical College and the Central Institution (which later became the City and Guilds College).

Invention of the Humphrey pump

He patented the Humphrey pump in 1906. During World War I he worked as a chemical engineer, working on improving the production of explosives.

He was awarded the Melchett Medal in 1939 by the Institute of Fuel. In 1945, he retired to Hermanus, Cape Province, Union of South Africa. He died there in 1951.

Personal life

He was married to Mary Elizabeth Horniblow. They had three sons and two daughters, including the bacteriologist John H. Humphrey.

A collection of Humphrey's papers is held in the archives of Imperial College London.[2]

  • "Herbert Alfred Humphrey". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  • Slade, R. E.; Barrett, Anne (23 September 2004). "Humphrey, Herbert Alfred (1868–1951), mechanical and chemical engineer". In Barrett, Anne (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34052. Retrieved 25 March 2021.

References
  1. ‘HUMPHREY, Herbert Alfred’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 10 Aug 2014
  2. Pingree, Jeanne; Smith, Denis (1971). List of the papers of H. A. Humphrey in the Imperial College Archives (PDF). Imperial College London.
  3. "Obituary: Mr. H. A. Humphrey, Inventor of Humphrey Gas Pump". The Times. No. 51948. 13 March 1951. p. 8.
  4. "Humphrey, Edith Ellen (1875–1978), chemist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382359. Retrieved 12 August 2023.


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