Sir George Whitehouse (26 July 1857 – 17 November 1938) was an English civil engineer, chief engineer of the

Uganda Railway The Uganda Railway was a metre-gauge railway system and former British state-owned railway company. The line linked the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya. After a series of mergers and splits, the li ...

between 1895 and 1903 and responsible for the founding of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

.Casper Andersen, British Engineers and Africa, 1875–1914, Routledge, 6 October 2015, p. 48.

Biography

Early life

Whitehouse was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1857 and studied civil engineering at King's College London.Who's who in engineering, New York: John W. Leonard Corp., 1922.

Early career

His first commission was with the

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 ...

- Maritzburg railway in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

. Thereafter he was posted to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

where he surveyed and constructed the mountain section of the Inter-Oceanic Railway between Vera Cruz and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. After a short spell back in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

working on the Dover to

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

line, he was posted to

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He was employed by the public works committee of the North Western Province, and in 1886 he received thanks from the Government of India for his work in the

Bolan Pass Bolān Pass ( ur, ) is a valley and a natural gateway, through the Toba Kakar range in Balochistan province of Pakistan, south of the Afghanistan border. The pass is an stretch of the Bolan river valley from Rindli in the south to Darwāza ...

. His next move was to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, where he assisted in the construction of a railway in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. In 1892 he became a 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 ...

Uganda Railway

In September 1895 he was appointed chief engineer of an ambitious plan to build a railway from the coast of

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

inland to

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, and embarked at

with his team in December 1895. Construction became infamous due to the difficulty of the terrain, and constant threat to the lives of workers from wildlife. Whilst planning the project, he selected the site of

as a store depot, shunting ground and camping ground for the labourers working on the railway.Anne-Marie Deisser, Mugwima Njuguna, Conservation of Natural and Cultural Heritage in Kenya, UCL Press, 7 Oct 2016, p.76 Nairobi was primarily chosen due to its favourable elevated position situated before the steep ascent of the

Limuru Limuru is a town in central Kenya. It is also the name of a parliamentary constituency and an administrative division. The population of the town, as of 2004, was about 4,800. In a census taken in 2019 the population had increased to 159,314. Loc ...

escarpments. The settlement at Nairobi would develop into the administrative headquarters of the

East Africa Protectorate East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Britai ...

and capital city of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. During his time in East Africa, Whitehouse was disillusioned with

, feeling that he was underpaid for his trials and responsibilities with the railway. He was also reprimanded twice by London, firstly for purchasing coal from India without permission and secondly for putting forth a proposal for extra leave for railway staff which was deemed too costly and generous. From 1901, despite being overworked and suffering from fever, he was put under pressure from London to complete the project. When the railway was opened for traffic in 1901, he became its manager in addition to the chief engineer. He resigned in 1903 and returned to England with his family.

Later life

On his return to London, he was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

but was warned by the consulting engineer for the project, Sir Alexander Rendel, that he would never get another job. In 1904, however, he was appointed chief engineer of the

Central Argentine Railway The Central Argentine Railway, referred to as CA below, (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Argentino) was one of the ''Big Four'' broad gauge, British companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company had been establis ...

and the

Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway The Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway (BA&R) was a British-owned railway company that built and operated a broad gauge railway network in Argentina, where it was known as the "Ferrocarril Buenos Aires y Rosario". Originally thought as a line from ...

. He retired in 1910 and died at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

in 1938, survived by his wife and three sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehouse, George 1857 births 1938 deaths Alumni of King's College London British people in colonial India English civil engineers British civil engineers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society City founders