Walter Worboys
Sir Walter John Worboys (22 February 1900 – 18 March 1969), was an Australian-born British businessman.
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He was born in Perth, WA on 22 February 1900[1] and educated at Scotch College and the University of Western Australia. Elected a Rhodes Scholar in 1922, he gained his D.Phil. after a further period of study at Lincoln College, Oxford.[2] His first job was as a Research Chemist at Brunner Mond & Co. From here he moved to ICI eventually reaching the rank of Director.
In 1947 he joined the Council of Industrial Design, a body set up by the Board of Trade in 1944. He was chairman of the Council from 1953 until 1960, during which time he set up the Design Centre, a permanent exhibition of the Council’s work. The establishment of the Design Centre proved to be a turning point in the history of the Council which, until that time had attracted more critics than friends.[3]
In 1961 he was appointed to chair a committee to bring in a new era of modern road signage.[3] The committee reported in 1963,[4] advocating a total overhaul of the style of British road signs, a style that has lasted until the present day (2013). The report recommended the pictorial design found on many European road signs, along with a British-designed font that was to become known as the Transport font.[5]
He died on 17 March 1969.[6]
Notes
- ↑ “Who was Who” 1897-2007 London, A & C Black, 2007 ISBN 978-0-19-954087-7
- ↑ "Rhodes Scholars: Complete List, 1903-2011". The Rhodes SCholarships. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
- 1 2 "Worboys, Sir Walter John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/37022. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ "Hansard : Traffic Signs Committee Report". 13 March 1963. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
- ↑ "Jock Kinneir + Margaret Calvert". Design Museum. 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ↑ Obituary: Sir Walter Worboys The Times Tuesday, Mar 18, 1969; pg. 12; Issue 57512; col G