Bob Fitzsimmons was born on the 26th May 1863 in Wendron Street, Helston. His father was a Borough Constable (James Fitzsimmons). In the 1870s, Bob and his family emigrated to New Zealand, where he, his father and his brother worked as blacksmiths. He took up boxing and competed in fights, which included travelling to Australia and later America. In March 1897 he beat Jim Corbett and became the World Heavyweight Champion.
Henry Trengrouse was born in Helston in 1772. He was educated at the Grammar School and became a cabinet maker. However, in 1807 he witnessed the sinking of the Anson off of the Loe Bar coastline. This prompted him to devote his life to inventing life-saving equipment. He invented the rocket life saving apparatus (which saved over 20,000 lives), known as the 'breeches buoy' and also the life spencer or jacket. He died in 1854
Richard Trevithick was born in 1771 in Tregajorran between the towns of Camborne and Redruth. His father was the manager of Dolcoath Mine and Richard always showed an aptitude for pumps and machinery. He is famous for running the first steam engine, which he demonstrated on 24th December 1801 through the streets of Camborne. The power of steam was shown by the fact that it could reach the top of Camborne Hill with a heavy load, something that horses struggled to do. He later went on to run another steam engine at Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. He spent eleven years in Peru working on pumping engines in the mines. He arrived back in England after this period with no money and eventually died penniless in 1833. A statue in his honour can be seen in Camborne, and the town still celebrates Trevithick Day on the last Saturday in April.
Guglielmo Marconi was born in 1874, and came to England in 1896. He had been working on an early system of wireless telegraphy when he arrived. From his wireless station in Poldhu, near Mullion, he transmitted the first wireless signal across the Atlantic in 1901. His success led to the twinning of Helston with Sasso Marconi, his Italian home town.
William Cookworthy, born in 1705, discovered china clay in Cornwall. He first found it on Tregonning Hill, in the Breage area. He was the first inventor of a process for manufacturing porcelain in Britain.
In Cornish mines, there was a regular occurrence of blasting accidents. In 1831, William Bickford (born in 1774) invented and made the first safety fuse to prevent such events. He established a factory at Tuckingmill (between Camborne and Redruth).
Sir Humphrey Davy was the inventor of the miner's safety lamp. He was born in Penzance, where there is a statue of him. He was very interested in science and went to school in Penzance and then Truro Grammar School. He started his career mixing potions for a Penzance surgeon and then became an assistant at the Pneumatic Institution in Bristol. He quickly established himself as a capable scientist through his work with gases. He was president of the Royal Society for seven years. In 1812 he was knighted and in the same year, after an explosion in a coal mine near Sunderland killed 89 miners, was asked to design a safety lamp. His lamp was simple and consisted of wire gauze that allowed oxygen through to keep the flame burning, but held back explosive gases. He died in May 1829 in Switzerland, aged 51.
Jonathan Trelawney was born in the parish of Pelynt on 24th March 1650. He was ordained in 1673. Along with his brother Major General Charles Trelawney, he was instrumental in putting down the western rebellion led by the Duke of Monmouth. As a thank you for his services during the uprising, King James II appointed Jonathon, Sir Jonathon Bishop of Bristol (his brother died shortly after the rebellion, so didn't get the same honour) in 1685. Trelawney was one of seven Bishops who petitoned against King James II's Declaration of Indulgence in 1867/88 (the declaration granted religious tolerance to the Catholics) and along with the others was imprisoned in the Tower of London. He was held for three weeks and then tried and acquitted. He was made Bishop of Exeter in 1688 and then Bishop of Winchester in 1707. He died in 1721. Trelawney was immortalised in 'The Song of the Western Men' by Robert Stephen Hawker, and the song is still sung in Cornwall, although usually only when Cornwall's rugby team are playing (the team's supporters have adopted the name of 'Trelawney's Army'). The song's words can be read here .
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