| Administrative History | Frederick William Lanchester, one of the great pioneers of aeronautics and founder of the famous Lanchester Motor Company, was a major contributor to the theory and practice of automobile engineering and aeronautical engineering. He published widely, mainly in engineering and aeronautical journals, but his field of interest also extended to radio, acoustics, relativity, music and poetry. His paper 'Discontinuities in the Normal Field of Vision', published in the 'Journal of Anatomy' (1945) was based on research conducted in 1933 at the University of Birmingham when Lockhart was Professor of Anatomy there. The two men collaborated on this and other research, and maintained a close friendship throughout their lives.
Lanchester was affectionately known by Lockhart as 'Dr Fred.' He nominated him for an honorary LL.D. from the University of Aberdeen, but Lanchester died in March 1946, before the award was conferred.
Whilst in Birmingham, Lockhart also became acquainted with 'Dr Fred's' brothers, Henry, Frank and George. Henry Jones Lanchester (1863 - 1953), architect, the eldest of the Lanchester brothers, was involved with Lockhart in the design and building of the Birminigham's new Medical School. |