Born Coventry, England, 1 June 1907. Entered Leamington
College on a scholarship at age eleven. Graduated Royal
Air Force College as pilot officer 1928. Advanced degree
Cambridge University. Evidenced an early interest in
aircraft propulsion and received his first patent on a
jet engine in 1930. By 1936 his designs were ready for
prototype production and he patented the concept for the
by pass jet engine.
Exigencies of World War II accelerated his efforts and the
first flight of his engine in an experiment Gloster aircraft
took place on May 15, 1941. Nearly forty years after man first
ventured aloft, he had dramatically altered the course of
aircraft and powerplant design. Honored throughout the
world as the man who gave aviation the jet engine.
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