David Alan Stevenson

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 ...

, F.I.C.E., FRSGS (7 February 1891 – 22 December 1971) was a lighthouse engineer from the famous Stevenson lighthouse-builder family and noted amateur

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

. In 1951, Stevenson was awarded the

Crawford Medal :::''See also'' Crawford Award for fantasy novels. :::''See also'' Max Crawford Medal Australian academic award. The Crawford Medal is a vermeil medal awarded by the Royal Philatelic Society London for the most valuable and original contribution ...

by the

Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its he ...

for his work ''The Triangular Stamps of Cape of Good Hope''.Who Was Who in British Philately

Association of British Philatelic Societies The Association of British Philatelic Societies, commonly known as the ''ABPS'', is the British national association of philatelic societies, regional philatelic federations, and specialist philatelic societies.Archived here.
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Life

He was born at 9 Manor Place on 7 February 1891 the son of Margaret Sherriff and

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 N ...

. He was the last of a long line of lighthouse engineers. He was named after his uncle,

David Alan Stevenson David Alan Stevenson (21 July 1854 in Edinburgh – 11 April 1938) was a lighthouse engineer who built 26 lighthouses in and around Scotland. Life He was born on 21 July 1854 the son of David Stevenson and his wife, Elizabeth Mackay. His ...

but was generally called Alan. The family lived at 9 Manor Place in Edinburgh's West End. 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 ...

1899 to 1903, then studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

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 ...

graduating with a BSc in 1912. In 1911 he was living with his family at 28 Douglas Crescent. In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served as a Captain in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

as an engineer. His duties included setting guidance lights on the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

to aid shipping there. In 1919 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

(his father),

(his uncle), William A. P. Tait, James Simpson Pirie, Sir Thomas Hudson Beare and

Harry Rainy Harry Rainy or Rainey LLD (1792–1876) was a 19th-century pathologist, Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Glasgow, and Vice Rector of the University of Glasgow. He was a lifelong friend of John Gibson Lockhart whom he met ...

. Until 1938 he was an engineer of 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 ...

and thereafter spent his life working for the

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

Lighthouse Trust. His work on the Clyde was pre-empted in 1934 by a commission to deepen the river in order to have capacity to launch the . He died on 22 December 1971 and was 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 immediately alongside his parents.

Family

He was married to Jessie MacLaggan (1897–1973).

Family tree

Alan's position in the family tree shows his long pedigree as an engineer.

Selected publications

*''The Triangular Stamps of Cape of Good Hope'' (New York, London, Sydney: H.R. Harmer, 1950) *''The World's Lighthouses before 1820'' (1959)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, D. Alan 1891 births British philatelists Philately of South Africa Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society London Scottish architects 1971 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Lighthouse builders Stevenson family (Scotland)