births
Sir Charles Algernon Parsons was an Anglo-Irish mechanical engineer and inventor who designed the modern steam turbine in 1884. His invention revolutionised marine propulsion, and he was also the founder of C. A. Parsons and Company. He worked as an engineer on dynamo and turbine design, and power generation, with great influence in the naval and electrical engineering fields. He also helped develop optical equipment for searchlights and telescopes. Parsons received the Franklin Medal in 1920, the Faraday Medal in 1923, and the Copley Medal in 1928 for his work, as well as the Engineering Heritage Awards posthumously in 1995.
C. A. Parsons and Company was a British engineering firm which was once one of the largest employers on Tyneside. The company became Reyrolle Parsons in 1968, merged with Clarke Chapman to form Northern Engineering Industries in 1977, and became part of Rolls-Royce in 1989. Today the company is part of Siemens Energy.