Bennet Woodcroft, English engineer, c 1850s.

Sepia photograph of Bennet Woodcroft by F Downer of Watford, Hertfordshire. Woodcroft (1803-1879) was an English manufacturer of silk and muslin in Manchester and Salford. In 1846 he started up a busines as a consulting engineer and patent agent in London. He became Profesor of Machinery at University College, London, from 1847 until 1851, and was clerk to the Commisioners of Patents from 1864 to 1876. During his lifetime, Woodcraft published various works relating to inventions and inventors.