Famous Scottish Engineers

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 1 
Alexander Graham Bell
(Inventor of Telephone & Co-Founder of 'American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T)')
Alexander Graham Bell
29
Birthdate: March 3, 1847
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: August 2, 1922

Alexander Graham Bell was a scientist, inventor, and engineer. He is credited with inventing the first functional telephone. He is also credited with co-founding America's major telephone company AT&T, which has been going strong since 1885. Bell's later life was marked by his groundbreaking work in aeronautics, hydrofoils, and optical telecommunications. He was also an ardent supporter of compulsory sterilization.

 2 
James Watt
(Inventor of Steam Engine)
James Watt
31
Birthdate: January 19, 1736
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Died: August 25, 1819
Eighteenth-century Scottish inventor James Watt developed the Newcomen steam engine, by inventing the Watt steam engine, which brough about the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. He also co-owned the firm Boulton and Watt and laid down concepts such as horsepower and the watt, the SI unit of power.
 3 
William Murdoch
(Scottish Engineer and Inventor Who Was the First to Make Extensive Use of Coal Gas for Illumination)
William Murdoch
10
Birthdate: August 21, 1754
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lugar, Scotland
Died: November 15, 1839

Scottish engineer William Murdoch initially worked for the firm of Matthew Boulton and James Watt. He later made a host of inventions and was the first to use coal gas for illumination. He was also known for his work on steam energy and invented the oscillating engine and the D slide valve.

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 4 
John Logie Baird
13
Birthdate: August 13, 1888
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Helensburgh
Died: June 14, 1946

Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator, John Logie Baird, is best known for demonstrating a working TV system in 1926. He then went on to invent the first viable purely electronic color TV picture tube and founded the Baird Television Development Company. He was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame in 2015.

 5 
Thomas Telford
(Civil Engineer)
Thomas Telford
5
Birthdate: August 9, 1757
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Eskdale, Dumfriesshire, Scotland
Died: September 2, 1834

Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford had begun his career as a mason at 14, having lost his father in infancy. A self-taught architect, he was responsible for building many structures, including the Caledonian Canal and the Menai Suspension Bridge. Named The Colossus of Roads, he symbolized the Scottish Enlightenment.

 6 
Sandford Fleming
(Scottish Canadian Engineer and Inventor of 'Worldwide Standard Time')
Sandford Fleming
4
Birthdate: January 7, 1827
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kirkcaldy, Scotland
Died: July 22, 1915
Hailed as the Father of Standard Time, Canadian engineer ,Sandford Fleming, promoted worldwide standard time zones, a prime meridian, and the use of the 24-hour clock. He also designed Canada's first postage stamp and founded the Royal Canadian Institute in 1849. Fleming gained the reputation as one of the primary railway engineers and was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1897.
 7 
Robert Stevenson
(Scottish Civil Engineer, and Designer and Builder of Lighthouses)
Robert Stevenson
2
Birthdate: June 8, 1772
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Died: July 12, 1850

Glasgow-born civil engineer Robert Stevenson initially built lighthouses as part of the Scottish Lighthouse Board. Apart from constructing the Bell Rock Lighthouse in Scotland, he also invented the hydrophore and flashing lights. He was also the grandfather of writer Robert Louis Stevenson. He is part of the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.

 8 
John Loudon McAdam
(Scottish Civil Engineer and Road-Builder)
John Loudon McAdam
5
Birthdate: September 23, 1756
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Ayr, Scotland
Died: November 26, 1836

Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam introduced the world to the macadam road surface, which was more economical and effective than all previous road-construction methods. He suggested that roads should be constructed at an elevated level for better drainage. He also became Britain’s Surveyor-General of Metropolitan Roads.

 9 
Robin Guthrie
(Record producer, Composer, Audio engineer, Songwriter)
Robin Guthrie
5
Birthdate: January 4, 1962
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Grangemouth

Part of the Scottish band Cocteau Twins, Robin Guthrie and his guitar made serious waves in the alternate music scene of the 1980s. He also performed as part of Violet Indiana and has often collaborated with American pianist Harold Budd. He later also stepped into music production.

 10 
John Rennie the Elder
(Scottish Civil Engineer Who Designed Many Bridges, Canals, Docks and Warehouses)
John Rennie the Elder
2
Birthdate: June 7, 1761
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Phantassie, Scotland
Died: October 4, 1821

John Rennie the Elder was a Scottish civil engineer considered a pioneer in the use of structural cast iron. He designed many bridges, canals, docks, and warehouses. As a young boy, he spent much time in the workshop of Andrew Meikle, a prominent mechanical engineer, and learned from him. He then went on to establish his own engineering practice.  

 11 
Dugald Clerk
(Scottish Engineer Known for Designing the World’s First Successful 'Two-Stroke Engine')
Dugald Clerk
1
Birthdate: March 31, 1854
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Died: November 12, 1932

Scottish engineer Dugald Clerk is best known for his invention of the two-stroke engine, used widely in motorcycles and other machines. He also headed engineering research of the British Admiralty as its director and was knighted, too. He also co-established the intellectual property service provider Marks & Clerk.

 12 
Alexander Winton
(Engineer)
Alexander Winton
1
Birthdate: June 20, 1860
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Grangemouth, Scotland
Died: June 21, 1932
 13 
William Fairbairn
(Scottish Civil Engineer, Structural Engineer and Shipbuilder)
William Fairbairn
1
Birthdate: February 19, 1789
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Kelso, Scotland
Died: August 18, 1874

William Fairbairn is remembered for his pioneering use of wrought iron for building bridges, ship hulls, and beams. Apart from inventing the Lancashire boiler, he also served as the president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He also introduced proper and systematic investigations of the collapse of structures.

 14 
Andrew Meikle
(Engineer)
Andrew Meikle
1
Birthdate: May 5, 1719
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Scotland, United Kingdom
Died: November 27, 1811
 15 
Henry Bell
(Engineer)
Henry Bell
1
Birthdate: April 7, 1767
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Torphichen, Scotland
Died: March 14, 1830
 16 
Adam Clark
(Civil Engineer)
Adam Clark
1
Birthdate: August 14, 1811
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: June 23, 1866

Edinburgh-born civil engineer Adam Clark was best known for building the Széchenyi Chain Bridge over the Danube, between Buda and Pest in Hungary. He once even made adjustments to prevent the Austrian Imperial Army from causing significant damage to the bridge. He also constructed the Buda Tunnel.

 17 
William John Macquorn Rankine
(Engineer, Physicist, Civil engineer, University teacher)
William John Macquorn Rankine
0
Birthdate: July 5, 1820
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Edinburgh
Died: December 24, 1872

Scottish engineer William John Macquorn Rankine is best known as one of the pioneers of thermodynamics, especially the first law of thermodynamics. He is remembered for his studies on the steam-engine theory and for introducing the Rankine cycle. He also contributed to the domain of soil mechanics.

 18 
John Elder
(Marine Engineer)
John Elder
15
Birthdate: March 8, 1824
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Died: September 17, 1869
 19 
John Aitken
(Scottish Meteorologist, Physicist and Marine Engineer Who Was One of the Founders of Cloud Physics and Aerosol Science)
John Aitken
0
Birthdate: September 18, 1839
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Died: November 14, 1919

British meteorologist and physicist John Aitken is best remembered for his research on the microscopic particles now known as the Aitken nuclei and their role in the condensation of water vapor. However, health issues kept him confined to his home laboratory and prevented him from taking up significant positions.

 20 
Alfred Ewing
(Physicist)
Alfred Ewing
0
Birthdate: March 27, 1855
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Dundee, Scotland
Died: January 7, 1935

Best remembered for discovering the magnetic property of hysteresis, Alfred Ewing also taught at the University of Tokyo and King’s College, Cambridge. He had also penned papers on subjects such as metallic structure and seismology. He also headed naval education of the British Admiralty and was knighted.

 21 
Robert Stirling
(Scottish Clergyman and Engineer Who Invented the Stirling Engine)
Robert Stirling
2
Birthdate: October 25, 1790
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Methven, Perthshire, Scotland
Died: June 6, 1878

Apart from being a clergyman, Robert Stirling was also an inventor and engineer, who created the famed Stirling engine. He was posthumously named to the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame. His inventions also included optical devices. While his grandfather invented the threshing machine, his father, too, made agricultural machinery.

 22 
Thomas Leith
(Engineer)
Thomas Leith
2
Birthdate: March 23, 1926
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Cathcart, Glasgow, Scotland
Died: November 7, 2005
 23 
David Anderson
(Civil engineer)
David Anderson
0
Birthdate: July 6, 1880
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Leven, Scotland
Died: March 27, 1953

Scottish civil engineer David Anderson initially served the army and then formed the firm Mott Hay and Anderson, along with engineers David Hay and Basil Mott. He was made the president of the Institution of Civil Engineers and was also later knighted. He was a qualified lawyer, too.