David Napier, bust by Matthew Noble 1871

David Napier (10 November 1790– 23 November 1869) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

marine engineer. Napier began in his father's works at Camlachie and built the boiler for Henry Bell's ''Comet'' in 1812. Subsequently, he took over the foundry and established a reputation as one of the best builders of marine engines in Scotland. In 1821 Napier moved to Lancefield Quay on the north bank of the Clyde and Camlachie was taken over by his cousin Robert Napier. At Lancefield Napier began to construct complete ships, including in 1827 the ''Aglaia''. This was one of the world's first iron steam-ships, built to ply on Loch Eck as part of a "new route" to Inveraray which opened around 1835. The route included construction of a Clyde pier at

Kilmun Kilmun ( gd, Cill Mhunna) is a linear settlement on the north shore of the Holy Loch, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands.It takes its name from the 7th century monastic community founded by an Irish monk, St Munn (Fin ...

, and a road for a steam coach to take passengers to the loch steamer. "Aglaia" in fact had only an iron bottom, and wooden sides above water. She was afterwards called the "James Gallacher", and plied on the Clyde. Her dimensions were as follows: Length, 62' 8"; breadth, 13' 0"; depth, 4' 6"; gross tonnage, 49 36/94 tons. The world's first iron steamer was the paddle steamer Aaron Manby of 1821. Napier was widely discredited after a series of boiler explosions between 1835 and 1838. Two of these involved the same steamer, the Victoria of Hull, which twice suffered boiler explosions on the Thames in 1838. On the second occasion, 14 June 1838, nine men were killed and a lengthy inquest saw heavy criticism of Napier's boilers and his conduct after the first accident of 16 March 1838. In 1839 Napier acquired a

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

at Millwall, London, which is commemorated in the modern Napier Avenue. The yard was run by two of his sons, while Napier himself continued with experiments in improving the

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

. In 1854 the yard was sold to Messrs J Scott Russell and used for building the Great Eastern.Eve Hostettler 1986, ''Ship building and related industries on the Isle of Dogs'', article in ''Dockland'', NELP/GLC, His youngest son, Robert D. Napier (1821 – May 1885), was a noted marine engineer with several inventions and research papers to his credit. Another son, Francis Napier ( – 23 December 1875) was a surveyor with the Harbours and Rivers Department,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and noted member and diarist of Francis Cadell's exploration of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

coast 1867–68.

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Further reading