Thomas Yeoman: Difference between revisions
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{{citation|title=A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 1|editor=A. W. Skempton|pages=815|chapter=Yeoman, Thomas|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jeOMfpYMOtYC |publisher=Thomas Telford |date=2002}}</ref> |
{{citation|title=A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 1|editor=A. W. Skempton|pages=815|chapter=Yeoman, Thomas|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jeOMfpYMOtYC |publisher=Thomas Telford |date=2002}}</ref> |
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On arrival in London he gave evidence to the parliamentary commission for the River Nene and in 1758 was employed as surveyor and engineer on the works. After this his main work was as surveyor and engineer on numerous canal and river navigations including the [[Stort Navigation|Stort]], [[Lee Navigation|Lea]], [[Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation|Chelmer]], [[River Medway|Medway]], [[Stroudwater Navigation|Stroud]] and [[River Thames|Thames]]. In many of these he worked with [[John Smeaton]] and his major achievement was the [[Limehouse Cut]] in 1770. As early as 1763 he was described as a "surveyor and civil engineer" by Thomas Mortimer's [[Universal Director]], together with John Smeaton, one of the first recorded uses of the term. He was elected the first president of a [[Society of Civil Engineers]] in 1771 which was later called the Smeatonian Society. (This society was to become the [[Institute of Civil Engineers]] in 1818.)<ref name=musson/> Yeoman died a widower in 1781, being buried in [[Bunhill Fields]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bates}}</ref> |
On arrival in London he gave evidence to the parliamentary commission for the River Nene and in 1758 was employed as surveyor and engineer on the works. After this his main work was as surveyor and engineer on numerous canal and river navigations including the [[Stort Navigation|Stort]], [[Lee Navigation|Lea]], [[Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation|Chelmer]], [[River Medway|Medway]], [[Stroudwater Navigation|Stroud]] and [[River Thames|Thames]]. In many of these he worked with [[John Smeaton]] and his major achievement was the [[Limehouse Cut]] in 1770. As early as 1763 he was described as a "surveyor and civil engineer" by Thomas Mortimer's [[Universal Director]], together with John Smeaton, one of the first recorded uses of the term. Smeaton and Yeoman were joined [[Robert William Mylne|Robert Mylne]], [[Joseph Nickalls]] (1725–1793), [[John Grundy Jr.]], [[John Thompson (d.1795)|John Thompson]], and [[James King (died 1781)|James King]]]] at the [[King's Head, Holborn|King's Head]] in Holborn where they "agreed that the civil engineers of this Kingdom do form themselves into a Society".<ref>Mike Chrimes, ‘Society of Civil Engineers (act. 1771–2001)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/theme/93805, accessed 12 Aug 2013]</ref> |
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He was elected the first president of a [[Society of Civil Engineers]] in 1771 which was later called the Smeatonian Society. (This society was to become the [[Institute of Civil Engineers]] in 1818.)<ref name=musson/> Yeoman died a widower in 1781, being buried in [[Bunhill Fields]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bates}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 20:19, 12 August 2013
Thomas Yeoman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1709 or 1710 Probably Somerset |
| Died | 23 January 1781 (age about 70) |
| Resting place | Bunhill Fields |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupations | |
| Known for | First president of the Society of Civil Engineers |
| Notable work | Limehouse Cut |
Thomas Yeoman (1709 or 1710 – 23 January 1781) was a millwright, surveyor and civil engineer who played a significant part in the early industrial revolution and became the first president of the first engineering society in the world, the Society of Civil Engineers, now known as the 'Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers'.
Northampton
Although his origin and early life are obscure, he was probably born in Somerset and is first known as a wheelwright skilled in ‘turning iron & Brass, & making machinery for grinding’ recruited by Edward Cave to operate a water-powered cotton roller-spinning mill at Northampton in 1741 under licence from Lewis Paul. He was here with his wife Sarah and their son James. Yeoman established himself as a millwright constructing machinery such as ventilators invented by the clergyman Stephen Hales and began to take an active part in Northampton's business. Yeoman was a notable member of the local Baptist Church in College. Yeoman's contribution to society in general was rewarded when he became president of the Northampton Philosophical Society. This society met in his house and included the inventor William Shipley and nonconformist leader Philip Doddridge amongst its members.[1]
As his social standing rose he moved first to Gold Street, where he built and sold scientific instruments, and then to Bridge Street. His ventilators sold as far as Rotterdam, for use on the British merchant fleet. He also first surveyed the river Nene in 1744.[2]
Yeoman and his wife had another son, Samuel, before Sarah died in 1746. He married Anne Remington on 18 August 1747 and they had a son Thomas in 1748 and a daughter Anne in 1752.[3]
London
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In 1756, Yeoman moved to London, the cotton mill having declined and closed in that year, and took up residence in Little Peter Street, Westminster. He had contracts to install ventilators with the Admiralty, first in naval hospitals and then in the fleet. He also ventilated the Drury Lane Theatre and Houses of Parliament. He was elected to the Society of Arts, founded by his friend William Shipley in the 1760s and played an active part, introducing many other members and acting as chairman of the Committee of Mechanics for many years. In 1764 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, when he was described as 'Inspector of Ventilation in His Majesty's Fleet'.[4]
On arrival in London he gave evidence to the parliamentary commission for the River Nene and in 1758 was employed as surveyor and engineer on the works. After this his main work was as surveyor and engineer on numerous canal and river navigations including the Stort, Lea, Chelmer, Medway, Stroud and Thames. In many of these he worked with John Smeaton and his major achievement was the Limehouse Cut in 1770. As early as 1763 he was described as a "surveyor and civil engineer" by Thomas Mortimer's Universal Director, together with John Smeaton, one of the first recorded uses of the term. Smeaton and Yeoman were joined Robert Mylne, Joseph Nickalls (1725–1793), John Grundy Jr., John Thompson, and James King]] at the King's Head in Holborn where they "agreed that the civil engineers of this Kingdom do form themselves into a Society".[5]
He was elected the first president of a Society of Civil Engineers in 1771 which was later called the Smeatonian Society. (This society was to become the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1818.)[2] Yeoman died a widower in 1781, being buried in Bunhill Fields.[6]
References
- ^ Bates, David L., Yeoman, Thomas, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b Musson, A. Albert Edward; Robinson, Eric (1969), "The profession of Civil Engineer in the Eighteenth Century, a portrait of Thomas Yeoman, FRS", Science and Technology in the Industrial Revolution, University of Manchester Press, pp. 141, 372–392
- ^ Bates
- ^ A. W. Skempton, ed. (2002), "Yeoman, Thomas", A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 1, Thomas Telford, p. 815
- ^ Mike Chrimes, ‘Society of Civil Engineers (act. 1771–2001)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press. accessed 12 Aug 2013
- ^ Bates