JB Springs was established as a spring manufacturer back in 1895. We’re always keen to dive not only into the history of the company but also the history of the engineering industry as a whole. We appreciate how past events have shaped and evolved the industry as we know it today.

The month of June in years gone by saw many major STEM events occur, including:

1^st June 1907

Frank Whittle, English aviation engineer and inventor of the jet engine was born. After the Air Ministry turned him down, he patented the idea himself. At JB Springs, we work within this industry – designing and producing parts for a range of aerospace applications.

3^rd June 1663

Robert Hooke became a member of The Royal Society and was elected as Curator of Experiments the year prior. In this position, Robert Hooke presented three/four experiments at each meeting – a huge undertaking for any mind; also, this work was unpaid until the society had the funds to do so. During his time with the society, one of Hooke’s accomplishments was discovering his eponymous Hooke’s Law (also known as The Law of Elasticity).

4th June 1896

Henry Ford road-tested the gasoline-engine Quadricyle car he built in his shed. By 16th June 1903, Ford had 11 investors who signed and filed articles of incorporation for the Ford Motor Company. Ford lent his patents and knowledge.

10^th June 1830

167 years after Hooke’s joining, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society – of which Robert Hooke was an ‘Original Fellow’.

11^th June 1895

In 1895, the same year as JB Springs’ establishment, Charles Duryea obtained a patent for the first gas-powered car in the US. In his 1882 thesis, Duryea predicted “the advent of the automobile”. Their motor wagon vehicle won the Chicago Times-Herald Race on 28^th November, 1895.  This involved finishing a 54-mile journey along Lake Michigan, from Chicago to Evanston, in 10 hours and 23 minutes. Today, JB Springs do a lot of work within the automotive industry!

13^th June 1844

Linus Yale patented a door lock mechanism. In the patent document, he wrote, ‘The improvement consists in having a cylinder or circular rim C on the inside of the front plate of the box fastened thereto in any convenient way, or cast therewith, forming a cylindrical socket, said cylinder or circular rim being pierced from the outer to the inner circumference with round apertures on lines radiating from the center to the periphery, in which apertures are placed cylindrical pistons D, which pass through said apertures and enter corresponding apertures in a revolving cylinder or tumbler E, that turns in said cylindrical socket for locking the bolt as hereafter described, said pistons being pressed inward toward the center (against other pistons F hereafter described) by springs G attached to the front plate of the box’.

16^th June 1657

Christiaan Huygens patented his invention of the first pendulum clock. Famously, Huygens had a dispute with Robert Hooke; in 1675 Huygens published a letter to a journal detailing a regulator comprised of a concentric spring. Reportedly, Hooke furiously insisted he presented this idea to the Royal Society five years previously and accused Huygens of plagiarism.

20^th June 1877

Alexander Graham Bell installed the world’s first commercial phone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. You can find out exactly how springs have been used in phones over the years in this blog post.

At JB Springs, we’re honoured to have such a rich history in engineering and manufacturing, ensuring we use this experience and expertise to design and manufacture the highest quality of springs, wireforms and safety critical parts for our customers.