Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda (21 May 1813 – 27 April 1885) was an English

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

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 joined his elder brother to set up

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

Marine Engineering and Shipbuilding

Joseph and his brother Jacob set themselves up as marine and general engineers 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 ...

s on the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...

. For the first ten years the company principally confined itself to the building of marine engines. In 1843 they entered the

ship-building 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 ...

business, and from that time onward, notwithstanding the death of Jacob in an accident on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, the firm was continuously engaged in constructing iron

steamships A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, merchant marine, and passenger and mail services, besides royal yachts and river-boats. Many of these vessels were built under Samuda's personal superintendence. In 1860 Joseph helped to establish the Institute of Naval Architects, of which he was the first treasurer and subsequently a vice-president. He frequently contributed to its ''Transactions''. In 1862 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 ...

, to whose ''Proceedings'' he likewise contributed.

Atmospheric Railways

In 1841 Joseph published ''A Treatise on the Adaptation of Atmospheric Pressure to the Purposes of Locomotion on Railways'' As a result, he was invited by the directors of the

London and Croydon Railway The London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) was an early railway in England. It opened in 1839 and in February 1846 merged with other railways to form the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). Origins The Croydon line and other railways Th ...

to supply equipment to operate their trains on this principle between London Bridge and

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 ...

. The first stage of this project (between

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and Forest Hill) opened in January 1846, but the system of propulsion encountered many problems. The London and Croydon Railway became a part of the

London Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...

in July, and the new board of directors invited Samuda to operate the new atmospheric railway in return for a fixed fee. However, once further propulsion problems became apparent in the second section of line to be equipped (between Forest Hill and

New Cross New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwic ...

during 1847 the atmospheric method of propulsion was abandoned and the equipment sold.

Political career

Joseph Samuda also had an important parliamentary career. He was a member of the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London Cou ...

from 1860 to 1865, whereupon he entered Parliament as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP for

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13 ...

. He sat for that constituency until 1868, when he was returned for the

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

, which he represented until 1880. Then he lost his seat owing to his support for Benjamin Disraeli's foreign policy. While in the House he spoke with much authority on all matters connected with his profession. Some of his speeches are described as "treasure-houses of technical and political knowledge." He abandoned

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

and was interred in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

, London. In 1837 he married Louisa Ballin, daughter of Samuel Ballin of Holloway. 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, and includes Ballin Court, named after his wife, Louisa. They lived at 7 Gloucester Square, Bayswater and had a daughter called Ada. He was one of the original officers of the 2nd Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps raised in the East End of London in April 1861, when he was commissioned as a captain.Ray Westlake, ''Tracing the Rifle Volunteers'', Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, , pp. 238–9.

References

*''The Samuda Collection of Literature Relating to Atmospheric Railways'' by C.F. Dendy Marshall M.A. M.I.Loco.Eng.; articles in The Engineer Volume 168, 11 & 18 August 1939 pp. 160–1 & 176–8. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuda, Joseph Daguilar 1813 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Sephardi Jews English Sephardi Jews Jewish British politicians English shipbuilders British naval architects Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 Members of the Metropolitan Board of Works Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery People from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Tavistock 19th-century English businesspeople