Alan Stevenson's grave, New Calton Cemetery

Alan Stevenson FRSE LLD MInstCE (28 April 1807 – 23 December 1865) was a Scottish civil engineer, known for designing and building lighthouses in and around Scotland.

Life

Alan Stevenson was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 28 April 1807, the eldest son of Jean Smith and her husband (and step-brother) Robert Stevenson. With his father, and brothers

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, he was part of the notable family of Engineers and lighthouse builders. The writer

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

was his nephew. He was educated at the

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Edinburgh. In 1821, he attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

to study Latin, Greek and mathematics with a view to becoming a member of the clergy. However, 2 years later in 1823, he decided to pursue a career in engineering and began a four-year apprenticeship at his father's business. Between 1843 and 1853 he built 13 lighthouses in and around

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Among his notable works is the

Skerryvore Lighthouse Skerryvore (from the Gaelic ''An Sgeir Mhòr'' meaning "The Great Skerry") is a remote island that lies off the west coast of Scotland, southwest of Tiree. Skerryvore Lighthouse is located on these rocks, built with some difficulty between 1 ...

. He was Engineer in Chief to the

Northern Lighthouse Board The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for marine navigation aids around coastal areas. History The NLB was formed by Act of P ...

from 1843 to 1853. In 1838 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer being James David Forbes. In 1840 the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

conferred on him an honorary LLB degree. He died at 13 Pitt Street (later renamed Pittville St) in

Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...

on 23 December 1865. He is buried in the Stevenson family vault in New Calton Cemetery with his wife, Margaret Scott Jones. The vault lies midway along the eastern wall.

Publications

*''Biographical Sketches of the Late Robert Stevenson'' (1861)

Family

On 11 September 1844, he married Margaret Scott Jones (1813–1895), daughter of Jean (''née'' Scott) and Humphrey Herbert Jones of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. They had three daughters, Jean, Dorothea and the author and journalist Katherine Elizabeth de Mattos Stevenson (1851–1939), and one son, art critic Robert Alan Mowbray Stevenson (1827–1880).Inscription on grave of Alan Stevenson, New Calton Cemetery He was uncle to

Charles Alexander Stevenson Charles Alexander Stevenson MICE MIEE FRSE (23 December 1855, – 9 May 1950) was a Scottish lighthouse engineer who built twenty-three lighthouses in and around Scotland. Life He was born at 8 Forth Street in the east part of Edinburgh's New ...

and David Alan Stevenson.

Lighthouses by Alan Stevenson

Little Ross Little Ross is a island with a lighthouseDorman, Mark (2017-07-17)"An entire Scottish island is on sale for just £325k - but it has a disturbing past" Yahoo! Finance. on the Solway Coast south of the town of Kirkcudbright in Galloway, Scotl ...

(1843) * Isle of May Low Light (1843) * Skerryvore (1844) * Covesea Skerries (1846) *

Chanonry Point Chanonry Point ( Scottish Gaelic: ''Gob na Cananaich'') lies at the end of Chanonry Ness, a spit of land extending into the Moray Firth between Fortrose and Rosemarkie on the Black Isle, Scotland. Lighthouse An active lighthouse situated at ...

(1846) *

Cromarty Cromarty (; gd, Cromba, ) is a town, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland. Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mouth of Cromarty Firth, it is seaward from ...

(1846) * Cairn Point,

Loch Ryan Loch Ryan ( gd, Loch Rìoghaine, ) is a Scottish sea loch that acts as an important natural harbour for shipping, providing calm waters for ferries operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland. The town of Stranraer is the largest settlemen ...

(1847) *

Noss Head Noss Head is a headland on the north-west coast of Scotland that overlooks Sinclairs Bay. It lies approximately north-east of Wick in Caithness, in the Highland council area of Scotland. Noss Head was first mentioned in the historical record a ...

(1849) *

Ardnamurchan Ardnamurchan (, gd, Àird nam Murchan: headland of the great seas) is a peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access ...

(1849) * Sanda (1850) *

Hestan Island Hestan Island is a small coastal island at the southern foot of the River Urr estuary in the Solway Firth, in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. This small island measures approximately and at its highest elevation sits at j ...

(1850) *

Hoy High Hoy ( sco, Hoy; from Norse , meaning "high island") is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring – the second largest in the archipelago, after Mainland. A natural causeway, ''the Ayre'', links the island to the smaller South Walls; the two ...

and Hoy Low, Graemsay (1851) * Arnish Point (1853) * Eilean Musdile ( Lismore)

Publications

*
Biographical Sketch of the Late Robert Stevenson: Civil Engineer
', read at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, at the meeting of 17 February 1851. From

Google Book Search Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

*
A Rudimentary Treatise on the History, Construction and Illumination of Lighthouses
', 1850, from Google Book Search

Family Tree

Alan's position in the Stevenson family tree.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Alan Lighthouse builders Scottish civil engineers 1807 births 1865 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish people Engineers from Edinburgh Burials at the New Calton Burial Ground People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Stevenson family (Scotland)