Air brakes or more formally a compressed air brake system is a type of friction brake for vehicles in which compressed air pressing on a piston is used to apply the pressure to the brake pad needed to stop the vehicle. The definition for the word air break is "piping arrangement in which a drain from a fixture, appliance, or device discharges indirectly into another fixture."
He invented the railway airbreak and was a pioneer of the electrica industry
Please clairify: Airbreak (windbreak) is a device used for shelter in an open area, consisting of a series of poles with fabric or similar material. No known inventor, as has probably been in use since early man. An Airbrake is something entirely different.