George Frederick Armstrong

George Frederick Armstrong (born May 15, 1842 in Doncaster , † November 16, 1900 in Grasmere ) was a British engineer.

Life

George Armstrong's son was born in Dorncaster. He received his early education through private lessons. He took up a job in the Dorncaster railroad workshops, alternating between teaching and practical work. At seventeen he was sent to one of the few colleges that trained engineers for further education. From 1857 he attended King's College London for three years, where he received the basic education of the universities of that time. He changed only at the St John's College of Cambridge University and later at the Jesus College , where he continued his scientific training. In 1864 he graduated with a BA, followed by an MA. After graduating from university, he went back to Great Northern Railways, where he gained practical experience with the then chief engineer Richard Johnson. The relationship with the Great Northern came to an end in 1869, but after he had worked again in the railway workshops in Dorncaster.

In the same year Armstrong moved into London and took on contracts as a freelance engineer. He advised the Isle of Man Railways, which later also implemented his plans. During this time, Canada began to take over training based on the European model. When a chair in engineering was established at McGill University in 1871 , Armstrong was elected first professor. Armstrong not only had to clarify the curriculum and the content of the training, he also had to establish, clarify and regulate relationships with the other departments of the university. On top of that, he still found time to get involved in social life in Montreal .

When in 1876 a chair in engineering at the recently established Yorkshire College (see University of Leeds ) in Leeds was established, Armstrong followed the call of his home and filled the chair as the first professor. In 1885 Armstrong was appointed to the orphaned chair of the Regius Professor of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh after the death of the first Regius Professor, Fleeming Jenkin . His inaugural lecture was entitled The Progress of Technical Education at Home and Abroad ( progress of technical training at home and abroad ). The lecture received a lot of attention. Stafford Northcote quoted excerpts from a debate in the House of Commons, and an influential industrialist was so impressed that he had the Fulton Laboratories of the University of Edinburgh, named after him, set up from his estate.

Like his predecessor, Armstrong was a public health advocate, so he went to great lengths to train in related engineering subjects. He set up an annual course on water supply and plumbing for medical professionals. His activities improved the standing of engineering compared to other subjects. While Armstrong was still alive, the subject was filled with a professorship at the university.

Armstrong was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh , was Honorary President of the East of Scotland Engineering Association for 15 years, was a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts in which he also took over the presidency in 1896. In 1899 he was appointed a Fellow of Kings College London. He was elected on December 7, 1869 to associate member and from April 5, 1892 to member of the Institute of Civil Engineers.

In 1893 Armstrong married Margaret Brown. He died on November 16, 1900 after several months of illness at his home in Grasmere, where he had served for many years as Justice of the Peace of Westmorland and presided over the Grasmere District Council. His successor as Regius Professor was Thomas Hudson Beare in May 1901 .

bibliography

Books

• Inaugural lecture of the Department of Practical science in McGill University, Montreal ; 1872
• A Lecture on the Progress of Higher Technical Instruction - At Home and Abroad ; 1885

chapter

• Notes on some Results of the Last Solar Eclipse (December 12, 1871) , 1875, in The Canadian Naturalist and Geologist , Volume 7

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa} Obituary. (PDF) George Frederick Armstrong. In: Institute of Civil Engineers website. Pp. 308-312 , accessed April 6, 2020 .  
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} unknown: George Frederick Armstrong. In: Grace's Guide to British Industrial History (Reg. UK Charity No. 1154342). Grace's Guide, October 3, 2018, accessed April 4, 2020 .  
3. ^ ^{A b c d e f} C. D. Waterston and A. Macmillan Shearer: Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh. (PDF) 1783 - 2002. In: Website of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22-26 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PQ, p. 36 , accessed April 7, 2020 .  
4. ↑ ^{a b} Editors: Daniel Coit Gilman, Harry Thurston Peck and Frank Moore Colby: The New International Encyclopaedia 1st ed. 02.djvu / 65. In: The New International Encyclopaedia. Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1905, accessed April 7, 2020 (On Wikisource;).  
5. ↑ unknown: Scottish Office, Whitehall. May 23, 1901. In: London Gazette, May 24, 1901. May 24, 1901, accessed April 4, 2020 (English, news of the appointment of Thomas Hudson Beare Esq., B.Sc. as Regius Professor of Engineering. ).