Howard Grubb | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1844-07-28)28 July 1844 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 16 September 1931(1931-09-16) (aged 87) |
| Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin |
| Notable work | Reflector sight |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6 |
| Parent | Thomas Grubb (father) |
| Awards |
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| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Optical engineering |
| Employer | Grubb Telescope Company |
| Significant advance | Sight Periscope |
Sir Howard GrubbFRS FRAS (28 July 1844 – 16 September 1931) was an Irishoptical engineer. He was head of a family firm that made largeoptical telescopes, telescope drive controls, and other optical instruments. He is also noted for his work to perfect theperiscope and invent thereflector sight.[1]
Howard Grubb was one of eight children ofThomas Grubb, founder of theGrubb Telescope Company, and his wife, Sarah. Howard developed an early interest inoptics. He began his studies inTrinity College Dublin in 1863 but did not complete his degree.[2] After training to be a civil engineer, Howard joined his father's firm in 1864 and gained the reputation of being a first class producer of telescopes. In 1871, he married Mary Walker, with whom he had six children.[citation needed]
Grubb was elected afellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1870 and afellow of the Royal Society in 1883. In 1876, he was awarded an honorary Masters in Engineering by Trinity College Dublin.[3] The asteroid1058 Grubba is named after him.
In 1887, he wasknighted byLord Lieutenant at Dublin castle. Sir Howard was a longtime member of theRoyal Dublin Society, serving as Honorary Secretary from 1889 to 1893, and as vice-president from 1893 to 1922. In 1912, he was awarded the medal of the Society, only the third person to receive it.[4] Sir Howard Grubb died in 1931.
Under Howard Grubb, the Grubb Telescope Company gained an even greater reputation for qualityoptical instruments. Grubb was also known for building accurate electrically drivenclock drives forequatorial mounted telescopes. Some of the telescopes produced by Howard Grubb include the 27-inch refractor for theVienna Observatory (1878), the 10-inch refractor atArmagh Observatory (1882), the 28-inch refractor at theRoyal Observatory, Greenwich – the UK's largest refractor (1893), and the 10-inch refractor atCoats Observatory, Paisley (1898). In 1887, Grubb's firm built seven normalastrographs for theCarte du Ciel international photographic star catalogue project, 13-inchrefracting telescopes all designed to produce uniform photographic plates.
In 1900, Grubb invented thereflector or "reflex" sight,[5][6] a non-magnifying opticalsight that uses acollimator to allow the viewer looking through the sight to see an illuminated image of areticle or other pattern in front of them that stays in alignment with the device the sight is attached to (parallax free). This type of sight has come to be used on all kinds of weapons from smallfirearms tofighter aircraft. It is also at the heart of all modernhead-up displays.
During theFirst World War, the Grubb factory was in demand for the production of telescopic gun-sights and during this time he was credited with perfecting aperiscope design forRoyal Navysubmarines.[citation needed]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)| International | |
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