David Stevenson MICE

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 ...

FRSSA (11 January 1815 – 17 July 1886) 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 m ...

designer, who designed over 30 lighthouses in and around

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, and helped continue the

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

of lighthouse engineering founded by his father.

Life

He was born on 11 January 1815 at 2 Baxters Place at the top of

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to t ...

in Edinburgh, the son of Jean Smith and engineer

Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engli ...

. He was brother of the lighthouse engineers

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

and

Thomas Stevenson Thomas Stevenson PRSE MInstCE FRSSA FSAScot (22 July 1818 – 8 May 1887) was a pioneering Scottish civil engineer, lighthouse designer and meteorologist, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and around Scotland, as well as the Stevenson s ...

. He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh then studied 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 1 ...

. In 1838 he became a partner in his father's (and uncle's) firm of R & A Stevenson. In 1844 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 proposer being

David Milne-Home David Milne-Home of Milne Graden FRSE FGS PGSE LLD (1805–1890) was a Scottish advocate, geologist and meteorologist. He was the founder of the Scottish Meteorological Society in 1855, and served as its chairman. From 1874 to 1889 he served as ...

. In 1853 he moved to 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 ...

. Between 1854 and 1880 he designed many lighthouses, all with his brother Thomas. In addition he helped

Richard Henry Brunton Richard Henry Brunton FRGS MICE (26 December 1841 – 24 April 1901) was the so-called " Father of Japanese lighthouses". Brunton was born in Muchalls, Kincardineshire, Scotland. He was employed by the government of Meiji period Japan as ...

design lighthouses for Japan, inventing a novel method for allowing them to withstand

earthquakes An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fro ...

. His sons

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 ...

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 New ...

continued his work after his death, building nearly thirty further lighthouses. In the 1860s he lived at 25

Royal Terrace, Edinburgh Royal Terrace is a grand street in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the north side of Calton Hill within the New Town and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1995, built on the south side of a setted street, facing the sloping ...

. Non-lighthouse engineering included the Edinburgh and Leith Sewerage Scheme and the widening of North Bridge in Edinburgh. In 1868 and 1869 he served as President of the

Royal Scottish Society of the Arts The Royal Scottish Society of Arts is a learned society in Scotland, dedicated to the study of science and technology. It was founded as The Society for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts in Scotland by Sir David Brewster in 1821 and dedicated ...

. He died in

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable ...

on 17 July 1886. He is buried in

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 o ...

in west Edinburgh. The grave lies on the north wall of the original cemetery backing onto the first northern extension.

Publications

*''Sketch of the Civil Engineering of North america'' (1838) *''Canal and River Engineering'' (c.1870) *''The Life of

'' (1878)

Family

In 1840 he married Elizabeth Mackay (1816-1871). Their children included

and

. His daughter Jane Stevenson (d.1909) married

William Mackintosh, Lord Kyllachy William Mackintosh, Lord Kyllachy LLD (9 April 1842 – 9 December 1918) was a Scottish advocate who later became a Senator of the College of Justice. His country estate was Kyllachy House near Tomatin. Life He was born on 9 April 1842, the son ...

. His nephew was

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

Lighthouses designed by David Stevenson

* Whalsay Skerries (1854) * Out Skerries (1854) *

Muckle Flugga Muckle Flugga () is a small rocky island north of Unst in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is often described as the northernmost point of the British Isles, but the smaller islet of Out Stack is actually further north. It used to be the nor ...

(1854) *

Davaar Island Davaar or Davaar Island ( gd, Eilean Dà Bhàrr) is located at the mouth of Campbeltown Loch off the east coast of Kintyre, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is a tidal island, linked to the mainland by a natural shingle causeway called th ...

(1854) *

Ushenish Ushenish is a headland on the remote east coast of South Uist South Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Deas, ; sco, Sooth Uist) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,75 ...

(1857) *

South Rona Rona ( gd, Rònaigh), sometimes called South Rona to distinguish it from North Rona (a small uninhabited island to the northwest of Cape Wrath), is an inhabited island in the Inner Hebrides. It lies between the Sound of Raasay and the Inner Sou ...

(1857) *

Kyleakin Kyleakin (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Caol Àcain'') is a village situated on the east coast of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. The village is along the strait of Kyle Akin opposite the northwest Scottish mainland town of Kyle of Loch ...

(1857) * Ornsay (1857) * Sound of Mull (1857) * Cantick Head (1858) *

Bressay Bressay ( sco, Bressa) is a populated island in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland. Geography and geology Bressay lies due south of Whalsay, west of the Isle of Noss, and north of Mousa. With an area of , it is the fifth-largest island in She ...

(1858) * Ruvaal (1859) *

Corran Point Corran ( gd, An Corran) is a former fishing village, situated on Corran Point, on the west side of the Corran Narrows of Loch Linnhe, in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. There are three small settlements set apart from the main cluster of houses ...

(1860) * Fladda (1860) * McArthur's Head (1861) *

St Abb's Head St Abb's Head is a rocky promontory by the village of St Abbs in Scottish Borders, Scotland, and a national nature reserve administered by the National Trust for Scotland. St Abb's Head Lighthouse was designed and built by the brothers David ...

(1862) *

Butt of Lewis The Butt of Lewis ( gd, Rubha Robhanais) is the most northerly point of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The headland, which lies in the North Atlantic, is frequently battered by heavy swells and storms and is marked by the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse. ...

(1862) *

Holborn Head Holborn Head is a headland on the north-facing Atlantic coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. The ''point'' of Holborn Head is at (grid reference ). It has a lighthouse at its south end and the remains of an old fort at its tip. ...

(1862) *

Monach Islands The Monach Islands, also known as Heisker ( gd, Eilean Heisgeir / , ), are an island group west of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The islands are not to be confused with Hyskeir in the Inner Hebrides, or Haskeir which is also o ...

(1864) * Skervuile (1865) * Auskerry (1866) * Lochindaal (1869) *

Scurdie Ness Scurdie Ness is a headland located on the South side of the River South Esk estuary, Montrose, Angus, Scotland. The River leads from the North Sea into Montrose Harbour and then into Montrose Basin. The headland has also been referred to as Sc ...

(1870) * Stoer Head (1870) *

Dubh Artach Dubh Artach (; ) is a remote skerry of basalt rock off the west coast of Scotland lying west of Colonsay and south-west of the Ross of Mull. A lighthouse designed by Thomas Stevenson with a tower height of was erected between 1867 and 1872 ...

(1872) * Turnberry (1873) *

Chicken Rock Chicken Rock ( gv, Carrick ny Kirkey), part of Rushen parish, is the southernmost island administered by the Isle of Man. It lies southwest of the Calf of Man, off Spanish Head on the Manx mainland. The most prominent feature of the rock is the ...

(1875) *

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

(1877, 1880)

References

External links

''Life of Robert Stevenson: Civil Engineer''
(1878), by David Stevenson. From

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, David Lighthouse builders Scottish civil engineers Engineers from Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1815 births 1886 deaths Stevenson family (Scotland)

Life

Publications

Family

Lighthouses designed by David Stevenson

See also

References

External links