Sir James Martin

CBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng
Martin in 1974
Born(1893-09-11)11 September 1893
Crossgar, County Down, Northern Ireland
Died5 January 1981(1981-01-05) (aged 87)
Southlands Manor, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
Resting placeSt. Mary the Virgin Churchyard, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England
NationalityBritish Irish
OccupationEngineer
Known forInventor of the ejector seat and founder of the Martin-Baker aircraft company
SpouseMuriel Haines
Children4
ParentThomas Martin & Sarah Coulter

Sir James Martin CBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng (11 September 1893 – 5 January 1981) was an Irish engineer who together with Captain Valentine Baker founded the Martin-Baker aircraft company which is now a leading producer of aircraft ejection seats.

Life

James Martin was born 11 September 1893 in the townland of Killinchy-in-the-Woods, known locally as Killinchy Woods (birthplace on what is now called Glasswater Road), Crossgar, County Down in Ireland. He established his own engineering firm in 1929.[1]

In 1934, he and Valentine Baker formed Martin-Baker; Captain Baker took the test pilot role. It was in a crash of their third design, the MB 3, that Baker was killed.

In 1964 Martin was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club.[2][failed verification]

In 2004, Martin was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.[3]

Northern Bank

Plaque commemorating Sir James Martin in his home town of Crossgar

Martin's contribution to engineering was commemorated by the Northern Bank in its Inventor series of banknotes, which featured his portrait on the bank's £100 note. The note was discontinued in 2013 when the bank reissued its banknotes under the new Danske Bank brand.[4]

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Sir James Martin – Photograph and short history". Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  2. ^ "The Medals & Awards of the Royal Aero Club". The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  3. ^ Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. ISBN 978-1-57864-397-4.
  4. ^ "Current Banknotes: Danske Bank". The Association of Commercial Banknote Issuers. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2013.

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