Sir Charles Augustus Hartley KCMG FRSE MICE (3 February 1825 – 20 February 1915) was an eminent

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civil engineer in the

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. Due to his extensive work mapping the longest river in western Europe, he became known as 'The Father of the Danube.'

Biography

Hartley was born in 1825 at Heworth, Gateshead, County Durham. He was educated at Bishop Auckland then

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. Like most engineers of his generation he was engaged in

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

work in the early part of his career, being employed by the Scottish Central Railway. Subsequently, he devoted himself to

hydraulic engineering Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the m ...

and the improvement of

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environmen ...

and

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for the purposes of navigation. From 1848 to 1855 he was employed overseeing the construction of Sutton harbour. He was employed in connection with some of the largest and most important waterways of the world, including the early work (1861) on the Suez Canal and Odessa Harbour in 1867. After serving in the

Crimean war The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

(1853 - Feb 1856) as a captain of engineers in the Anglo-Turkish contingent, he was appointed engineer-in-chief for the works carried out by the

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of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

for improving the navigation at the mouths of that river, and that position he retained till 1872, when he became consulting engineer to the Commission. In 1875, he was one of the committee appointed by the authority of the

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to report on the works necessary to form and maintain a deep channel through the south pass of the Mississippi delta; and in 1884 the British government nominated him a member of the international technical commission for widening the Suez Canal. In addition, he was consulted by the British and other governments in connection with many other river and harbour works, including the improvement of the navigation of the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

, Hooghly,

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, and

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, and of the ports of Odessa,

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, Kustendjie (at present Constanţa),

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, and

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. In 1869 he was created a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposer being David Stevenson. He was

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ed in 1862 and made K.C.M.G. in 1884. He was an active member of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

and for his written papers was awarded their

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, Watt, and Stephenson medals. He also received the Albert Medal from the

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in 1913 in recognition of his public service. Grave of Sir Charles Augustus Hartley in Highgate Cemetery

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco ...

he was made a honorary member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

. He died on the 20th February 1915 and was buried on the west side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

Works

* ''Description of the Delta of the Danube'' (1874) * ''Notes on Public Works in the United States and Canada'' (1875)

Biography

Works

Notes

References

Further reading