Charles Alexander Stevenson MICE MIEE

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 ...

(23 December 1855, – 9 May 1950) was a Scottish

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

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 Town The family moved to 20

Royal Terrace Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

on Calton Hill shortly after his birth. Born into the famous Stevenson family of lighthouse engineers, son of David Stevenson and his wife Elizabeth Mackay, brother of David Alan Stevenson, and nephew of Thomas Stevenson, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy 1866 to 1872 then studied mathematics and engineering at the University of Edinburgh where he graduated BSc. He joined the family business of lighthouse design in 1875 remaining unpaid as a family member until 1887 when his uncle, Thomas Stevenson died, after which he became a partner. Between 1887 and 1937 he built 23 lighthouses with his brother, David, and is noted for his experiments with optics. He also improved

foghorn A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...

s and created his own wireless communication system prior to Marconi's wireless. In 1886, 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 Sir John Murray, Peter Guthrie Tait, George Chrystal and Alexander Buchan. In 1889 he published an account of recent earthquakes in Scotland, with tabulations and a map, based largely on the accounts of lighthouse keepers. He lived at 9 Manor Place in Edinburgh with Ernest Maddox as his neighbour at 7 Manor Place.Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1891-92 He died on 9 May 1950. He is buried in the first northern extension to

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

in western Edinburgh. The grave lies on the north path towards the north-east corner. His son David Alan Stevenson lies alongside.

Family

He married Margaret Sherriff (1863–1945). With her he had two daughters and a son, David Alan (1891–1971), who was the last of the family to enter the profession of lighthouse design. His cousin was Robert Louis Stevenson, and grandfather was the lighthouse engineer, Robert Stevenson.

Lighthouses of Charles A Stevenson

Killintringan Lighthouse from Larbrax Bay - geograph

* Skroo, Fair Isle (1892) * Helliar Holm (1893) * Sule Skerry (1895) * Rattray Head (1895) * Stroma (1896) * Tod Head (1897) * Noup Head (1898) * Flannan Isles (1899) * Tiumpan Head (1900) * Killantringan (1900) originally including a gigantic foghorn *

Barns Ness A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. N ...

(1901) * Bass Rock (1903) * Hyskeir (1904) * Trodday (1908) * Neist Point (1909) * Sandaig Light, Glenelg (1910) * Rubh Re (1912) * Milaid Point (1912) *

Maughold Head Maughold Head is the easternmost point of the Isle of Man and the closest point in the Isle of Man to England, being from St. Bees Head in Cumbria. Maughold Head lies in the northeast of the island, some from Ramsey, at the southern end o ...

(1914) * Copinsay (1915) *

Clyth Ness Clyth is a remote scattered coastal crofting village, in eastern Caithness, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. Upper Clyth, Clyth Mains, Mid Clyth, Hill of Mid Clyth, West Clyth and East Clyth are all associate ...

(1916) * Duncansby Head (1924) *

Esha Ness Esha Ness, also spelled Eshaness, is a peninsula on the west coast of Northmavine, on the island of Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. Esha Ness Lighthouse on the west coast, just south of Calder's Geo. It was designed by David Alan Stevenson and com ...

(1929) *

Tor Ness Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia Sci ...

(1937)

References

http://www.worldwidelighthouses.com/Lighthouses/Scottish-Lighthouses/Privately-Owned/Sandaig {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Charles Alexander Lighthouse builders Scottish civil engineers Engineers from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 1855 births 1950 deaths 19th-century Scottish people Stevenson family (Scotland)