James Martin

Sir James Martin (1893 to 1981) was a British engineer, born in County Down in what is now Northern Ireland, who with Captain Valentine Baker founded the Martin-Baker aircraft company, a leading maker of aircraft ejection seats. He set up his own engineering firm in 1929, and in 1934 the two men formed Martin-Baker, with Baker as test pilot. Baker was killed in a crash of their third aircraft design, the MB 3. The company afterwards turned its attention to escape systems for aircrew, and ejection seats became its lasting product. Martin received the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club in 1964 and was inducted into the International Air and Space Hall of Fame in 2004. His portrait appeared on the Northern Bank one hundred pound note in its Inventor series.