Frank Stanley Cotton (30 April 1890 – 23 August 1955) was an Australian lecturer in physiology, specialising in the study of the effects of physical strain on the human body.
Frank Cotton | |
|---|---|
 Professor Frank Stanley Cotton c1950 | |
| Born | Frank Stanley Cotton 30 April 1890 Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 23 August 1955 Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia |
| Citizenship | Australian |
| Spouse | Catherine Drummond Smith |
Early life
editCotton was born on 30 April 1890 at Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales. His father was the Australian politician Francis Cotton (1857–1942) who was a strong proponent of Georgism and played a key role in the rise of the Labour movement.[1] He was the younger brother of Shackleton expeditioner and geology professor, Leo Arthur Cotton (1883–1963). Pioneer art photographer Olive Cotton was his niece.[2] He attended Sydney Boys High School from 1904 to 1908.[3] In 1917, Cotton married Catherine Drummond Smith, a geology demonstrator who taught at the University of Sydney.[4][5]
Inventions
edit- Anti-Gravity Suit
In 1940, whilst at the University of Sydney, Professor Cotton invented the "Cotton aerodynamic anti-G flying suit" (G-suit), which prevented pilots from blacking out when making high speed turns or pulling out of a dive. This was used extensively by pilots in the Allied air forces during World War II.[2][6]
- Ergometer
Cotton was also responsible for the ergometer, a machine to test the athletic potential of sportsmen and women. Cotton claimed through this machine to have discovered the swimmers Jon Henricks and Judy-Joy Davies. The Australian swimming coach, Forbes Carlile, began his career as an assistant to Cotton.[2][6]
Later life
editOn 23 August 1955, Cotton died at Hornsby, New South Wales.[2]
See also
edit- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- Sidney Cotton (believed to be related)
References
edit- Nairn, Bede, 'Cotton, Frank Stanley (1890–1955)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University[7]
Notes
edit- ^ Scates, Bruce (1986). "'Millenium or Pandemonium?': Radicalism in the Labour Movement, Sydney, 1889–1899". Labour History (50). Liverpool University Press: 72–94. doi:10.2307/27508784. JSTOR 27508784.
- ^ a b c d Nairn (2011)
- ^ "Professors" (PDF). Shsobu.org.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ Nairn, Bede. Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- ^ Burek, C and Higgs, B eds. 2007 The role of women in the history of geology, Geological Society of London
- ^ a b "Department of Physiology, University of Sydney". Physiol.usyd.edu.au. Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ^ Nairn, Bede. Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 2 December 2017 – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
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