author
Francis John Kean
An early 20th-century engineering writer, he explained the fast-changing world of petrol and aeronautical engines in a clear, practical way for students and working mechanics alike.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Francis John Kean was a British engineering author whose books focused on internal-combustion and aircraft engines at a moment when both fields were developing quickly. The title page of The Petrol Engine identifies him as a B.Sc. (London), a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, head of the Motor Car Engineering Department at the Polytechnic School of Engineering in Regent Street, London, and a former lecturer on experimental engineering at McGill University in Montreal.
His best-known works include The Petrol Engine and Aeronautical Engines. In The Petrol Engine, first published in 1915, he set out to teach principles of design and construction rather than simply list existing engine types, which gives the book a useful, hands-on character even today.
Reliable biographical information about Kean appears to be very limited online, so much of his life outside his professional roles is unclear. What does come through from the surviving records is his place in the history of technical education: he wrote for readers who wanted to understand how modern machines actually worked.