William Symington

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William Symington (born October 1763 in Leadhills , Scotland , † March 22, 1831 in London ) was a Scottish engineer who developed the first practical steam boat , the Charlotte Dundas (1803).

Symington, before 1831

Symington was the son of a mechanic in the Leadhills mines. He was supposed to be a pastor and received appropriate training in Glasgow and Edinburgh, but early pursued the career of an engineer and built a steam engine with his brother George in 1785 based on the model of James Watt , of which a local mine owner (Gilbert Meason) was so impressed. that he enabled Symington to study at Edinburgh University for a few months . In 1787 he improved Watt's steam engine and received a patent for it. He also made experiments with steam-powered road vehicles. Soon afterwards he wanted to show their usability in a steamship. First experiments on a lake near Dumfries in October 1788 showed at least the feasibility. Further attempts followed in December 1789 with a larger boat sailing the Forth and Clyde Canal. Around 1800 the experiments were funded by Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas , who came from a wealthy Scottish family who also owned the canal. After a first ship in 1801 had not yet sailed the canal to the full satisfaction of the client, the Charlotte Dundas successfully pulled two barges through the canal in January and March 1803 . To Symingtons disappointment, however, there was no follow-up order.

In addition to his development of a steam boat, Symington also built steam engines as pumps for mines and was himself a mining entrepreneur at Falkirk from 1804 , which, however, ended in failure and a subsequent long legal process that Symington lost. Symington went bankrupt and his health deteriorated too. In 1829 he moved to live with his daughter in London. He died there in 1831 and is buried in St. Botulph.

In 1890 he was honored with a statue in Edinburgh.

literature

  • WS Harvey, G. Downs-Rose William Symington. Inventor and Engine Builder , Northgate Publ. 1980
  • BEG Clark Symington and the Steamboat , 2010

Individual evidence

  1. Life data according to Encyclopedia Britannica, CD edition 2001.