C. H. Worsnop
C. H. Worsnop | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Charles Henry Worsnop 1862 |
| Died | 21 January 1939[1] |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Charles Henry Worsnop (1862 – 21 January 1939) was an English businessman, inventor and vegetarianism activist.
Career
[edit]Worsnop founded Worsnop and Co at Halifax, West Yorkshire in 1860.[2] His company manufactured lamps and was one of the first to sell alkaline batteries in England. The company was renamed Alklum Electrics and remained in operation until 1925. In 1932, he founded Alklum Storage Batteries.[3] He also managed Worsnop & Sons with his son Alfred. Worsnop was the inventor of the nickel steel electric battery.[4]
In 1890, there was a fatal gas explosion at the premise of Worsnop's electro-plate works, killing several people, including his brother John.[5][6][7] An inquiry concluded that the gas explosion was accidental but there was insufficient evidence to know how it was caused.[8]
Vegetarianism
[edit]Worsnop became a vegetarian as a young man after reading the booklet Pork and its Perils.[9] He joined the Vegetarian Society in 1886 and was president of Halifax Vegetarian and Food Reform Society from 1894 to 1895. He attended the 1896 annual meeting of the Vegetarian Federal Union.[10]
Personal life
[edit]Worsnop had three brothers. His brother Frank a veterinary surgeon died in 1926.[11] Worsnop died at his home in Rockville, Halifax in 1939, aged 78.[4][12] He was buried at Stoney Royd Cemetery.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ "Re Charles Henry Worsnop, Deceased" (PDF). The London Gazette. May 12, 1939. p. 3246.
- ^ "Worsnop and Co". Grace's Guide To British Industrial History. 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Alklum Storage Batteries". Grace's Guide To British Industrial History. 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Mr. C. H. Worsnop". The Halifax Courier and Guardian. January 28, 1939. p. 8. (subscription required)
- ^ "Fatal Gas Explosion". St. James's Gazette. September 12, 1890. p. 13. (subscription required)
- ^ "Fatal Gas Explosion". Trowbridge Chronicle. September 13, 1890. p. 8. (subscription required)
- ^ "Fatal Gas Explosion in Halifax". The Lancaster Gazette. September 13, 1890. p. 5. (subscription required)
- ^ "The Recent Halifax Explosion". The Echo. September 26, 1890. p. 4. (subscription required)
- ^ Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (2002). "Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food reformers of the Victorian Era". The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840–1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PDF). Vol. 2. University of Southampton. p. 128.
- ^ "Vegetarian Federal Union 1889-1911". International Vegetarian Union. 2025. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025.
- ^ "Death of Mr Frank Worsnop". The Halifax Daily Courier and Guardian. May 18, 1926. p. 5. (subscription required)
- ^ "Battery Inventor: Death of Mr. C. H. Worsnop". The Halifax Daily Courier and Guardian. January 23, 1939. p. 3. (subscription required)
- ^ "Charles Henry Worsnop". Malcolm Bull's Calderdale Companion. 2025. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025.