explore ... who
A spark in someone's
imagination — that's how
all the greatest engineering
feats began.
Explore this section to find out WHO had those inspired sparks and how their lives helped shape the course of history.
INDEX OF BIOGRAPHIES
Ove  ARUP
John Logie  BAIRD
Benjamin  BAKER
Alexander Graham  BELL
Isambard Kingdom  BRUNEL
Oscar  FABER
Michael  FARADAY
Caroline  HASLETT
Anthony  HUNT
Guy  MAUNSELL
Louis Gustave  MOUCHEL
John  SMEATON
Robert  STEPHENSON
Thomas  TELFORD
Owen  WILLIAMS
Frank  WHITTLE
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Anthony Hunt
Anthony Hunt
Hunt's view of structures as a series of batch-produced components helped a generation of architects realise their High-Tech dreams.
born  22nd June 1932, Streatham Hill, London
introduction  •  early years  •  1951, Samuely and beyond  •  Anthony Hunt Associates  •  friends, architects, houses  •  High Tech  •  engineering changes  •  late great commissions  •  influence  •  selected works  •  sources
Frank Whittle
Frank Whittle
RAF officer Frank Whittle is widely thought of as the 'father' of jet propulsion. His single-minded pursuit of a workable jet engine sped up its development during World War II.
born  1st June 1907, Earlsdon, Coventry
died  9th August 1996, Columbia, Maryland, USA
Biography coming soon. Portrait © courtesy the Whittle family
Caroline Haslett
Caroline Haslett
A charasmatic and energetic pioneering electrical engineer who championed the practical application of electricity in the home and worked tirelessly to further the status of women in the profession.
born  17th August 1895, Worth, West Sussex
died  4th January 1957, Bungay, Suffolk
Biography coming soon.
Portrait © courtesy The Institution of Engineering and Technology
Ove Arup
Ove Arup
Considered one of the great structural engineers of the 20th century,
Arup strove for a perfect union of design and construction.
born  16th April 1895, Newcastle upon Tyne
died  5th February 1988, London
introduction  •  early education  •  Christiani & Nielsen  •  London  •  Lubetkin  •  war years  •  partnership  •  Sydney Opera House  •  Kingsgate  •  character  •  total design  •  selected works  •  sources
Sir Owen Williams
Owen Williams
Pioneering British exponent of the engineering and architecture
of concrete structures.
born  20th March 1890, Tottenham, London
died  23rd May 1969, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordhsire
introduction  •  early life & education  •  getting to know
concrete: 1911-1918  •  bridges: the 1920s  •  buildings: the 1930s  • 
M1 and beyond  •  the man  •  selected works  •  gallery  •  sources
Oscar Faber
Oscar Faber
A great problem solver, Faber was hugely influential in the use
of reinforced concrete in Britain, and one of the first to recognise the importance of M&E services in large buildings.
born  5th July 1886, London
died  7th May 1956, Harpendon, Hertfordshire
Biography coming soon. Portrait © courtesy AECOM
Guy Maunsell
Guy Maunsell
A civil engineer with brilliant ideas, noted for his practical maritime engineering and developments in pre-stressed concrete, which he used in the design of significant bridges in the UK and Australasia.
born  1884, Kashmir, India
died  20th June 1961, Ireland
Biography coming soon. Portrait © courtesy AECOM
Louis Gustave Mouchel
Louis Gustave Mouchel
Mouchel introduced metal-reinforced concrete — ferro-concrete —
to UK construction, greatly influencing 20th century British civil engineering.
born  11th January 1852, Cherbourg, Normandy, France
died  27th May 1908, Cherbourg, Normandy, France
introduction  •  early years  •  history of concrete  •  Mouchel and ferro-concrete  •  into the 20th century  •  death of Mouchel  •  legacy  •  sources
Sir Benjamin Baker
Benjamin Baker
Born at the height of the Industrial Revolution, Baker excelled in many fields. His best known work, the Forth Rail Bridge, is an icon of British design.
born  31st March 1840, Keyford, Frome, Somerset
died  19th May 1907, Bowden Green, Pangbourne, Berkshire
introduction  •  early life  •  Sir John Fowler  •  London Underground  •  Tay Bridge  •  Forth Rail Bridge  •  Cleopatra's Needle  •  Hudson River Tunnel  •  Aswan Dam  •  legacy  •  selected works  •  sources
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
One of the most ambitious designers and energetic practitioners
in civil engineering history.
born  9th April 1806, near Portsmouth
died  15th September 1859, London W1
introduction  •  early life & education  •  Thames Tunnel  •  Bristol  •  Great Western Railway & the broad gauge  •  railways, bridges & atmospherics •  great ships  •  family & final years
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
His refinements to the steam engine made steam locomotion a viable form of transport, which he demonstrated with his famous prototype, Rocket.
born  16th October 1803, Newcastle upon Tyne
died  12th October 1859, London W2
introduction  •  early life & education  •  the Rocket & steam-powered locomotion  •  railways & railway bridges  • 
influence, family & final years
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday
Faraday's discovery of the electric motor, electric transformer and electric generator laid the foundations of electrical engineering.
born  22nd September 1791, Newington Butts, London
died  25th August 1867, Hampton Court, Middlesex
introduction  •  family & religion  •  RI & Humphry Davy  • 
electro-magnetism  •  communicating science  •  application of science  •  lighthouses  •  electro-magnetic field  •  influence
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
The first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers and considered to be one of the great civil engineers of all time.
born  9th August 1757, Glendinning (farm), Westerkirk, Dumfriesshire
died  2nd September 1834, 24 Abingdon Street, London
introduction  •  early life  •  last great canal engineer
building bridges  •  roads & transport  •  public works
poetry & philanthropy  •  legacy  •  selected works
John Smeaton
John Smeaton
Smeaton laid the foundations for civil engineering as a profession.
born  8th June 1724, Austhorpe Lodge, Whitkirk, West Yorkshire
died  28th October 1792, Austhorpe Lodge, Whitkirk, West Yorkshire
introduction  •  early years  •  instrument making  •  bridges  •  Royal Society  •  water wheels & mill works  • inland waterways & fen drainage  •  lighthouses  •  steam engines  •  harbours  •  practice & legacy  •  family & final years  •  selected works  •  sources
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