HANSOM, JOSEPH ALOYSIUS English architect and inventor, was born in York on Oct. 26, 1803, and died in London on June 29, 1882. He went from his father's joinery shop to be articled to an architect in York. In 1831 his designs for the Birmingham town hall were accepted and executed. In 1834 he registered and sold for £ i o,000 the design for a "Patent Safety Cab," which, as subsequently improved, became popular as the "hansom" cab. In the same year he joined Owen's Grand Trades Union. He erected a number of important buildings between 1854 and 1879, including churches, schools and convents for the Roman Catholic Church, of which he was a member. The cathedral, Plymouth, and the Jesuit church, Manchester, rank among his chief works. See "Memoir" in the Builder, July 8, 1882.