John Smeaton

John Smeaton (8 June 1724 - 28 October 1792) was a civil engineer - indeed, he is often regarded as the 'Father of civil engineering’ – responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbour and lighthouse. He was also a more than capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist. He was associated with the Lunar Society.

Legacy

Highly regarded by other engineers, he contributed to the Lunar Society and founded the Society of Civil Engineers in 1771. He coined the term civil engineers to distinguish them from military engineers graduating from the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. After his death, the Society was renamed the Smeatonian Society, and was a forerunner of the Institution of Civil Engineers, established in 1818.

Related Topics:
Lunar Society - 1771 - Royal Military Academy - Woolwich - Institution of Civil Engineers - 1818

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His pupils included canal engineers James Brindley and William Jessop and architect and engineer Benjamin Latrobe.

Related Topics:
James Brindley - William Jessop - Benjamin Latrobe

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He died after suffering a stroke while walking in the garden of his family home at Austhorpe, and was buried in the parish church at Whitkirk, West Yorkshire.

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He is mentioned in the Leeds-based "Kaiser Chiefs" song, "I Predict a Riot", as a symbol of a more dignified and peaceful epoch in Leeds history.

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John Smeaton also lends his name to a high school in the suburbs of Leeds, adjacent to the Pendas Fields estate near Austhorpe. The school has however recently fallen upon hard times and has been cited numerous times in the list of least improved schools in the country.

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