Jacob Samuda (24 August 1811 – 12 November 1844) was an English

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

born in London. He is described as "the first Jewish engineer" on his tombstone, in the

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

cemetery,

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

, London. He was the elder son of Abraham Samuda, an

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and West India merchant of London, and Joy, daughter of H. d'Aguilar of Enfield Chase,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. Jacob's cousin married Hanna Ricardo, the sister of

David Ricardo David Ricardo (18 April 1772 – 11 September 1823) was a British Political economy, political economist. He was one of the most influential of the Classical economics, classical economists along with Thomas Robert Malthus, Thomas Malthus, Ad ...

, the economist. After his

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

with John Hague, an engineer, Jacob went into partnership with his brother

Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda (21 May 1813 – 27 April 1885) was an English engineer and politician. He was born in London the younger son of Abraham Samuda, and brother of Jacob Samuda. He started out in his father's counting-house, but in 1832 he ...

setting up the firm

Samuda Brothers Samuda Brothers was an engineering and ship building firm at Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs in London, founded by Jacob Samuda, Jacob and Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda. The site is now occupied by Samuda Estate. Samuda Brothers initially leased a ...

, a major London shipbuilder in the mid to late 19th century. Jacob was an ingenious inventor and made a number of important discoveries. One of these, the

atmospheric railway An atmospheric railway uses differential air pressure to provide power for propulsion of a railway vehicle. A static power source can transmit motive power to the vehicle in this way, avoiding the necessity of carrying mobile power generating eq ...

, received at first with considerable opposition, was subsequently adopted as a means of transit by several important companies, the first being

Dublin and Kingstown Railway The Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR), which opened in 1834, was Ireland’s first passenger railway. It linked Westland Row in Dublin with Kingstown Harbour (Dún Laoghaire) in County Dublin. The D&KR was also notable for a number of other ...

in 1842. Sir

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

later recommended its adoption to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

and the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

. The first line to use it in England was from

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

to London; and later the South Devon Railway adopted the principle of the new invention. Jacob also made significant improvements in marine engines. In 1843, he contracted to build the ''Gypsy Queen'', an iron boat to be fitted with his improved engine. On the trial trip, the ship exploded and he met his death along with six other persons. The

Samuda Estate The Samuda Estate is on the east side of Manchester Road, in Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs. With 505 dwellings it is home to about 1,500 people and covers . Historical background The estate is named for the shipbuilding company of the Samuda ...

, on the site of his shipyard in

Cubitt Town Cubitt Town is a district on the eastern side of the Isle of Dogs in London, England. This part of the former Metropolitan Borough of Poplar was redeveloped as part of the Port of London in the 1840s and 1850s by William Cubitt, Lord Mayor of L ...

, is named after him and his brother. Samuda is buried in the Sephardic Burial Ground in the

Mile End Road The A11 is a major trunk road in England. It runs roughly north east from London to Norwich, Norfolk, although after the M11 opened in the 1970s and then the A12 extension in 1999, a lengthy section has been downgraded between the suburbs o ...

.'A Jewish Cemetery',Littell's Living Age,Volume 148,Issue 1909

References

Jacob Samuda
at jewishencyclopedia.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuda, Jacob 1811 births 1844 deaths 19th-century Sephardi Jews English shipbuilders British naval architects English Sephardi Jews 19th-century English businesspeople