Barr, Archibald (1855-1931)

Scottish inventor and professor of civil engineering and mechanics at Glasgow University, 1889-1913. Barr devised a number of instruments that greatly improved the accuracy of naval gunnery.

Barr was born in Strathclyde, Scotland, went to school in Paisley, and won a place to study engineering at Glasgow University. He invented naval rangefinders that were adopted by several fleets, as well as rangefinders for land use in fortresses and with field guns. His electrical fire-control mechanisms allowed simultaneous firing of heavy naval guns by a single gunlayer from a lookout position high in the superstructure of a battleship; the Royal Navy put this invention into service prior to World War I.