HISTORY OF ROCKETRY A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z                    HOME ABOUT CATEGORIES SITE MAP COPYRIGHT ADVERTISE CONTACT entire Web this site Congreve, William (1772-1828) An artillery colonel in the British army whose interest in rocketry was stimulated by the success of Indian rocket barrages against the British in 1792 and again in 1799 at Seringapatam (see Tipu Sultan). Congreve's black powder rockets proved highly effective in battle. Used by British ships to pound Fort McHenry, they inspired Francis Scott Key to write of "the rockets' red glare" in a poem that later provided the words to The Star-Spangled Banner. Congreve's rockets were used in the Napoleonic Wars and in the War of 1812. Congreve was the son of William Congreve, Comptroller of the Royal Laboratory at Woolwich. Young Congreve passed through the Royal Academy at Woolwich. Following the military success of his rockets, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and returned to parliament in 1812. Two years later he succeeded to the baronetcy and his father's place. Reference Winter, Frank H. The First Golden Age of Rocketry: Congreve and Hale Rockets of the Nineteenth Century. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990. Related categories    • HISTORY OF ROCKETRY    • ROCKET ENGINEERS AND SPACE SCIENTISTS Also on this site: Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living Encyclopedia of History Transport Concepts & Designs (partner site) BACK TO TOP