James Dyson
Sir James Dyson is a British inventor who invented the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner. A highly successful industrial designer and entrepreneur, he founded the Dyson Ltd. in 1993 which is a technology company that designs and manufactures vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, bladeless fans, and heaters. Born into a middle-class family in rural England, he had a normal childhood till the age of nine when his father died. Feeling lost without a father to guide him, James felt very insecure and started looking for ways to prove his worth. He was very intelligent and innovative from a young age, and was also blessed with a high degree of determination. Initially he decided to study painting at the Byam Shaw School of Art but later on switched to furniture and interior design at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London. As a college student he was exposed to the creative possibilities of uniting engineering with designan invaluable lesson that eventually led him to become one of the most artistic and imaginative technological inventors of our times. Many of his inventions, including the idea for the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner were spurred by his personal frustrations at the inefficiency of the appliances available in the market.
Childhood & Early Life
James Dyson was born on May 2, 1947, in Cromer, Norfolk, England, to Alec Dyson and Mary, as one of their three children. His father was a teacher.
His father died of cancer when James was nine. This tragedy deeply affected the little boy and he felt very lost and insecure without a father figure to guide him.
He attended Gresham’s School, a boarding school in Holt, Norfolk, from 1956 to 1965. He excelled at long distance running as a student, and he credits his gritty determination for his success as a runner.
He went to London after graduation and studied at the Byam Shaw School of Art for one year (1965-66) before studying furniture and interior design at the Royal College of Art (196670). He later moved into engineering
Career
Following his graduation in 1970, he took a job at Rotork Controls Ltd., Bath, Somerset. Here he had the good fortune of having an unconventional boss, Jeremy Fry, who encouraged young talents and motivated them to be innovative.
His boss put Dyson in charge of designing a high-speed landing craft in spite of the fact that Dyson had no prior experience in designing a product. Working along with his boss, he designed the Rotork Sea Truck, a flat-hulled, high-speed watercraft, similar to a small landing craft.
In 1974, he came up with his first original invention, the Ballbarrow. It was a variation of the wheelbarrow design, featuring a molded plastic hopper on a steel frame and a spherical plastic wheel, allowing increased maneuverability as compared to a conventional design.
In the late 1970s, he faced a problem with his new vacuum cleaner and felt that the bag system was hindering the efficient performance of the appliance. So he began working on designing a bagless vacuum cleaner that would be more efficient.
He came up with the idea of using cyclonic separation to create a vacuum cleaner that would not lose suction as it picked up dirt and over the next five years he tirelessly worked on his designs. Finally in 1983 he launched the “G-Force” cleaner.
He could not find any distributor to handle his product in the UK so he launched it in Japan through catalogue sales. The product became very popular in Japan and with the proceeds from its sales he was able to open his own company, Dyson Ltd. in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England in 1993.
He launched the Dyson DC01 vacuum cleaner in Britain in 1993. Within a couple of years, the appliance became the best-selling vacuum cleaner in the country. Following the success of this model, he launched several other improved versions in the subsequent years.
His company launched a washing machine called the ContraRotator, which had two rotating drums moving in opposite directions, in 2000. But the machine was not a commercial success and was discontinued.
In 2006, he launched the Dyson Airblade, a fast hand dryer that uses a thin sheet of moving air as a squeegee to remove water instead of using heat. This design uses lesser energy than traditional electrical hand dryers and allows faster drying.
Major Work
He is best known as the inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, popularly known as the G-Force. First marketed by a Japanese company, the product became very popular in Japan and Dyson used the money he earned from G-Force to start up his own company, the Dyson Ltd.
Personal Life & Legacy
James Dyson married Deirdre Hindmarsh, an art teacher and painter, in 1968. They have three children: Emily, Jacob, and Sam.
He set up the James Dyson Foundation in 2002 to support design and engineering education. He aims to inspire young and innovative minds to study engineering and also supports the work of young designers through the James Dyson Award.
