Thomas Telford, civil engineer, born Aug 9, 1757
Father of civil engineering, Thomas Telford, was born August 9, 1757 in Dumfriesshire, Scotland.
Born into poverty, Telford went on to become one of England’s foremost engineers, founding the Institution of Civil Engineers
Iron Bridge (Thomas Telford)
From the UK’s 2007 World of Invention set
Designer: Peter Willberg
From canals to bridges, roads to harbours, Thomas Telford – the first President of the Institution of Civil Engineers – worked or advised on hundreds of important civil engineering projects in his lifetime.
His expertise was so renowned that people from all over the world – including the Swedish and Russian governments – consulted him for their major civil engineering projects.
In the UK, Telford’s most famous canal works include the 60-mile Caledonian Canal (1804-1822) and Ellesmere Canal.
In the Highlands of Scotland, Telford was responsible or about 1,200 miles of new or improved roads.
His main achievements in road-making were the London to Holyhead and Bangor to Chester roads. The road in North Wales has been designated a ‘historic route’.
Bridges also played a large part in Telford’s career, with the Menai wrought iron suspension bridge over the Menai Straits in Wales being one of his most famous designs.
With an unprecedented span of nearly 580ft, it was considered the most outstanding bridge development of the early 19th century. Completed in 1826, it’s now in its 200th year.
https://www.ice.org.uk/what-is-civil-engineering/meet-the-engineers/thomas-telford
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