David Napier (precision engineer)

This article is about the automotive and aero-engine manufacturer. For other people with the same name, see David Napier (disambiguation).

David Napier (1787–1873) was a Scottish engineer, notable for founding Napier & Son, an early automotive and aero-engine company.

David Napier
Born	1787 Dumbarton, Scotland
Died	17th June 1873 (aged 86) Lambeth, London
Occupation	Precision Engineer
Known for	Founder of Napier & Son
Family	Robert Napier (cousin), Montague Napier (grandson)

Biography and career

David Napier was born in Dumbarton to a family of engineers (the Kilmahew branch of the Napier family). He was the son of Robert Napier (1726–1790), and cousin of another Robert Napier – known as the "Father of Clyde Shipbuilding." One of David Napier's uncles had served as a blacksmith for the Duke of Argyll.

He eventually moved south, and worked for Henry Maudslay before founding his own precision engineering company in 1808 in Soho, London. In 1848, it became D. Napier & Son, when he added his son James Napier to the business partnership.

The company produced machines for bullet-making, gun-boring and turning for a number of government arsenals, as well as coin-weighing machines for the Bank of England, two-cylinder printing presses (designed to print simultaneously on both sides of a sheet of paper) and a centrifuge for sugar manufacturing. His machines were described as "delicate as any clock could be",^[1] and his printing press in particular earned praise by Thomas Curson Hansard.

After his death his grandson Montague Napier, would make the company famous for first motor vehicles and later aero engines.