John Barber

Life & Legacy

John Barber (1734–1793) was an English coal viewer and inventor. He was born at Greasley Castle Farm, Nottinghamshire, to parents from both sides of the coalmining partnership of Barber and Fletcher. Barber was trained by his uncle, John Fletcher, as a coalmaster, and moved to Warwickshire in 1762 to manage his childless uncle's collieries in the Nuneaton area. The same John Barber is thought to be the inventor named in several patents granted between 1766 and 1792. The most remarkable of these patents was for a gas turbine. Although nothing practical came out of this patent, Barber is recognised as the first person to describe the working principle of a constant pressure gas turbine.