Sir Henry Royce | |
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Born | Frederick Henry Royce 27 March 1863 Alwalton, Huntingdonshire, England |
Died | 22 April 1933 West Wittering, Sussex, England | (aged 70)
Occupation | Engineer |
Known for | Co-founder of the Rolls-Royce |
Spouse |
Minnie Punt (m. 1893–1912) |
Engineering career | |
Projects | Rolls-Royce |
Sir Frederick Henry Royce, 1st Baronet, OBE (27 March 1863 – 22 April 1933) was an English engineer famous for his designs of car and aeroplane engines with a reputation for reliability and longevity. With Charles Rolls (1877–1910) and Claude Johnson (1864–1926), he founded Rolls-Royce.
Rolls-Royce initially focused on large 40–50 horsepower motor cars, the Silver Ghost and its successors. Royce produced his first aero engine shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, and aircraft engines became Rolls-Royce's principal product.
Royce's health broke down in 1911, and he was persuaded to leave his factory in the Midlands at Derby and, taking a team of designers, move to the south of England spending winters in the south of France. He died at his home in Sussex in the spring of 1933.