Thomas Tassell Grant

Who was Thomas Tassell Grant?

Sir Thomas Tassell Grant KCB FRS was a notable inventor in the 19th century.

He was born in Portsea, Portsmouth, the son of a namesake and his wife Ann of Soberton, Hampshire.

In 1829 he invented steam-powered machinery for making ship's biscuits that were stamped into hexagonal shapes, thereby ensuring that there was no waste. This process speeded up the production process and substantially reduced its costs. Other government departments copied the invention, saving the British taxpayer a great deal of money. As a reward Grant was given a £2,000 grant by parliament and received a medal from the French king, Louis Philippe, and a gold medal from the Society of Arts in London.

In 1834 he invented a desalination plant which distilled fresh water at sea and was described by the Times in 1859 as "the greatest benefit ever conferred on the sailor, materially advancing the sanitary and moral condition of the navy". Installed on HMS Wye it produced 10,000 gallons a day during the Crimean War.

According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Grant's other inventions included "a naval fuel, a steam kitchen, which was given its first trials in the warship HMS Illustrious.