Edgar Purnell Hooley was born in Swansea, Wales back in 1869. I have no data other then he entered into a business partnership with Francis Lean as Architect and Surveyors at Neath. He worked for a time as a surveyor with Stow-on-the-Wold Highway Board. In 1884, he worked with the Maidstone Highway Board.
In 1889, he was appointed County Surveyor to Nottinghamshire County Council. While working on a survey he noticed something that gave him an epiphany which he acted upon. That same year he applied for a patent, he was granted in 1903 (GB7796). In 1904, he applied for the same patent in the United States, the patent was granted the same year. As they say the rest is history. He died at his home in Oxford, England in 1942.
Now you may be asking yourself what did he get the patent for, well I guess it is time to tell you. While making that survey he noticed a bucket of tar had dropped on the site, someone had poured gravel over it, thus he invented the first tarmac. The company he started was the Tar Macadam Syndicate Ltd. It is still in operation to this day, operating as Tarmac Limited. It is one of the United Kingdom’s largest building materials company.
Your day is worthwhile when you make someone smile, so give the free gift of a smile today
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