Sir William George Armstrong Inventor Hydraulics ... Sir William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong (November 26, 1810 – December 27, 1900) was a Tyneside industrialist who was the effective founder of the Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing empire. Armstrong was responsible for developing the hydraulic accumulator. Where water pressure was not available on site for the use of hydraulic cranes, Armstrong often built high water towers to provide a supply of water at pressure. However, when supplying cranes for use at New Holland on the River Humber, he was unable to do this because the foundations consisted of sand. After much careful thought he produced the hydraulic accumulator, a cast-iron cylinder fitted with a plunger supporting a very heavy weight. The plunger would slowly be raised, drawing in water, until the downward force of the weight was sufficient to force the water below it into pipes at great pressure. The accumulator was a very significant, if unspectacular, invention, which found many applications in the following years.