Name Frank Cotton | ||
Frank cotton my little box
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.
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Early life
Frank Stanley Cotton was born on 30 April 1890 at Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales. He was the son of Australian politician Francis Cotton (1857-1942), and brother of Shackleton expeditioner and geology professor, Leo Arthur Cotton (1883-1963). Pioneer art photographer Olive Cotton was his niece. He attended Sydney Boys High School in 1904-08. In 1917, Frank married Catherine Drummond Smith, a geology demonstrator who taught at the University of Sydney.
Inventions
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.
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.
Later life
On 23 August 1955, Frank Cotton died at Hornsby, New South Wales.