John Smeaton

John Smeaton , 1724-92, English civil engineer. He became an instrument maker, improved navigation instruments, and carried out many experiments on mechanical apparatus. Between 1750 and 1755 his interests turned increasingly to engineering, as evidenced by a number of papers read before the Royal Society during this period. He rebuilt (1756-59) the Eddystone lighthouse and worked on the Forth and Clyde Canal, Ramsgate Harbour and many important bridges. Within 10 years he became recognized as the first fully professional engineer of his time.

Smeaton, John (1724–92). English civil engineer and inventor of Scots descent. He travelled on the Continent in 1754 to study canals and harbours, and in 1755–6 he designed his Eddystone Lighthouse, near Plymouth, Devon, using a system of dovetailing the stones together, including the courses and the foundations in the rock. The building was completed in 1759, but was replaced in 1877–82. He designed several bridges, the best of which are in Scotland, including those at Banff, Coldstream, and Perth, using segmental arches, and with circular perforations in the spandrels. He also designed the Forth and Clyde Canal (begun 1768, completed 1790).

Bibliography

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004);
Skempton et al. (eds.) (1981);
Smeaton (1813, 1837)

Smeaton, John (1724–92). One of the founders of the civil engineering profession. Born in Leeds, where his father was a lawyer, Smeaton demonstrated a practical aptitude which won him rapid recognition as a craftsman and instrument-maker. He was commissioned to rebuild the lighthouse on Eddystone Rock, 15 miles south of Plymouth, and completed this in 1759 with a remarkably innovative design which set the pattern for all subsequent offshore lighthouses. It was after this that he set up a consultancy business, styling himself a ‘civil engineer’ to distinguish his profession from that of the military engineers. His commissions included canals such as the Forth–Clyde canal in Scotland, many distinguished masonry bridges such as those at Perth and Coldstream, harbours such as that at Ramsgate, and a succession of water-mills and steam-engines. In 1771 he took the lead in establishing the Society of Civil Engineers, the first professional institution for engineers.

R. Angus Buchanan