Smithsonian Institution

(1771–1831). British engineer Henry Maudslay invented the metal lathe—a machine that cuts metal into a cylindrical shape—and other devices (see tools). Several of the outstanding British engineers of the Victorian Age, notably James Nasmyth and Joseph Whitworth, learned their profession in Maudslay’s shop.

Maudslay was born on August 22, 1771, in Woolwich, Kent, England. He was apprenticed to Joseph Bramah, who manufactured locks. Maudslay soon became Bramah’s foreman but eventually left to go into business…

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