Robert Edgeworth-Johnstone

Robert Edgeworth-Johnstone (4 February 1900 – 3 December 1994) was a British chemical engineer and inventor. Born in Dublin, he spent 33 years in industry as a chemical engineer and consultant, working overseas in the oil industry. A keen musician, Edgeworth-Johnstone developed the Johnstone flute, a simple version of the instrument made from the aluminium brass tubing used in oil refineries. The instrument's design was admired by renowned flautist James Galway, but Edgeworth-Johnstone did little with the invention until he published details in a 1993 book.

He later became Lady Trent Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Nottingham and was involved in reforming the courses there to be more applicable to industry. Edgeworth-Johnstone retired in 1967 but continued to work to advance engineering education, authoring a 1969 report on the subject for the Institution of Chemical Engineers. In later life he lived in Brighton, where he represented the county of Sussex in pistol shooting, before moving to France, where he died at Parcé-sur-Sarthe.

Early life Robert Edgeworth-Johnstone was born in Dublin on 4 February 1900. His family were of Anglo-Irish background;

Edgeworth-Johnstone was educated at Wellington College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich before he secured a job with the Magadi Soda Company. He worked in factories in Kenya for the next three years and there developed a fascination with chemical engineering. Upon his return to the United Kingdom he pursued an engineering education. Edgeworth-Johnstone was awarded a degree from the Manchester College of Technology and, in 1932, a doctorate from University College London. In 1957 he co-authored Pilot plants, models, and scale-up methods in chemical engineering with Meredith Thring. Edgeworth-Johnstone spent 33 years working in industry as an engineer and consultant. The renowned flautist James Galway was impressed by the design but Edgeworth-Johnstone did little with it until 1993 when he published the details in The Johnstone Flute, a book describing the development and use of the flute.