Lanchester, Frederick William (1868–1946)

English engineer who began producing motorcars in 1896. His work on stability was fundamental to aviation and he formulated the first comprehensive theory of lift and drag. From early on, Lanchester manufactured his cars with interchangeable parts.

Lanchester was born in London and studied at Imperial College.

He joined the Forward Gas Engine Company of Birmingham in 1889, and in 1893 set up his own workshop. The Lanchester Engine Company built some 350 cars between 1900 and 1905, before going bankrupt. In 1909 he was appointed consultant to the Daimler company. He founded Lanchester's Laboratories Ltd in 1925 to provide research and development services.

Lanchester's first motorcar had a single cylinder 4-kW/5-hp engine and chain drive. His second completed a 1,600-km/1,000-mi tour in 1900.

In the early 1890s Lanchester turned his attention to the theory and practice of crewed flight. He published Aerial Flight 1907–08 and was invited to join Prime Minister Asquith's advisory committee for aeronautics on its formation in 1909. An experimental aircraft codesigned by Lanchester did not survive its trial flight in 1911, and he abandoned the practical side of aviation. However, planes that incorporated many of his ideas took to the air in the next few years.

Lanchester was also interested in radio and patented a loudspeaker and other audio equipment.