20 Pounds Sterling 1993, Kingdom of Great Britain
| in Banknotes Book | Number: NI.633a |
| Years of issue: | 24.08.1993 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Chief Executive: Mr. Samuel Henry Torrens |
| Serie: | Northern Ireland |
| Specimen of: | 24.08.1988 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 150 х 80 |
| Printer: | TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Logo of Northern Bank Limited from 1988 till 1995.
Avers:
Henry George "Harry" Ferguson (4 November 1884 – 25 October 1960) was an Irish-born British mechanic and inventor who is noted for his role in the development of the modern agricultural tractor and its three point linkage system, for being the first person in Ireland to build and fly his own aeroplane, and for developing the first four-wheel drive Formula One car, the Ferguson P99.
Today his name lives on in the name of the Massey Ferguson company.
Born in 1884, Harry had a difficult character, dropped out of school at the age of 14, and subsequent periodic differences with partners are sometimes attributed to character. Early enough to become interested in technology, Ferguson managed to try himself in different guises during his life. For example, he was the first Irishman to build an airplane of his own design, in which he took off on the last day of 1909. He began his career helping his brother in his auto-motorcycle workshop, where he moved in 1902. Shortly before that, the same brother Joe dissuaded him from emigrating to Canada. Working in the workshop, Harry became an excellent engine specialist, who was trusted with their tuning and even some improvements. In parallel with his work, Ferguson was educated by attending evening courses at Belfast Technical College. In addition to his serious passion for aviation, Ferguson was attracted by races, both motorcycle and auto.
In 1911, Harry leaves his brother's workshop, after a quarrel with him, and opens his own company selling Maxwell, Star and Vauxhall cars and Overtime tractors (renamed for the British market of American tractors Waterloo Boy). It was on the basis of his own company that he began his first agricultural experiments: in 1916, together with Willie Sands, they developed the first mounted plow system. As a chassis, they use an agricultural (almost a kind of tractor) version of the Ford T. The fundamental point here is that before that all agricultural implements used their own wheels, and it was not so important that they were pulled by a horse or a tractor. Here, agricultural implements appear in the form of attachments. Later, the same plow, named "Belfast Plow", will be adapted for installation on the Fordson F.
The next important step for Ferguson and his most important contribution to the development of agricultural technology was the development of a three-point linkage system (hitch). The essence of the system is in two points, for which the hinge is hinged, which is a system of levers, and a control hydraulic cylinder, hinged at the third point, with the help of which the attachment is controlled. Pros: easily detachable connection, allowing the tractor to be used with a large number of attachments; ease of control of attachments; no need for a special operator operating a trailed machine (all operations can be carried out by a tractor driver); additional loading of the rear axle, which provided better traction; safety when meeting insurmountable obstacles in the soil. I will dwell on the last point separately. Since the use of small light tractors, such as Fordson, is mainly typical for private agriculture of that time, it becomes possible to turn a light tractor around the rear axle when, for example, a plow hits a stone in the soil. Such cases have happened and led to injuries and even death of tractor drivers, not to mention equipment breakdowns. The new system, due to the more rigid kinematic connection between the tractor and the equipment, did not allow such a situation. Harry Ferguson patented his System in 1928.
After such a fundamental invention, Ferguson decided to build a tractor that could fully demonstrate the benefits of the new system. Taking into account the rich technical baggage of its own, a number of other technical solutions have accumulated that could be implemented in a new car. Being, like Fordson, a frameless design, the new tractor included a three-point hitch, a hydraulic system, and a system for automatic control of the depth of the working equipment. Negotiations began with manufacturers who are ready to take on the construction of a new machine. Among those who showed interest in the promising design were Allis Chalmers, Rushton, Ransomes, Rover. The negotiations were most successful with Morris Motor Co. Having practically agreed on cooperation, they could not produce anything - the Great Depression burst out. Therefore, Ferguson was forced to start building the tractor on his own in 1933. Supply of a number of components, incl. gearboxes were handled by David Brown. Subsequently, they also acted as the basis for the construction of a new tractor. The rather famous "Black Tractor" was built in 1933. He became black because of Ferguson's sympathy for utilitarianism and in this case it is another parallel with Henry Ford. Many people write that it was the Black Tractor that set the main trends in the development of wheeled agricultural tractors for several decades to come.
After the successful demonstration of the Black tractor, Ferguson spent some time debugging and finalizing the hydraulic system, problems with which were identified during testing of the machine. After that, in 1935, Ferguson made a deal with David Brown (then a major manufacturer of mechanical transmissions), which was supposed to produce new tractors in its factories, and Ferguson ltd was engaged in their sale. By the way, Ferguson himself wanted the new tractors to be produced in black, but he was dissuaded from this, and for a long time gray became the trademark color of his tractors. The first 350 (according to other sources 550) tractors were equipped with Coventry Climax L engines producing 20 hp. After that, David Brown purchased the necessary equipment and started producing their own engines. A small digression: this is the same David Brown who will buy Aston Martin in 1947. Brown and Ferguson's partnership will end in 1938. One of the reasons for the gap was unsuccessful sales of new cars. Despite the good technical characteristics, the new player in the tractor market could not compete with Ford. A Fordson of the same class was priced at £ 140, while a Ferguson Brown started at £ 224, and with the minimum tool kit added another £ 26 in value. In the conditions of just the past depression, this led to an overstocking of finished goods warehouses. A total of 1,350 Ferguson Brown tractors were produced. David Brown will return to agricultural machinery production after the war, but that will be a different story.
Meanwhile, Ferguson, having prepared 2 tractors and attachments, goes to Michigan to negotiate with Henry Ford. In 1938, Ferguson was introduced to Ford by the Sherman brothers (I never found who they were). In October of that year, the tractor and equipment are delivered to Fair Lane, Ford's estate. The test was carried out in conjunction with two other tractors: Fordson and Allis-Chalmers. Ferguson's car showed a clear superiority over competitors. Ford was impressed. A "gentlemen's agreement" was concluded almost immediately. First, Ford offered to buy the patents for his inventions from Ferguson. Ferguson said that Ford did not have enough money to buy them out and offered an option for cooperation based on mutual trust: Ford invested his financial and industrial resources, his considerable authority in the business, and Ferguson invested his developments. In the course of further discussion, they agreed that Ferguson would be responsible for the development of the new tractor, a line of attachments and the creation of a dealer network, while Ford would take over the organization of production of the developed tractors and equipment. After discussing the main points of further cooperation, Ford and Ferguson shook hands, coming to an agreement known as The Handshake Agreement.
In January 1939, Ferguson moved to Dearborn with his family and most valuable employees to begin work on what would become the Ford-Ferguson 9N tractor. Having adopted many of the promising solutions of the Ferguson-Brown tractor, Ferguson and his team were able to use the widest Ford power base. In addition to his team, a large number of Ford specialists took part in Ferguson's work. The design of the new tractor was also developed by professional Ford stylists. The new tractor was demonstrated in the same year 1939. He became a serious argument in the competition between Ford and International Harvester.
The cooperation agreement is broken after the death of Henry Ford by his grandson, Henry Ford II. The cooling of relations between partners began in the war years. After the war, Ford had a lot of problems caused by the poor management of Henry Ford Sr. in the last years of his life. The solution to many of them required serious measures. One of them was the breaking of unsecured contracts with Ferguson, who received significant profits from the sale of Ford tractors. At the same time, the production of tractors using the invention patented by Ferguson continued (at this time, the Fordson 8N tractors went into series). As a result, Ferguson is filing a lawsuit for a very serious amount. The proceedings lasted several years and were eventually settled by an out-of-court payment of $ 9,250,000.
At the same time, Ferguson is negotiating with the Standard Motor Company, as a result of which, in 1946, the production of tractors under the Ferguson brand begins in a former aircraft engine plant. Britain at that time was overcoming the consequences of the war: the bankruptcy of the economy, the food crisis, broken ties with the colonies, which were showing increasing independence. One of the central events in the lives of British farmers was the agricultural law of 1947. He determined measures for the development of agriculture, including determining subsidies to farmers for the development of the most important types of agricultural products. As a result of the long-term program, the UK began to fully self-sufficient in food, and in some areas even began to export products. It was at this time that the production of the famous TE-20 - "Fergie Gray" began. Technically, it is very similar to the Ford-Ferguson 9N, but naturally already on the base of the Standard Motor Co. The tractor had a lot of versions both for the installed engines and for adapting it to different specific conditions of use (vineyard, portal, caterpillar and other options). An important feature was the ability to use engines for different fuels. The fuel crisis in Britain led to the fact that, for example, gasoline was purchased with coupons and its purchase was a big problem. As a result, over the years of production (1946-56), 516,000 tractors in 16 basic modifications were produced, running on gasoline, oil and diesel fuel. At the same time, American counterparts, TO-20 tractors, were produced in Detroit. They were equipped with Continental engines, which were also installed on the first British cars.
In 1952, a long litigation with Ford ends. Almost at the same time, the three-point suspension patent expires. During this time, Ferguson sold his stake in his own company to the largest and one of the oldest agricultural machinery manufacturers in Canada - Massey-Harris. For a while, he continues to work and retains some part of the shares of the company, which was named Massey-Harris-Ferguson, but in 1957 he finally sells all his assets. He founds a consulting engineering firm and deals with various issues, such as four-wheel drive for various cars. One of Ferguson's last brainchildren was the all-wheel drive Formula 1 car - the Ferguson P99. Ferguson did not live to see the successful debut of his car, passing away in 1960. (Sirobius .rus)
Centered is Fergusons monoplane of 1909.
Irishman Harry G. Ferguson built his first monoplane at his brother J.B. Ferguson and Co. Ltd in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was a two-seat brace monoplane powered by a 35 hp JAP engine driving a Beedle propeller. Initially, a Green motor of the same power was purchased for the car, but during the tests, the engine broke.
The first tests of the Ferguson Monoplane took place on December 31, 1909 at Lord Downshire's Park in Hillsborough, where the monoplane flew 130 yards (119 meters) in a wind speed of 25 miles per hour (40 km/h). This flight was the first for an Irish-built airplane.
In December 1910, the aircraft would be damaged and significantly modified after repairs. The wings and fuselage were shortened, and the fuselage itself was completely covered with fabric. This version of the aircraft was flown by Harry G. Ferguson in 1911.
The monoplane was then repaired and redesigned again. In its final form, the aircraft had a triangular fuselage section and was a bit like the French Antoinette. In 1972, a replica of this version was built and donated to the Irish Aviation Museum.
Technical data:
Modification Monoplane
Wingspan, m 9.75
Aircraft length, m 8.23
Aircraft height, m 2.97
Wing area, m2 16.72
Engine type 1 PD JAP
Power, h.p. 1 x 145
Max. speed, km/h 89
Crew, people 2
(airwar.ru .rus)
Revers:
Centered is the bank's logo from 1988 to 1995 (see the description of the watermark).
Also, computers and a satellite dish are shown, as technical inventions of today.
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