Frederick Henry Royce

Sir Frederick Henry Royce was a British engineer, designer of engines and cars, entrepreneur and Rolls-Royce co-founder.

Born on 27 March 1863 to miller James Royce, he was the youngest of five children. His father’s business struggled and the family moved to London. After James died in 1872, Henry, with only a year of schooling, delivered newspapers and telegrams to help support them.

In 1878, his aunt found him an apprenticeship in Peterborough railway workshops. Three years later, back in London, he worked for an electrical company, then became an electrician in Liverpool in 1882.

In 1884, having saved £20, he and Ernest Claremont established an electrical-appliance business. In 1894, he founded crane manufacturer F. H. Royce & Company. It listed shares in 1899 and built a factory in Old Trafford. His crane designs remained in production for almost thirty years after his death.

In 1901, he bought his first car, a French De Dion. Dissatisfied with its quality, he designed his own. Partner Henry Edmunds received one of three examples and introduced him to wealthy sportsman Charles Rolls. In December 1904, they produced the first Rolls-Royce. Official small-series production by Rolls-Royce Ltd., independent of F. H. Royce & Company, began in 1906.

His health deteriorated sharply in 1911. He survived an operation considered hopeless in 1912 and resumed work, though unable to visit factory floors. Until his death on 22 April 1933, he personally checked Rolls-Royce designers’ drawings. His own focus was aero engines, which underpinned British aviation in the First World War and earned him a baronetcy.