Mervyn O'Gorman 1871 - 1956

occupation:
Aeronautical engineer, Electrical engineer
Nationality:
Irish

Born in Ireland, Mervyn Joseph Pius O'Gorman (or 'O.G.' as he was affectionately known) is best known as one of the greatest British aeronautical engineers. During the First World War he was head of the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. He was also a motoring pioneer, writing O'Gorman's Motoring Pocket Book in 1904, and was actively involved in the Royal Automobile Club, becoming its vice-president. He also later played a key role in the introduction of the Highway Code. O'Gorman was an artist as well as an engineer, concentrating on etching and lacquer-work. Although not a member of the RPS, he was also a talented photographer. A charming and humorous man with enormous physical and mental energy, he seems to have been almost universally liked and admired. His obituary in The Times summed him up as ' A man of agile mind and Hibernian eloquence.'