Sir James Denning Pearson FRAeS Wh.S.Sch (8 August 1908 – 1 August 1992) is a former Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Limited.

Early life

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He was born in Bootle. His father died when he was eleven. He grew up in Cardiff.

He gained a First Class degree from Cardiff Technical College.

Pearson became a Whitworth Senior Scholar in 1930 having used his Scholarship to do steam turbine research at Metropolitan-Vickers and in 1985 became President of the Whitworth Society.[1]

Career

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Rolls-Royce

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He joined Rolls-Royce in 1932. During the Second World War, he was Chief Engineer at the R-R shadow factory in Glasgow, producing 150 Merlin engines a week.

He oversaw the expansion of Rolls-Royce into the jet aero-engine market in the 1960s.

Personal life

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He married Eluned Henry in 1932, and they had two daughters.

He was knighted in the 1963 New Year Honours.[2] He became an FRAeS in 1964 and was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club in 1967.[3] He died in the Amber Valley of Derbyshire.

References

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  1. ^ The Whitworth Register, 2017. The Whitworth Society. pp. 37, 206.
  2. ^ Independent Obituary
  3. ^ FRAeS
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Business positions
Preceded by
Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Ltd
1965-70
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Managing Director of the Aero Engine Division of Rolls-Royce Ltd
1954-65
Succeeded by