Henry Greathead
Henry Francis Greathead (27 January 1757 – 1818) was an English pioneering rescue
lifeboat builder from
South Shields. Although
Lionel Lukin had patented a lifeboat in 1785, Greathead successfully petitioned parliament in 1802 with the claim that he had invented a lifeboat in 1790, and he was awarded £1,200 for his trouble. Although his claims have been contested, he did build 31 boats, which saved very many lives, and succeeded in making the concept of a shore-based rescue lifeboat widely accepted.
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