Frank Whittle was born on June 1st, 1907. He joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a boy and became a test pilot in the RAF. He invented the jet engine in 1930, then joined other people, started a company and called it Power Jets LTD. He tested his first jet engine in 1937.

In 1944 the British government took over Power Jets LTD. The engines were used by the RAF against Germany.

Frank Whittle retired from the RAF in 1948. In 1977, he became a research professor at the U.S Naval Academy.. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 1986 by the British government. He wrote a book called: THE STORY OF A PIONEER which was published in 1953.

He died in August 9th 1996.

To get some information on how the jet engine works, please click here.