Frank Cotton


Frank Stanley Cotton was an Australian lecturer in physiology, specialising in the study of the effects of physical strain on the human body.

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, and brother of Shackleton expeditioner and geology professor, Leo Arthur Cotton. 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

;Anti-Gravity Suit
In 1940, whilst at the University of Sydney, Professor Cotton invented the "Cotton aerodynamic anti-G flying 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.
;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.

Later life

On 23 August 1955, Frank Cotton died at Hornsby, New South Wales.