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{{Short description|British civil and consulting engineer}}
'''Sir Henry Charles Husband''' (30 October 1908 – 7 October 1983), often known as '''H. C. Husband''', was a leading British [[civil engineer|civil]] and consulting [[engineer]] from [[Sheffield]], England, who designed [[bridge]]s and other major civil engineering works. He is particularly known for his work on the [[Jodrell Bank Observatory|Jodrell Bank]] [[radio telescope]]s; the [[Lovell Telescope|first of these]] was the largest fully-steerable radio telescope in the world on its completion in 1957.
{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
'''Sir Henry Charles Husband''' (30 October 1908 – 7 October 1983), often known as '''H. C. Husband''', was a leading British [[civil engineer|civil]] and consulting engineer from [[Sheffield]], England, who designed bridges and other major civil engineering works. He is particularly known for his work on the [[Jodrell Bank Observatory|Jodrell Bank]] [[radio telescope]]s; the [[Lovell Telescope|first of these]] was the largest fully steerable radio telescope in the world on its completion in 1957. Other projects he was involved in designing include the [[Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station]]'s aerials, one of the earliest [[cobalt therapy|telecobalt radiotherapy unit]]s, Sri Lanka's tallest building, and the rebuilding of [[Robert Stephenson]]'s [[Britannia Bridge]] after a fire. He won the [[Royal Society]]'s [[Royal Medal]] and the [[Wilhelm Exner Medal]].


== Early life and education ==
==Early life and education==
[[File:Lovell Telescope 5.jpg|thumb|right|Lovell radio telescope at Jodrell Bank]]
Husband was born in [[Sheffield]] in 1908 to Ellen Walton, née Harby, and her husband, Joseph (1871–1961), a civil engineer who had founded Sheffield Technical School's civil engineering department and subsequently served as the [[University of Sheffield]]'s initial professor in the discipline.<ref name=ODNB /> Charles Husband attended the city's [[King Edward VII School (Sheffield)|King Edward VII School]] and gained an engineering degree at Sheffield University in 1929.<ref name=ODNB /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldedwardians.org.uk/newsletters/97.OENewsletter.html |title=The Edwardian 1997 |publisher=Oldedwardians.org.uk |date= |accessdate=2010-04-08}}</ref>
Husband was born in [[Sheffield]] in 1908 to Ellen Walton Husband, née Harby, and her husband, Joseph (1871–1961), a civil engineer who had founded Sheffield Technical School's civil engineering department and subsequently served as the [[University of Sheffield]]'s initial professor in the discipline.<ref name=ODNB /> Charles Husband attended the city's [[King Edward VII School (Sheffield)|King Edward VII School]] and gained an engineering degree at Sheffield University in 1929.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldedwardians.org.uk/newsletters/97.OENewsletter.html |title=The Edwardian 1997 |publisher=Old Edwardians' Association |date=18 July 1997 |accessdate=19 October 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Jodrell Bank (4736511224).jpg|thumb|right|Radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory in 2010]]


==Career==
==Career==
His first job was with Barnsley Water Board. He then worked under the civil engineer [[Owen Williams (engineer)|Sir Owen Williams]] in 1931–33, before spending three years on various major English and Scottish residential projects with the First National Housing Trust.<ref name=ODNB /> In 1936, with Joseph Husband and Antony Clark, he founded the consulting engineering firm of Husband and Clark (later Husband & Co.) in Sheffield. During the Second World War, he first worked in the [[Ministry of Labour (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Labour and National Service]] and later on aircraft manufacture for the [[Ministry of Works (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Works]].<ref name=ODNB>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101031269/ |title=Charles Husband : Oxford Biography Index entry (subscription required) |publisher=Oxforddnb.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-08}}</ref> After the war, Husband headed the engineering consultancy, successfully expanding their business, with clients in the immediate post-war years including the [[British Iron and Steel Research Association]], [[National Coal Board]] and the Production Engineering Research Association.<ref name=ODNB />
His first job was with Barnsley Water Board.<ref name=ODNB /> He then worked under the civil engineer [[Owen Williams (engineer)|Sir Owen Williams]] in 1931–33, before spending three years on various major English and Scottish residential projects with the First National Housing Trust.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho /> In 1936, with Joseph Husband and Antony Clark, he founded the consulting engineering firm of Husband and Clark (later Husband & Co.) in Sheffield. During the Second World War, he first worked in the [[Ministry of Labour (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Labour and National Service]] and later on aircraft manufacture for the [[Ministry of Works (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Works]].<ref name=ODNB>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101031269/ |title=Husband, Sir (Henry) Charles (1908–1983) |author=Robert Sharp |work=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]] |publisher=Oxford University Press |year= 2004 |accessdate=17 October 2016 |url-access=registration }}</ref><ref name=WhoWasWho /> After the war, Husband headed the engineering consultancy, successfully expanding their business, with clients in the immediate post-war years including the [[British Iron and Steel Research Association]], [[National Coal Board]] and the Production Engineering Research Association.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho />


===Radio telescopes===
===Radio telescopes===
[[File:Jodrell bank construction 2.jpg|thumb|left|Construction of the 250-ft telescope]]
From 1949, Husband worked with [[Bernard Lovell]], the founder of the [[Jodrell Bank Observatory]] near [[Holmes Chapel]] in [[Cheshire]], on the design and construction of the observatory's first large steerable [[radio telescope]], the "250-ft telescope", now known as the [[Lovell Telescope]].<ref name=ODNB /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk/history/mk1.html |title=The History of Jodrell Bank &#124; Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics |publisher=Jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk |date=2008-09-26 |accessdate=2010-04-08}}</ref> The telescope posed such formidable engineering problems that the project had been declared impossible by other engineers.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=Excell_2006 /> Husband is reported to have considered, "It's not impossible, it's difficult, but about the same problem as throwing a swing bridge over the Thames at Westminster."<ref name=Excell_2006>{{cite journal |url=https://www.theengineer.co.uk/issues/january-2006-online/pioneer-of-radar-and-eminent-astronomer-sir-bernard-lovell/ |title=Pioneer of radar and eminent astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell |author=Jon Excell |date=1 January 2006 |journal=[[The Engineer (magazine)|The Engineer]] |accessdate=15 October 2016}}</ref> Construction began in 1952 and was completed in 1957, when the Lovell Telescope was the largest fully-steerable radio telescope in the world.<ref name=Lovell_telescope_listing>{{citation |url=https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1221685 |title=Sir Bernard Lovell Telescope, Jodrell Bank Laboratory |publisher=Historic England |accessdate=16 October 2016 }}</ref> Husband also helped to design the steerable radio aerials at the [[General Post Office|GPO]]'s [[Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station]] in [[Cornwall]], as well as radio telescopes in the UK and elsewhere.<ref name=ODNB />
Husband worked with [[Bernard Lovell]] the founder of the [[Jodrell Bank Observatory]] near [[Holmes Chapel]] in Cheshire on the design and construction of the observatory's first large steerable [[radio telescope]], the "250-ft telescope" (now known as the [[Lovell Telescope]]).<ref name=ODNB /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk/history/mk1.html |title=The 250ft Mk I Radio Telescope |author=Ian Morison |publisher=Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics |date=26 September 2008 |accessdate=19 October 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050240/http://www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk/history/mk1.html |archivedate=4 March 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> After attempting to adapt military [[radar]] equipment to detect [[cosmic ray]]s shortly after the Second World War, Lovell had realised that a much larger aerial would be required, and constructed a 66-metre diameter dish, limited by being static, before proposing the development of an even larger steerable telescope.<ref name=Excell_2006>{{cite journal |url=https://www.theengineer.co.uk/issues/january-2006-online/pioneer-of-radar-and-eminent-astronomer-sir-bernard-lovell/ |title=Pioneer of radar and eminent astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell |author=Jon Excell |date=1 January 2006 |journal=[[The Engineer (UK magazine)|The Engineer]] |accessdate=15 October 2016}}</ref> The idea posed such formidable engineering challenges that the project had been declared "impossible" by other engineers,<ref name=ODNB /><ref>Lovell 1968, p. 25</ref> but Husband is reported to have concluded at their first meeting in September 1949, "It should be easy—about the same problem as throwing a swing bridge over the Thames at Westminster."<ref name=Lovell_p28>Lovell 1968, p. 28</ref>


He began work on the project early the following year, creating the initial drawings in January 1950 and detailed plans just over a year later.<ref name=Lovell_p28 /><ref>{{cite journal |author=Henry Charles Husband |year=1958 |url= http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/iicep.1958.2278 |title=The Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope |journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |volume=9 |pages=65–86|doi=10.1680/iicep.1958.2278 |s2cid=4240814 }}</ref><ref>Robertson 1992, pp. 114–15, 138</ref> He and Lovell selected a dish diameter of 250&nbsp;feet (76&nbsp;metres).<ref>Robertson 1992, p. 115</ref> Construction began in 1952; despite Husband's optimism the project was beset with delays and escalating costs, caused by multiple changes to Lovell's specifications and the rising price of steel, among other factors.<ref name=Robertson_p139>Robertson 1992, p. 139</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://blogs.royalsociety.org/history-of-science/2015/11/16/jodrell-bank/ |title=The making of Jodrell Bank |author=Kat Harrington |publisher=The Royal Society |date=16 November 2015 |accessdate=17 October 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/aboutus/lovell/build.html |title=Construction of the Lovell Telescope |author=Ian Morison |publisher=Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics |date=9 December 2008 |accessdate=19 October 2016}}</ref> [[Wind tunnel|Wind-tunnel studies]] with a scale model played an important role in the final design.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=Robertson_p139 /> The telescope was eventually completed in 1957, when it was the largest fully steerable radio telescope in the world.<ref name=Lovell_telescope_listing>{{NHLE |num=1221685 |desc=Sir Bernard Lovell Telescope, Jodrell Bank Laboratory |accessdate=16 October 2016 }}</ref> It remains in service as of 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/aboutus/lovell/ |title=The Lovell Telescope |author=Ian Morison |publisher=Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics |date= 26 September 2008 |accessdate=19 October 2016}}</ref> According to Lovell, the project was completed using "a desk calculator and slide rule", which led to a "sturdy" construction with "quite a lot of redundancy in the steelwork" which Lovell later credited for the telescope's longevity.<ref name=Excell_2006 /> The structure is a rare example of a post-war [[Listed building|grade-I-listed structure]], denoting its "exceptional interest",<ref name=Lovell_telescope_listing /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/what-is-designation/listed-buildings/ |title=Listed Buildings |publisher=Historic England |accessdate=19 October 2016 }}</ref> and was voted Britain's top "unsung landmark" in a 2006 BBC poll.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5314172.stm |title=Aye to the telescope |author=Finlo Rohrer |date= 5 September 2006 |publisher=BBC |accessdate=19 October 2016 }}</ref>
[[File:Brittania Bridge Train crossing 3.JPG|thumb|[[Britannia Bridge]] after rebuilding]]

Husband also helped to design the steerable radio aerials at the [[General Post Office|GPO]]'s [[Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station]] in Cornwall, as well as radio telescopes in the UK and elsewhere.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho />


===Other projects===
===Other projects===
[[File:Britannia Bridge Train crossing 3.jpg|thumb|[[Britannia Bridge]] after rebuilding]]
Other innovative projects Husband & Co. undertook under Husband's leadership included designing a facility for testing jet engines at altitude in 1946.<ref name=ODNB /> In the 1950s, Husband assisted the [[radiologist]] [[Frank Ellis (radiologist)|Frank Ellis]] in designing one of the earliest [[cobalt therapy|telecobalt radiotherapy unit]]s, for [[external beam radiotherapy|radiation treatment]] of [[cancer]], which was installed at the [[Churchill Hospital]] in [[Oxford]]. Like the radio telescopes, the engineering problem involved moving a heavy weight, in this case the lead-shielded source, in three dimensions.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/feb/20/guardianobituaries.obituaries1 |title=Frank Ellis |author=[[Christopher Paine]] |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 February 2006 |accessdate=17 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dr-frank-ellis-6108271.html |title=Dr Frank Ellis |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=25 February 2006 |accessdate=17 October 2016}}</ref>
Other innovative projects Husband & Co. undertook under Husband's leadership included designing a facility for testing jet engines at altitude in 1946.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho /> In the 1950s, Husband assisted the [[radiologist]] [[Frank Ellis (radiologist)|Frank Ellis]] in designing one of the earliest [[cobalt therapy|telecobalt radiotherapy unit]]s, for [[external beam radiotherapy|radiation treatment]] of cancer, which was installed at the [[Churchill Hospital]] in [[Oxford]]. Like the radio telescopes, the engineering problem involved moving a heavy weight, in this case the lead-shielded source, in three dimensions.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/feb/20/guardianobituaries.obituaries1 |title=Frank Ellis |author=Christopher Paine |author-link=Christopher Paine |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 February 2006 |accessdate=17 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dr-frank-ellis-6108271.html |title=Dr Frank Ellis |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=25 February 2006 |accessdate=17 October 2016}}</ref>


He designed many road and rail bridges.<ref name=wilhelmexner_bio /> Husband was awarded the contract to rebuild the [[Britannia Bridge]] over the [[Menai Strait]] in Wales, after a 1970 fire. The original was an 1850 rail bridge by [[Robert Stephenson]], and Husband faced criticism for designing a double-tier bridge including an additional road deck, which he stated formed part of Stephenson's original concept.<ref name=ODNB /> The firm also designed the bridge used in the 1957 film, ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]''.<ref>Eagan 2009, p. 537</ref>
He designed many road and rail bridges.<ref name=WhoWasWho /><ref name=wilhelmexner_bio /> Husband was awarded the contract to rebuild the [[Britannia Bridge]] over the [[Menai Strait]] in Wales, after a 1970 fire. The original was an 1850 rail bridge by [[Robert Stephenson]], and Husband faced criticism for designing a double-tier bridge including an additional road deck, which he stated formed part of Stephenson's original concept.<ref name=ODNB /> The firm also designed the bridge used in the 1957 film, ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]''.<ref>Eagan 2009, p. 537</ref>


Outside the UK, Husband & Co. had an office in [[Colombo]] and undertook multiple projects in Sri Lanka.<ref name=ODNB /> Husband was the architect of the Ceylon Insurance Building in [[Colombo]], Sri Lanka (later [[Ceylinco Consolidated|Ceylinco]] House), a 16-storey building equipped with a [[helipad|helicopter landing pad]] on its roof. On completion in 1960, it was the tallest structure in Sri Lanka, at nearly 55&nbsp;metres.<ref name=wilhelmexner_bio>{{cite web |url=http://www.wilhelmexner.org/preistraeger_083.html |title=Sir Henry Charles Husband |publisher=Österreichischer Gewerbeverein |accessdate=17 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/106616/ceylinco-house-colombo-sri-lanka |title=Ceylinco House |publisher=[[Emporis]] |accessdate=17 October 2016}}</ref>
Outside the UK, Husband & Co. had an office in [[Colombo]] and undertook multiple projects in Sri Lanka.<ref name=ODNB /> Husband was the architect of the Ceylon Insurance Building in [[Colombo]], Sri Lanka (later [[Ceylinco Consolidated|Ceylinco]] House), a 16-storey building equipped with a [[helipad|helicopter landing pad]] on its roof. On completion in 1960, it was the tallest structure in Sri Lanka, at nearly 55&nbsp;metres.<ref name=wilhelmexner_bio>{{cite web |url=http://www.wilhelmexner.org/preistraeger_083.html |title=Sir Henry Charles Husband |publisher=Österreichischer Gewerbeverein |accessdate=17 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104221150/http://www.wilhelmexner.org/preistraeger_083.html |archive-date=4 January 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/106616/ceylinco-house-colombo-sri-lanka |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018232805/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/106616/ceylinco-house-colombo-sri-lanka |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 October 2016 |title=Ceylinco House |publisher=[[Emporis]] |accessdate=17 October 2016}}</ref>


==Awards, honours and societies==
==Awards, honours and societies==
Husband was recognised with the [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] in 1964.<ref name=ODNB /> He won the [[Royal Medal]] of the [[Royal Society]] in 1965 for "his distinguished work in many aspects of engineering, particularly for his design studies of large structures such as those exemplified in the radio telescope at Jodrell Bank and Goonhilly Downs"; he was the medal's first recipient in the applied sciences.<ref name=ODNB /><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Society's Notes |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/530822 |year=1966 |journal=[[Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London]] |volume=21 |pages=80–85 |registration=yes |via=[[JSTOR]]}}</ref> He was also awarded the [[Wilhelm Exner Medal]] of the Österreichischer Gewerbeverein (1966),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wilhelmexner.org/liste.html |title=Preisträger |publisher=Österreichischer Gewerbeverein |accessdate=16 October 2016 }}</ref> the [[Gold Medal of the Institution of Structural Engineers]] (1973),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.istructe.org/downloads/events/conferences-and-lectures/gold-medal/gold-medal-address-past-winners|title= IStructE Gold Medallists 1922-2008|publisher= Institution of Structural Engineers|accessdate= 3 September 2015}}</ref> and the Benjamin Baker gold medal (1959) and James Watt medal (1976) of the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]].<ref name=ODNB /> He received honorary degrees from the universities of [[University of Manchester|Manchester]] (1964) and Sheffield (1967).<ref name=ODNB /> He was knighted in 1975.<ref name=ODNB />
Husband was recognised with the [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] in 1964.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho /> He won the [[Royal Medal]] of the [[Royal Society]] in 1965 for "his distinguished work in many aspects of engineering, particularly for his design studies of large structures such as those exemplified in the radio telescope at Jodrell Bank and Goonhilly Downs";<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Society's Notes |jstor=530822 |year=1966 |journal=[[Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London]] |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=80–85 |doi=10.1098/rsnr.1966.0010 |s2cid=202575131 }}</ref> he was the medal's first recipient in the applied sciences.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho /> He was also awarded the [[Wilhelm Exner Medal]] of the Österreichischer Gewerbeverein (1966),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wilhelmexner.org/liste.html |title=Preisträger |publisher=Österreichischer Gewerbeverein |accessdate=16 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117014640/http://www.wilhelmexner.org/liste.html |archive-date=17 November 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the [[Gold Medal of the Institution of Structural Engineers]] (1973),<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.istructe.org/downloads/events/conferences-and-lectures/gold-medal/gold-medal-address-past-winners|title= IStructE Gold Medallists 1922–2008|publisher= Institution of Structural Engineers|accessdate= 3 September 2015}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and the Benjamin Baker Gold Medal (1959) and James Watt medal (1976) of the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]].<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho /> He received honorary degrees from the universities of [[University of Manchester|Manchester]] (1964) and Sheffield (1967). He was knighted in 1975.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho />


He served as president of the [[Institution of Structural Engineers]] (1964–65),<ref name=ODNB /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.istructe.org/about-us/organisation-structure/president/past-presidents |title=Past presidents |publisher=[[Institution of Structural Engineers]] |accessdate=16 October 2016 }}</ref> chaired the [[Association of Consulting Engineers]] (1967) and served on the board of the [[Council of Engineering Institutions]] (1979 onwards).<ref name=ODNB /> He also chaired Sheffield University's engineering and metallurgy advisory committee and served on [[University of Bradford|Bradford Institute of Technology]]'s civil engineering advisory board.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=wilhelmexner_bio /> In addition to the Institution of Structural Engineers, he was an elected fellow of the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]], [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] and the [[Institution of Mechanical Engineers]], and was among the founding members of the [[Fellowship of Engineering]].<ref name=ODNB />
He served as president of the [[Institution of Structural Engineers]] (1964–65),<ref name=ODNB /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.istructe.org/about-us/organisation-structure/president/past-presidents |title=Past presidents |publisher=[[Institution of Structural Engineers]] |accessdate=16 October 2016 |archive-date=29 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129140356/https://www.istructe.org/about-us/organisation-structure/president/past-presidents |url-status=dead }}</ref> chaired the [[Association of Consulting Engineers]] (1967) and served on the board of the [[Council of Engineering Institutions]] from 1979 until his death.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho /> He also chaired Sheffield University's engineering and metallurgy advisory committee (1962–65) and served on [[University of Bradford|Bradford Institute of Technology]]'s civil engineering advisory board (1962–68).<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho /><ref name=wilhelmexner_bio /> In addition to the Institution of Structural Engineers, he was an elected fellow of the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]], [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] and the [[Institution of Mechanical Engineers]], and was among the founding members of the [[Fellowship of Engineering]].<ref name=ODNB />


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
In 1932, Husband married Eileen Margaret Nowill (born 1906/7), an architect's daughter who was also from Sheffield. The couple had four children, with the elder of his two sons, Richard Husband, also becoming a civil engineer. Husband died in 1983 at [[Nether Padley]], just outside Sheffield in [[Derbyshire]].<ref name=ODNB />
In 1932, Husband married Eileen Margaret Nowill (1906-2000), an architect's daughter who was also from Sheffield. The couple had four children, with the elder of their two sons, Richard Husband, also becoming a civil engineer.<ref name=ODNB /><ref name=WhoWasWho /> He retired in 1982.<ref name=WhoWasWho>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U165602 |title=Husband, Sir (Henry) Charles |date=April 2014 |work=[[Who Was Who]] |edition=online |publisher=Oxford University Press/A & C Black }}</ref> Husband died in 1983 at [[Nether Padley]], just outside Sheffield in [[Derbyshire]].<ref name=ODNB />


==Selected publications==
==Selected publications==
*H. C. Husband, R. W. Husband (1975). [http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/iicep.1975.3883 Reconstruction of the Britannia Bridge]. ''Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers'' '''58:''' 25–49
*H. C. Husband, R. W. Husband (1975). Reconstruction of the Britannia Bridge. ''Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers'' '''58:''' 25–49
*Henry Charles Husband (1958). [http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/iicep.1958.2278 The Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope]. ''Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers'' '''9:''' 65–86
*Henry Charles Husband (1958). The Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope. ''Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers'' '''9:''' 65–86


==See also==
==See also==
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== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist|30em}}
'''Source'''
'''Sources'''
*Daniel Eagan. ''[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FcioAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA537&lpg=PA537 America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry]'' (Bloomsbury; 2009) (ISBN 1441116478)
*Daniel Eagan. ''America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry'' (Bloomsbury; 2009) ({{ISBN|1441116478}})
*[[Bernard Lovell]]. ''The Story of Jodrell Bank'' (Oxford University Press; 1968) ({{ISBN|0192176196}})
*Peter Robertson. ''Beyond Southern Skies: Radio Astronomy and the Parkes Telescope'' (Cambridge University Press; 1992) ({{ISBN|0521414083}})


{{Jodrell Bank Observatory}}
{{Jodrell Bank Observatory}}
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{{IStructE Gold Medal Winners}}

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[[Category:English civil engineers]]
[[Category:Jodrell Bank Observatory]]
[[Category:Jodrell Bank Observatory]]
[[Category:Royal Medal winners]]
[[Category:Royal Medal winners]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Institution of Structural Engineers]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Institution of Structural Engineers]]
[[Category:IStructE Gold Medal winners]]
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[[Category:Engineers from Yorkshire]]

Latest revision as of 14:23, 26 November 2023

Sir Henry Charles Husband (30 October 1908 – 7 October 1983), often known as H. C. Husband, was a leading British civil and consulting engineer from Sheffield, England, who designed bridges and other major civil engineering works. He is particularly known for his work on the Jodrell Bank radio telescopes; the first of these was the largest fully steerable radio telescope in the world on its completion in 1957. Other projects he was involved in designing include the Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station's aerials, one of the earliest telecobalt radiotherapy units, Sri Lanka's tallest building, and the rebuilding of Robert Stephenson's Britannia Bridge after a fire. He won the Royal Society's Royal Medal and the Wilhelm Exner Medal.

Early life and education[edit]

Lovell radio telescope at Jodrell Bank

Husband was born in Sheffield in 1908 to Ellen Walton Husband, née Harby, and her husband, Joseph (1871–1961), a civil engineer who had founded Sheffield Technical School's civil engineering department and subsequently served as the University of Sheffield's initial professor in the discipline.[1] Charles Husband attended the city's King Edward VII School and gained an engineering degree at Sheffield University in 1929.[1][2][3]

Career[edit]

His first job was with Barnsley Water Board.[1] He then worked under the civil engineer Sir Owen Williams in 1931–33, before spending three years on various major English and Scottish residential projects with the First National Housing Trust.[1][2] In 1936, with Joseph Husband and Antony Clark, he founded the consulting engineering firm of Husband and Clark (later Husband & Co.) in Sheffield. During the Second World War, he first worked in the Ministry of Labour and National Service and later on aircraft manufacture for the Ministry of Works.[1][2] After the war, Husband headed the engineering consultancy, successfully expanding their business, with clients in the immediate post-war years including the British Iron and Steel Research Association, National Coal Board and the Production Engineering Research Association.[1][2]

Radio telescopes[edit]

Construction of the 250-ft telescope

Husband worked with Bernard Lovell – the founder of the Jodrell Bank Observatory near Holmes Chapel in Cheshire – on the design and construction of the observatory's first large steerable radio telescope, the "250-ft telescope" (now known as the Lovell Telescope).[1][4] After attempting to adapt military radar equipment to detect cosmic rays shortly after the Second World War, Lovell had realised that a much larger aerial would be required, and constructed a 66-metre diameter dish, limited by being static, before proposing the development of an even larger steerable telescope.[5] The idea posed such formidable engineering challenges that the project had been declared "impossible" by other engineers,[1][6] but Husband is reported to have concluded at their first meeting in September 1949, "It should be easy—about the same problem as throwing a swing bridge over the Thames at Westminster."[7]

He began work on the project early the following year, creating the initial drawings in January 1950 and detailed plans just over a year later.[7][8][9] He and Lovell selected a dish diameter of 250 feet (76 metres).[10] Construction began in 1952; despite Husband's optimism the project was beset with delays and escalating costs, caused by multiple changes to Lovell's specifications and the rising price of steel, among other factors.[11][12][13] Wind-tunnel studies with a scale model played an important role in the final design.[1][11] The telescope was eventually completed in 1957, when it was the largest fully steerable radio telescope in the world.[14] It remains in service as of 2016.[15] According to Lovell, the project was completed using "a desk calculator and slide rule", which led to a "sturdy" construction with "quite a lot of redundancy in the steelwork" which Lovell later credited for the telescope's longevity.[5] The structure is a rare example of a post-war grade-I-listed structure, denoting its "exceptional interest",[14][16] and was voted Britain's top "unsung landmark" in a 2006 BBC poll.[17]

Husband also helped to design the steerable radio aerials at the GPO's Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station in Cornwall, as well as radio telescopes in the UK and elsewhere.[1][2]

Other projects[edit]

Britannia Bridge after rebuilding

Other innovative projects Husband & Co. undertook under Husband's leadership included designing a facility for testing jet engines at altitude in 1946.[1][2] In the 1950s, Husband assisted the radiologist Frank Ellis in designing one of the earliest telecobalt radiotherapy units, for radiation treatment of cancer, which was installed at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford. Like the radio telescopes, the engineering problem involved moving a heavy weight, in this case the lead-shielded source, in three dimensions.[18][19]

He designed many road and rail bridges.[2][20] Husband was awarded the contract to rebuild the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait in Wales, after a 1970 fire. The original was an 1850 rail bridge by Robert Stephenson, and Husband faced criticism for designing a double-tier bridge including an additional road deck, which he stated formed part of Stephenson's original concept.[1] The firm also designed the bridge used in the 1957 film, The Bridge on the River Kwai.[21]

Outside the UK, Husband & Co. had an office in Colombo and undertook multiple projects in Sri Lanka.[1] Husband was the architect of the Ceylon Insurance Building in Colombo, Sri Lanka (later Ceylinco House), a 16-storey building equipped with a helicopter landing pad on its roof. On completion in 1960, it was the tallest structure in Sri Lanka, at nearly 55 metres.[20][22]

Awards, honours and societies[edit]

Husband was recognised with the CBE in 1964.[1][2] He won the Royal Medal of the Royal Society in 1965 for "his distinguished work in many aspects of engineering, particularly for his design studies of large structures such as those exemplified in the radio telescope at Jodrell Bank and Goonhilly Downs";[23] he was the medal's first recipient in the applied sciences.[1][2] He was also awarded the Wilhelm Exner Medal of the Österreichischer Gewerbeverein (1966),[24] the Gold Medal of the Institution of Structural Engineers (1973),[25] and the Benjamin Baker Gold Medal (1959) and James Watt medal (1976) of the Institution of Civil Engineers.[1][2] He received honorary degrees from the universities of Manchester (1964) and Sheffield (1967). He was knighted in 1975.[1][2]

He served as president of the Institution of Structural Engineers (1964–65),[1][26] chaired the Association of Consulting Engineers (1967) and served on the board of the Council of Engineering Institutions from 1979 until his death.[1][2] He also chaired Sheffield University's engineering and metallurgy advisory committee (1962–65) and served on Bradford Institute of Technology's civil engineering advisory board (1962–68).[1][2][20] In addition to the Institution of Structural Engineers, he was an elected fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and was among the founding members of the Fellowship of Engineering.[1]

Personal life[edit]

In 1932, Husband married Eileen Margaret Nowill (1906-2000), an architect's daughter who was also from Sheffield. The couple had four children, with the elder of their two sons, Richard Husband, also becoming a civil engineer.[1][2] He retired in 1982.[2] Husband died in 1983 at Nether Padley, just outside Sheffield in Derbyshire.[1]

Selected publications[edit]

  • H. C. Husband, R. W. Husband (1975). Reconstruction of the Britannia Bridge. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 58: 25–49
  • Henry Charles Husband (1958). The Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 9: 65–86

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Robert Sharp (2004). "Husband, Sir (Henry) Charles (1908–1983)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Husband, Sir (Henry) Charles". Who Was Who (online ed.). Oxford University Press/A & C Black. April 2014.
  3. ^ "The Edwardian 1997". Old Edwardians' Association. 18 July 1997. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  4. ^ Ian Morison (26 September 2008). "The 250ft Mk I Radio Telescope". Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b Jon Excell (1 January 2006). "Pioneer of radar and eminent astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell". The Engineer. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  6. ^ Lovell 1968, p. 25
  7. ^ a b Lovell 1968, p. 28
  8. ^ Henry Charles Husband (1958). "The Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 9: 65–86. doi:10.1680/iicep.1958.2278. S2CID 4240814.
  9. ^ Robertson 1992, pp. 114–15, 138
  10. ^ Robertson 1992, p. 115
  11. ^ a b Robertson 1992, p. 139
  12. ^ Kat Harrington (16 November 2015). "The making of Jodrell Bank". The Royal Society. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  13. ^ Ian Morison (9 December 2008). "Construction of the Lovell Telescope". Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  14. ^ a b Historic England. "Sir Bernard Lovell Telescope, Jodrell Bank Laboratory (1221685)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  15. ^ Ian Morison (26 September 2008). "The Lovell Telescope". Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Listed Buildings". Historic England. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  17. ^ Finlo Rohrer (5 September 2006). "Aye to the telescope". BBC. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  18. ^ Christopher Paine (20 February 2006). "Frank Ellis". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  19. ^ "Dr Frank Ellis". The Independent. 25 February 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  20. ^ a b c "Sir Henry Charles Husband". Österreichischer Gewerbeverein. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  21. ^ Eagan 2009, p. 537
  22. ^ Ceylinco House, Emporis, archived from the original on 18 October 2016, retrieved 17 October 2016
  23. ^ "The Society's Notes". Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London. 21 (1): 80–85. 1966. doi:10.1098/rsnr.1966.0010. JSTOR 530822. S2CID 202575131.
  24. ^ "Preisträger". Österreichischer Gewerbeverein. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  25. ^ "IStructE Gold Medallists 1922–2008". Institution of Structural Engineers. Retrieved 3 September 2015.[permanent dead link]
  26. ^ "Past presidents". Institution of Structural Engineers. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2016.

Sources

  • Daniel Eagan. America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry (Bloomsbury; 2009) (ISBN 1441116478)
  • Bernard Lovell. The Story of Jodrell Bank (Oxford University Press; 1968) (ISBN 0192176196)
  • Peter Robertson. Beyond Southern Skies: Radio Astronomy and the Parkes Telescope (Cambridge University Press; 1992) (ISBN 0521414083)