Frank Cotton

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For other people named Frank Cotton, see Frank Cotton (disambiguation).

Frank Stanley Cotton (30 April 1890 – 23 August 1955) was an Australian lecturer in physiology, specialising in the study of the effects of physical strain on the human body.

Early life[]

Cotton was born on 30 April 1890 at Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales. His father was the Australian politician Francis Cotton (1857–1942) who was a strong proponent of Georgism and played a key role in the rise of the Labour movement.[1] He was the younger brother of Shackleton expeditioner and geology professor, (1883–1963). Pioneer art photographer Olive Cotton was his niece.[2] He attended Sydney Boys High School from 1904 to 1908.[3] In 1917, Cotton married Catherine Drummond Smith, a geology demonstrator who taught at the University of Sydney.[4][5]

Inventions[]

Anti-Gravity Suit

In 1940, whilst at the University of Sydney, Professor Cotton invented the "Cotton aerodynamic anti-G flying suit" (G-suit), which prevented pilots from blacking out when making high speed turns or pulling out of a dive. This was used extensively by pilots in the Allied air forces during World War II.[2][6]

Ergometer

Cotton was also responsible for the ergometer, a machine to test the athletic potential of sportsmen and women. Cotton claimed through this machine to have discovered the swimmers Jon Henricks and Judy-Joy Davies. The Australian swimming coach, Forbes Carlile, began his career as an assistant to Cotton.[2][6]

Later life[]

On 23 August 1955, Cotton died at Hornsby, New South Wales.[2]

See also[]

References[]

  • Nairn, Bede, 'Cotton, Frank Stanley (1890–1955)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University[7]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Scates, Bruce (1986). "'Millenium or Pandemonium?': Radicalism in the Labour Movement, Sydney, 1889–1899". Labour History. Liverpool University Press (50): 72–94. doi:10.2307/27508784. JSTOR 27508784.
  2. ^ a b c d Nairn (2011)
  3. ^ "Professors" (PDF). Shsobu.org.au. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  4. ^ Nairn, Bede. Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  5. ^ Burek, C and Higgs, B eds. 2007 The role of women in the history of geology, Geological Society of London
  6. ^ a b "Department of Physiology, University of Sydney". Physiol.usyd.edu.au. Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  7. ^ Nairn, Bede. Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 2 December 2017 – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.


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