Alan MacDougall

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FRSSA MICE (1842–1897) was a civil engineer of Scots descent famed for his work in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the 19th century.

Life

He was born in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on 22 May 1842 the third son of Lt Col. John MacDougall a soldier of Scottish descent. The family returned to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in his youth and he was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

and then in 1859 was apprenticed to a civil engineer, Charles Jopp, based at 118 George Street in Edinburgh’s New Town. In 1862 he began working for the

North British Railway The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...

and in 1864 became one of their resident engineers. In 1868 he moved to Canada to take on a role of civil engineer to the

Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway The Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway (TG&B) was a railway company which operated in Ontario, Canada in the years immediately following the Canadian Confederation of 1867. It connected two rural counties, Grey County and Bruce County, with the provi ...

and was Chief Assistant during its construction until 1872. In 1873 he joined

William Kingsford William Kingsford (23 December 1819 – 29 September 1898) was an English-born Canadian historian. Born in London, England, served in the army, and went to Canada, where he was engaged in surveying work. He was a self-taught historian, and one of ...

as his assistant to works on the upper harbours and river works on the

St Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. In 1877 he returned to Scotland to rejoin the

. In 1878 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were Andrew Wood,

Edward Sang Edward Sang FRSE FRSSA LLD (30 January 1805 – 23 December 1890) was a Scottish mathematician and civil engineer, best known for having computed large tables of logarithms, with the help of two of his daughters. These tables went beyond the tab ...

Robert James Blair Cunynghame Robert James Blair Cunynghame of Cronan, FRCSEd, FRSE JP (13 January 1841 – 23 December 1903) was a prominent Scottish surgeon, physiologist and early forensic scientist in the late 19th century. He served as President of the Royal College ...

, and Sir

John Batty Tuke Sir John Batty Tuke PRCPE FRSE LLD (9 January 1835 – 13 October 1913) was one of the most influential psychiatrists in Scotland in the late nineteenth century, and a Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1910. Tuke's career in Edi ...

. He resigned from the Society in 1889. In 1882 he returned to Canada as Divisional Engineer for the

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

area to the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

. In 1883 he made a career jump from railway engineer to sanitary engineer, and became a principal advisor to numerous Canadian municipalities on sewerage and waterworks provision. During this period he oversaw works in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

, Stratford, Goderich,

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, Belleville,

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

, and Brandon. Beyond Ontario he was responsible for major improvements in both

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. In 1887 he became City engineer to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He helped to found the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers and served as its Vice-President in 1894. He retired due to ill health and died in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

in England on 23 April 1897.

Family

In 1872 he married Emily Augusta McCaul daughter of Dr John McCaul of Toronto in Canada. They had a daughter and three sons.Dictionary of Canadian Biography vol12

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacDougall, Alan 1842 births 1897 deaths People educated at Edinburgh Academy Scottish civil engineers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh British people in colonial India