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Edmund Cartwright
Nottingham-born, Edmund Cartwright invented what he called the power loom, a machine that would improve the speed and quality of weaving. In 1787 Cartwright opened a weaving mill in Doncaster and two years later
began using steam engines produced by James Watt and Matthew Boulton, to drive his looms.
BBC Education: Edmund Cartwright
Richard Cawley
Richard was a Royal dress designer & TV cook - he was born and raised in Donny. His Dad was the head of the local Water Board and Richard attended Doncaster School of Art. The family lived on Thorne Rd just up from Christ Church.
Thomas Crapper
Maybe not the inventor of the flush toilet but probably the most successful developers of the concept came from Hatfield.One of his WCs was installed at the Angel Hotel in Doncaster, and when Queen
Victoria came to town, she made use of it. This royal flush made Crapper
even more famous, though it put the hotel in a quandary; numerous hostelries
advertised that "Queen Victoria Slept Here," but a sign along the same lines
capitalizing on Her Highness brief visit to the Angel seemed out of the
question. And so it remained Victoria's original secret.
Crappers Quarterly
Edmund Denison
Redmund brought the railway to Doncaster and was a clockmaker (designed the movement for Big Ben), astronomer, lawyer and a one time Mayor of Doncaster. Theres a civic plaque on the house where he used to live in Doncaster; Denison House on South Parade.
The Flying Scotsman
Doncaster's most famous engine, made the Flying Scotsman one of the most renowned steam engines in the world. Built at Doncasters works in 1923, it went on to do the first London to Edinburgh run and be the first locomotive to travel at more than 100mph.
The Official Flying Scotsman Web Site
Graham Kirkham
Probably one of the richest local businessmen and entrepreneurs at the head of the Carcroft-based DFS and big-spending conservative supporter.
Benjamin Huntsman
In 1725 Benjamin moved to Doncaster and started his first clock-making business. He was known as the "wise man" in town and was relied
upon to fix almost anything. As time passed, the nearby towns, mainly Sheffield, started to show interest
in the cast-steel. Huntsman hadn't patented his product, a fact that enticed
the locals to attempt to learn the process. Since Huntsman had kept
everything secret, it was harder than some of the other metallurgists
thought it would be to learn the technique. During one winter night, an iron
founder by the name of Walker, pretending to be a starving beggar with no
place to sleep, asked if he could sleep by Huntsman's fire. Huntsman agreed
and when Walker was supposed to be sleeping, he observed the
cast-steel-making process. After this event, cast-steel production began to
spring up all over Sheffield.
The Mallard
The Mallard was built at the Doncaster plant and holds the world speed record for a steam engine of 126mph. When the record was achieved the engine crew were two Doncaster men. Joe Duddington (driver) and Tommy Bray (fireman).
Lord George Porter
George Porter came from Stainforth and went to Leeds University to study physics whereupon he developed a groundbreaking career in physics and specifically in dye's and photosynthesis. He was knighted in 1972 and also won 1967 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry for (with Ronald George Wreford Norrish) their studies of extremely fast chemical reactions, effected by disturbing the equlibrium by means of very short pulses of energy.
If you think we've missed someone please tell us at famouspeople@donny.co.uk. All contributors will be credited.
