John Farey Jr.

John Farey Jr.
Daguerreotype by Henry Gengembre, 1840s.
Born20 March 1791
Lambeth, London, England
Died17 July 1851 (1851-07-18) (aged 60)
NationalityEnglish
OccupationEngineer
Parent(s)John Farey Sr., Sophia Hubert
Engineering career
ProjectsA Treatise on the Steam Engine, 1827

John Farey Jr. (20 March 1791 – 17 July 1851) was an English mechanical engineering, consulting engineer and patent agent, known for his pioneering contributions in the field of mechanical engineering.[1]

As consulting engineer Farey worked for many well-known inventors of the later Industrial Revolution, and was a witness to a number of parliamentary enquiries, inquests and court cases, and on occasion acted as an arbitrator. He was polymathic in his interests and contributed text and drawings to a number of periodicals and encyclopaedias.

Farey is also remembered as the first English inventor of the ellipsograph, an instrument used by draughtsmen to inscribe ellipses.

  1. ^ Alec Skempton. "Farey, Jr., John," in: A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: 1500–1830. 2002. p. 223-224