Thornycroft, Sir John (1843-1928), was a British pioneer in naval architecture. He built the United Kingdom’s first high-speed boat in 1871. In 1873, he built the world’s first torpedo boat, the Gitana, for the Norwegian government. He later built the United Kingdom’s first torpedo boat. Thornycroft also built scooters, coastal torpedo boats that were used by the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy during World War I (1914-1918).
John Isaac Thornycroft was born on Feb. 1, 1843, in Rome, Italy. He died on June 28, 1928.
