Local Heroes S01E05 · Northern Ireland

Overview

Tonight's stories of pioneering scientists and inventors come from Northern Ireland. Host Adam Hart-Davis discovers that the pneumatic tyre, invented by Belfast vet John Boyd Dunlop, began life as a remedy for his son's sore bottom. He also finds out how the name Harry Ferguson became synonymous with the development of the tractor. Taking his bike underwater, Hart-Davis goes in search of the origins of the submarine and wet suit. And, in Armagh, he learns how a child poet and astronomer rocketed to fame.

Torrents

Subtitles

Episodes

1. 1 1. South West1996-01-02Tonight, he travels to Bristol and the south west of England where he pays tribute to the woman who invented a bed with built-in exerciser and a breakfast maker. He also discovers
2. 2 2. South1996-01-09Tonight, Adam's journey takes him south, and in Chard, Somerset he recreates the world's first powered flight - which was made 50 years before the Wright brothers by John Stringfel
3. 3 3. Scotland1996-01-16Tonight, Adam's journey takes him to Scotland, and includes the story of Neville Maskelyne, the man who weighed all the planets of the solar system from a bothy on a Perthshire mou
4. 4 4. Midlands1996-01-23Tonight's stories of pioneering scientists and inventors come from the Midlands. Host Adam Hart-Davis investigates the Lunar Society of Birmingham, known as "lunaticks". Its membe
5. 5 5. Northern Ireland1996-01-30Tonight's stories of pioneering scientists and inventors come from Northern Ireland. Host Adam Hart-Davis discovers that the pneumatic tyre, invented by Belfast vet John Boyd Dunlo
6. 6 6. North West1996-02-06The last in the series about pioneering scientists and inventors comes from the north west of England. Host Adam Hart-Davis discovers the connection between botany and Wordsworth t