Dr John C Taylor OBE, one of Britain’s most respected inventors, was selected as an Honorary Fellow in 2018 for his contributions to innovation, engineering and philanthropy.
Born in Buxton, Derbyshire in 1936, and having spent six years living in Canada during his childhood, he returned home towards the end of the Second World War and attended King William’s College on the Isle of Man before studying Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge.
After finishing his education, he took a job at Otter Controls, founded by his father, and began working in bi-metal. His work with these controls led to Dr Taylor designing the thermostat systems that are used daily in around a billion kettles and small household appliances.
Dr Taylor left Otter Controls to build his own company, Strix, which holds four Queen’s Awards. Three are for export and one is for innovation, granted for his 360-degree cordless kettle connector.
As well as being one of the world’s most prolific inventors with over 400 patents to his name, Dr Taylor has also conducted a great deal of research into the subject of horology. He is one of the world’s leading experts in the work of John Harrison, an early pioneer of timekeeping and sea clocks. This led him to design and help build the Corpus Chronophage, a three-metre-high clock that is displayed on an exterior wall of the Corpus Christi College building at the University of Cambridge. It is now the city’s most popular tourist attraction.
During the covid-19 lockdown period, Dr Taylor provided a fascinating online Zoom presentation to 50 guests during his inaugural Horological Hour online broadcast. He discussed some visually stunning watches and clocks, including the King James I Portrait watch, which was recently on display in The Luxury of Time exhibition at The Manx Museum on the Isle of Man. This first Horological Hour focused on the life and work of David Ramsay, King James VI and I’s Chief Clockmaker.