Episode 2 of 2
Parliamentary Award for Lifeboat Invention
- When
- 1802
- Where
- Parliament
- Part of
- First Rescue Lifeboat Test
In 1802, Greathead successfully petitioned parliament for his 1790 lifeboat invention, receiving a £1,200 award despite contested claims.
Greathead claimed he had invented a lifeboat in 1790. He successfully petitioned parliament in 1802 and was awarded £1,200 for his trouble. Although his claims have been contested, he built 31 boats that saved many lives and succeeded in making the concept of a shore-based rescue lifeboat widely accepted.
Sources
- Henry Greathead Wikipedia, revision of 2026-04-10
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.