P000081 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

All key entry types: Awards; Concepts; Corporate Bodies (Organisations); Cultural Artefacts; People; etc

These key entries are listed separately below with other indexes and lists.

 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 1993-10-20 human Gavan McCarthy; Ken McInnes updated 2025-11-05 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P000081b.htm person Brennan Louis Philip CB AACR2 28 January 1852 17 January 1932 Place of Birth Castlebar, Mayo, Ireland Place of Death Clinique Florimont, Montreux, Switzerland Mechanical engineer Inventor Louis Brennan invented a steerable torpedo propelled by counter-rotating screws, a monorail locomotive with gyroscopic stabilisers, a gyroscopically balanced automobile, and helicopter designs. He arrived in Melbourne in 1861 with his family and was, at an early age, apprenticed to the engineer Alexander Kennedy Smith. In 1880 he took his steerable torpedo invention to the English War Office where the rights were purchased for £110,000 in 1886. He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1892, and Honorary Member, Royal Engineers Institute in 1906. He did not return to Australia.

From the "Australian Dictionary of Biography" Volume 3, (1969): "At 22 he invented for coastal defence a torpedo which was propelled by counter-rotating screws driven by the unwinding of two fine steel wires from internal drums and steered by the differential action of the two wires which were wound on to drums on shore or on shipboard by a steam engine of twenty horse-power. Among the advantages claimed were that the torpedo could be retrieved if it missed its mark. William Kernot, then lecturer in engineering at the University of Melbourne, made calculations on which a working model was based, its test performances in 1879 on Hobson's Bay 'exciting wonder and approbation'. This work was aided by a grant of £700 from the Victorian government."

The Gillingham Library, England retains the archive of his papers. It was in Gillingham that he successfully demonstrated a full size gyroscopically-balanced monorail on 10 November 1909.

1861 1861 Life event - Arrived in Melbourne, Australia c. 1870 c. 1870 Career position - Apprentice to Alexander Kennedy Smith 1874 1874 Career event - Invented the Brennan Torpedo 1880 1880 Life event - Arrived in England 1886 1886 Career event - Sold the rights for the Brennan Torpedo to the British War Ofice for £110,000 1887 1887 Patent - Brennan Torpedo 1887 1896 Career position - Superintendent, Government Brennan Torpedo Factory, Gillingham, Kent, England 1892 1892 Award - Companion Order of the Bath (CB) 1896 1907 Career position - Consulting Engineer, Government Brennan Torpedo Factory, Gillingham, Kent, England 1902 1902 Patent - Application for a patent for means or apparatus for facilitating the ascent of stairs and inclined ways [19352/1902] 1905 1905 Patent - Improvements in and relating to the imparting of stability to otherwise unstable bodies, structures or vehicles [2663/1905.] 1906 1906 Award - Honorary Member, Royal Engineers Institute, England 1907 1907 Career event - Invented a monorail locomotive with gyroscopic stabilisers 1910 1910 Patent - Improvements relating to methods of and means for imparting stability to and maintaining stability of bodies such as single track vehicles or vessels [17529/1910] 1914 1918 Career position - Munitions Inventions Department, Ministry of Munitions, England [Working on confidential aircraft research work] 1919 1926 Career position - Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, England [Responsible for experiments on helicopter designs] 1922 1922 Career position - Foundation Member, National Academy of Ireland Kernot, William Charles (1845 - 1909)

Kernot made calculations on which a working model of the steerable Brennan torpedo was based, and was later awarded £500 by Brennan.

 Smith, James Alexander (1862 - 1940)

In 1907, James was in the possession of a gyroscope "which had been constructed wholly or in part by Mr. Brennan when an apprentice in Melbourne to the late Mr. Alex. K. Smith".

 Smith, Alexander Kennedy (1824 - 1881)

Louis Brennan was an apprentice to Alexander Smith, 1860s. While working there, he made a gyroscope.

Wikidata

VIAF - Virtual International Authority File

 Brennan, Louis (1852-1932)

Trove

 'Brennan, Louis Philip', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Brennan, Louis Philip Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Resource: Australian Patent search database IP Australia, Commonwealth of Australia Australian Patent search database Commonwealth of Australia 2015 Book Section: Brennan, Louis Philip (1852 - 1932) Ross, H. M. [revised by Bosnell, John] Brennan, Louis Philip (1852 - 1932) Oxford Oxford University Press 2004 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Resource: A13150 Specifications, examiners reports and correspondence relating to the Registration of Victorian Patents - Second system CA 5305 Patents Office, Victoria 1873 - 1904 A13150 Specifications, examiners reports and correspondence relating to the Registration of Victorian Patents - Second system National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch Resource: Grace's Guide to British Industrial History Grace's Guide to British Industrial History Grace's Guide Ltd Resource: A13149 Applications for Registration of Victorian Patents - Second system CA 5305 Patents Office, Victoria 1873 - 1904 A13149 Applications for Registration of Victorian Patents - Second system National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch Resource: A13150 Specifications, examiners reports and correspondence relating to the Registration of Victorian Patents - Second system CA 5305 Patents Office, Victoria 1873 - 1904 A13150 Specifications, examiners reports and correspondence relating to the Registration of Victorian Patents - Second system National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch Resource: Australian Patent search database IP Australia, Commonwealth of Australia Australian Patent search database Commonwealth of Australia 2015 Resource: 19th Century torpedoes: an annotated bibliography Cahill, Dennis 19th Century torpedoes: an annotated bibliography Melbourne eSchoarship Research Centre, The University of Melbourne 2015 Book Section: Brennan, Louis (1852-1932), mechanical engineer Sandow, Mary Brennan, Louis (1852-1932), mechanical engineer Melbourne Melbourne University Press 1969 Australian dictionary of biography, volume 3: 1851 - 1890 A-C Douglas Pike 223-224 Journal Article: Monorail railways (Letter & Discussion) Brennan, Louis Monorail railways (Letter & Discussion) 1908 Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. VIII 127-130 Conference Paper: The world's first guided missile: A Victorian invention Beauchamp, David The world's first guided missile: A Victorian invention Barton, Australian Capital Territory Engineers Australia 2015 From the Past to the Future: 18th Australian Engineering Heritage Conference 2015 [Newcastle] 62-71 Edited Book: Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 3: 1890-1920 Chrimes, M. M.; Cox, R. C.; Cross-Rudkin, P. S. M.; Elton, J. M. H.; Hurst, B. L.; McWilliam, R. C.; Rennison, R. W.; Sutherland, R. J. M.; Thomas, R. E. Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 3: 1890-1920 London, United Kingdom Thomas Telford Publishing 2014 Conference Paper: The World's First Successful Guided Missile Beauchamp, David The World's First Successful Guided Missile 2016 Engineering Heritage Victoria, Speakers Programme Edited Book: Wonders never cease: 100 Australian engineering achievements Engineers Australia Wonders never cease: 100 Australian engineering achievements Barton, Australian Capital Territory Institution of Engineers, Australia 2019 Resource: Technology in Australia 1788-1988 Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Technology in Australia 1788-1988 Online Melbourne Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre 2000 Book: Dictionary of Australian biography Serle, Percival Dictionary of Australian biography Sydney Angus & Robertson 1949