Alexander Binnie
Alexander Binnie | |
---|---|
Born | 26 March 1839[1] |
Died | 18 May 1917 (aged 78) |
Nationality | English |
Occupation | Engineer |
Engineering career | |
Discipline | Civil |
Institutions | Institution of Civil Engineers (president) |
Projects | Blackwall Tunnel, Greenwich foot tunnel, Vauxhall Bridge |
Awards | Telford Medal |
Sir Alexander Richardson Binnie (26 March 1839 – 18 May 1917) was a British
He was born in London to a Scottish father, Alexander Binnie, and Hannah Carr from Castle Sowerby, Cumberland.[2] He was baptised at the Swallow Street Scotch Church, where his grandfather Alexander Birnie was an elder.[1] He trained as an engineer by being articled in 1858 to Terence Flannagan and afterwards to Frederic la Trobe Bateman. He then worked on railways in mid-Wales before moving in 1868 to India to engineer the Nagpur water supply system. He received the Telford Medal of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1875 for his paper on the Nagpur waterworks.[3]
In 1875, he returned to England as Chief Engineer for Waterworks for the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire where he was concerned with the repair and construction of reservoirs and large water supply projects, such as Upper Barden Reservoir.[4] He was then offered the post of Chief Engineer for London County Council in 1890, a post he held until 1902.[5]
As chief engineer for London County Council, his design feats included the first
He was knighted in 1897 by Queen Victoria for services to engineering and elected President of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1905.[6]
He also designed, with Sir
Legacy
Like several other notable engineers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries (e.g. Sir
Personal life
Binnie married, in 1865, Mary Frances Eames, the daughter of Dr. William J. Eames, of Londonderry.[8] Lady Binnie died in London 21 September 1901.[9]
References
- ^ a b England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
- ^ 1851 England Census
- ^ Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Volume 43. p. 244.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31888. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "CIVIL ENGINEERS' COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUES" (PDF). Imperial College. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^
Watson, Garth (1988), The Civils, London: Thomas Telford Ltd, p. 252, ISBN 0-7277-0392-7
- ^ "RSK acquisition marks the return of Binnies". The Construction Index. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Ireland, Select Marriages, 1619-1898
- ^ "Obituaries". The Times. No. 36568. London. 24 September 1901. p. 4.