John Bethell (c. 1804–1867) was a British solicitor and inventor, who patented the 'Bethell process' for preserving timber using
creosote
Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood, or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics.
Some creosote types w ...
under pressure, giving a life of 25 years or more.
It was particularly used for
railway sleepers
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...
and
telegraph poles.
Life
Bethel was born in
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
in c. 1804 of Dr Richard Bethell and his wife Jane Baverstock. His elder brother was
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury, (30 June 1800 – 20 July 1873) was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain between 1861 and 1865. He was knighted in 1852 and raised to the peer ...
. On 28 February 1833 he married Louise Sarah Abraham, and they had seven children.
He was a member of the
Institution of Civil Engineers
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...
[ and the ]Bath and County Club
The Bath and County Club is a private members' club in Queen's Parade in Bath, Somerset, England. Originally established as a gentlemen's club in 1858, it is open to all, having admitted women as full members since 1996.
History
The club was e ...
.[Bath and County Club Records, The Guildhall, Bath, Somerset]
He died 22 February 1867 in London.[
]
Patents
from the 1868 Institution of Civil Engineers obituary reproduced in Grace's Guide.[
* 1834 manufacture of screws and rivets
* 1852 apparatus for digging and cultivating land.
* 1852 improvements in steam engines.
* 1838 process of preserving timber from decay and from the attacks of insects and worn, by impregnating it with creosote oil.
* 1840 lamp oils
* 1848 drying grain
* 1848 preserving meat
* 1848 preserving milk or wine with carbon dioxide
* 1853 retting flax fibre
* 1854 making coke from non-coking coal
* 1855 drying meat, vegetables and fruit
* 1857 steam plough
* 1858 separating iron pyrites from coal
* 1861 use of steatite in railway greases
* 1864 injecting with hydrocarbon vapour
]
References
British inventors
1800s births
1867 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
{{UK-engineer-stub