John Elder (8 March 1824 – 17 September 1869) was a Scottish
marine engineer and
shipbuilder
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
. He was born at
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
on 8 March 1824. His family was connected with
Kinross
Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire.
History
Kinross's origins are c ...
, where, for several generations, his forefathers had followed the occupation of
wrights, for which they seemed to have a special aptitude.
He followed his father in constructing
marine steam engine
A marine steam engine is a steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. This article deals mainly with marine steam engines of the reciprocating type, which were in use from the inception of the steamboat in the early 19th century to their ...
s and in 1854 established the
compound engine as its most efficient form, which made the use of steamships more competitive than sail (also see
Maritime history#Age of Steam).
He took out numerous patents and expanded the business to employ thousands of workers.
Education and apprenticeship
He was born in 1824 the son of David Elder and his wife, Grace Gilroy.
John's father, David Elder (1785–1866), was a civil engineer who settled in Glasgow, and entered the shipbuilding firm of
Mr. Robert Napier, the well-known shipbuilder, under whom, in 1822, he constructed the first
marine engine
An inboard motor is a marine propulsion system for boats. As opposed to an outboard motor where an engine is mounted outside the hull of the craft, an ''inboard motor'' is an engine enclosed within the hull of the boat, usually connected to a pr ...
, which was fitted up in the
River Leven for the passage between Glasgow and
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
. David Elder, was the author of many inventions and improvements in the machinery of steam vessels, and to the excellence of his engines the success of the
Cunard Line
Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival Corporation & plc#Carnival United Kingdom, Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its ...
of
steamers, in establishing regular communication between the opposite shores of the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, was mainly due. He died in January 1866, in his eighty-second year. John Elder was David's third son. John was also the brother of
Alexander Elder, co-founder of Elder, Dempster & Co Ltd.
John Elder was educated at the
High School of Glasgow, where he showed great excellence in
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and in
drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayo ...
. After a five years'
apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
to Mr.
Robert Napier, and a brief time passed in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
engine works, he was placed at the head of the drawing office in Napier's works.
Business
In 1852, he became a member of the firm of Randolph, Elliott, & Co., a firm that had been successful as
millwright
A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites.
The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...
s, but had not attempted anything as marine engineers. In 1860 they began shipbuilding under the firm of Randolph, Elder, & Co.; in 1868, on the expiry of the copartnery. Elder continued the business, which reached a very great degree of prosperity. He soon became known as an engineer of singular ability. The company later became the
Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in 1886.
Engine development
The greatest service which Elder rendered to practical engineering was the adoption of the
compound or combined high and low pressure engines. Various attempts at this combination had been made before, but they had failed, owing to causes which engineers either did not understand or could not overcome. Where they had failed, Elder succeeded. Professor
Macquorn Rankine, who has gone into all the details of the subject in his memoir of Elder, says that only one who had thoroughly studied and understood the principles of
thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws ...
could have achieved this. A saving of fuel amounting to thirty or forty per cent was effected.
Patents and papers
Elder took out many
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
s for improvements in marine machinery. Of some of his improvements he gave an account in papers presented to the
British Association at
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...
in 1858,
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
1859, and
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
1860. In 1868, he read a paper before the
United Service Institute 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 ...
on an improved form of
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...
, entitled 'Circular Ships of War, with immersed motive power.' In 1869 he was unanimously chosen president of the
Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, but died before he could take office.
Growth of the business
Some idea of the magnitude of his business may be formed from the fact that when in business by himself he employed four thousand men, and that from June 1868 to the end of 1869 the number of sets of engines made by him was eighteen, their aggregate horse power 6,110, the number of vessels built fourteen, their aggregate tonnage 27,027.
Ill-health and death
Early in 1869 he became seriously ill with
cirrhosis
Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...
of the liver. He went to
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 ...
to get specialist advice, but died of the disease during his visit, on 17 September 1869.
Family
Elder had married Isabella Ure, daughter of
Alexander Ure, in 1857.
Isabella Elder
Isabella Ure Elder
(15 March 1828 – 18 November 1905) was a Scottish philanthropist who took a particular interest in education, especially of women, and in the welfare of the people of Govan in Glasgow. In Govan alone, Elder was responsib ...
, after her husband's death, besides adding largely to the endowment of the chair of civil engineering and applied mechanics at the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, also provided an endowment to create the
John Elder Professorship of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering at the university, and also financed the establishment of the
Queen Margaret College.
In June 1901, she received an honorary
Doctor of Laws
A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...
(LL.D.) from the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
. She also dedicated
Elder Park, Govan in his memory; the public park, also containing the local library and statues of both Isabella and John Elder, is located directly south of the Fairfield headquarters, retained as the
Fairfield Heritage Centre
The Fairfield Heritage Centre is situated on Govan Road, Glasgow, Scotland. Built as the offices of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co Ltd between 1889 and 1891 the building was used as the principal offices for successive owners of t ...
.
Tributes
Elder, as Professor Rankine remarks, was a genius in engineering. In person he was remarkably handsome, and in manner and character very attractive. He was quick and energetic in all his movements, full of resource, and remarkably enterprising. His character stood very high. Dr. Norman Macleod and others who knew him intimately pronounced him one whose great aim was to translate the facts of Christ's life into his own, especially in matters of common life. With his workpeople he was on the best of terms. He was much interested in schemes for their social, intellectual, and religious welfare; organised and contributed largely to a sick fund, and was contemplating the erection of schools and model houses on a large scale, when death ended his career. After his death the men in his employment, in begging to be allowed to attend his funeral, testified to his many virtues as a master. The intelligent and considerate spirit in which he looked on the struggles of the working class, while at the same time fully realising both the rights and responsibilities of employers, led to the belief that in his hands the problem of the relations of capital and labour would have found a solution acceptable to all. His death at so early an age was counted a great calamity, while the multitude that attended his funeral, and the silence of all the workshops in the neighbourhood as his body was carried to its resting-place, showed how much he was esteemed by all classes in his native city.
In 2012, he was inducted into the
Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elder, John
1824 births
1869 deaths
19th-century Scottish businesspeople
British naval architects
People educated at the High School of Glasgow
Engineers from Glasgow
Scottish inventors
British steam engine engineers
British businesspeople in shipping
Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame inductees