Alexander Carnegie Kirk (16 July 1830 – 5 October 1892) was a Scottish

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

responsible for several major innovations in the

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

, and oil shale industries of the 19th century. Kirk, born in

Barry, Angus Barry (Scottish Gaelic: ''Barraidh'') is a small village in Angus, Scotland, on Barry Burn at the mouth of the River Tay. The recent completion of a bypass for the village on the A930 road from Dundee to Carnoustie is something that was or ...

, received his formal education at 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 ...

and a technical education at plants operated by

Robert Napier and Sons Messrs Robert Napier and Sons was a famous firm of River Clyde, Clyde shipbuilders and marine engineers at Govan, City of Glasgow, Glasgow founded by Robert Napier (engineer), Robert Napier in 1826. It was moved to Govan for more space in 1841. Hi ...

Family

Alexander Carnegie Kirk was the eldest son of John Kirk (died 1858) and Christian Guthrie, née Carnegie, (died 1865). The naturalist John Kirk was his younger brother. A.C. Kirk married Ada Waller at

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

in 1869 and they had six children.

Career

In 1850, Kirk began a five-year apprenticeship with Robert Napier and Sons. In 1861, he became chief draughtsman at Maudslay, Sons and Field in London but this seems to have lasted less than a year. Later in 1861 he became an engineering manager in the shale-oil industry, working for James Young. During this employment he developed an oil shale retort and a refrigeration technology, involving the delivery of

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be ...

. The latter was to address production problems stemming from summer heat. In 1865 he joined the management of James Aitken and Company, an engine works in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. In 1870 he was appointed manager of the John C. Elder engineering works. After returning to the Napier firm as a senior partner in 1877, his work was thereafter focused on marine engineering. His

triple-expansion engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

s as designed for the steamship ''Propontis'' were unsuccessful, but his subsequent versions of the engine design, particularly those designed for the steamship ''Aberdeen'', are credited as technological breakthroughs.

Professional appointments

He served as the President of The

Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland (IESIS) is a multi-disciplinary professional body and learned society, founded in Scotland, for professional engineers in all disciplines and for those associated with or taking an interes ...

from 1887 to 1889.

Honours

In 2020 he was inducted into the

Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame The Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame honours "those engineers from, or closely associated with, Scotland who have achieved, or deserve to achieve, greatness", as selected by an independent panel representing Scottish engineering institutions, aca ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Alexander C. 1830 births 1892 deaths Presidents of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland Scottish engineers Scottish inventors 19th-century Scottish people 19th-century British engineers People from Angus, Scotland Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British marine engineers Oil shale in Scotland Oil shale technology inventors 19th-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame inductees

Family

Career

Professional appointments

Honours

See also

References