Neil Snodgrass (1776–1849) was an 19th century Scottish inventor and engineer. He created one of the world's first twin-hulled ships.

Life

He was born in

Craigie, South Ayrshire Craigie is a small village and parish of in the old district of Kyle, now South Ayrshire, south of Kilmarnock, Scotland. This is mainly a farming district, lacking in woodland, with a low population density, and only one village. In the 19 ...

in 1776 and educated at

Ayr Academy Ayr Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Inbhir Àir'') is a non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is a comprehensive school for children of ages 11–18 fro ...

achieving high honours 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 ...

. In 1794 he went to work as an engineer for Messrs George Houston & Co on Johnstone. There, in 1798 he invented a system of heating premises by steam ( a precursor to

central heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...

). Around 1799 he was appointed Manager of a mill belonging to Messrs Dale & Mackintosh at

Dornoch Dornoch (; gd, Dòrnach ; sco, Dornach) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray ...

and introduced the same steam-heating system. In 1806 he was awarded a Gold Medal by the London Society of the Arts for this invention. In 1802 at Dornoch he invented a machine for cleaning cotton or flax waste known as the "Scutcher" (a type of blowing machine). In 1804 he returned to George Houston & Co In 1809 a new pulley system. In 1818 he set up his own cotton mill at 23 Brunswick Place in

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 ...

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 popul ...

. In 1822 he introduced a new device improving steam cyclinders, a new air pump condensing engine, and a device for both preventing smoke and consuming smoke. In 1823 a tube-roving machine (involved with weaving). Despite these improvements he was hit hard by the weavers strike of 1824. He was not sympathetic and sacked strikers and reduced wages. resulting in the workers stoning the windows of the factory. In 1825 he made his most important invention the

piston ring A piston ring is a metallic split ring that is attached to the outer diameter of a piston in an internal combustion engine or steam engine. The main functions of piston rings in engines are: # Sealing the combustion chamber so that there is mini ...

improved by John Ramsbottom 25 years later. His work on smokeless chimneys attracted the attention of Glasgow council. The system introduced an

Argand lamp The Argand lamp is a type of oil lamp invented in 1780 by Aimé Argand. Its output is 6 to 10 candelas, brighter than that of earlier lamps. Its more complete combustion of the candle wick and oil than in other lamps required much less frequent ...

at the base of the chimney and blowing very cold air over this greatly increased the efficiency of the chimey, reducing smoke considerably and reducing coal consumption by around 15%. The less satisfactory aspect was a greatly increased fire risk. The Mile End factory was burnt out and rebuilt three times. The cost of this followed by a law-suit regarding storage of cotton-bales brought about Snodgrass's

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 1830. At this time he was living at William Street near the factory. In 1835 he went to the United States as part of a project to introduce

piston rings A piston ring is a metallic split ring that is attached to the outer diameter of a piston in an internal combustion engine or steam engine. The main functions of piston rings in engines are: # Sealing the combustion chamber so that there is mini ...

to the numerous steamships on the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. During this visit he encountered the American Steam Raft, a strange steam-powered vessel sitting on multiple pontoons. Inspired by this, on his return to Scotland in 1836, he created a twin-hulled design, surrounding a central paddle wheel, holding multiple upper decks which he called the "Cigar", patenting the idea on 15 March 1837. The vessel was constructed ready for launch on the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

in May 1837. The design was not wholly successful due to the under-sizing of the floating cylinders in relation to the weight of the superstructure and she sat very low in the water. As the "Cigar" also handled poorly she was taken out of use in 1840 and then moored at

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History In ...

for use as a floating cafe and platform for bathers near the Humane Society Building. It was mooted to take her to the quieter waters of

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...

as a pleasure craft, but this met with strong opposition from David_Napier_who_ran_an_existing_paddle-steamer_the_Euphrosyne_(ship).html" "title="ier_(marine_engineer).html" ;"title="David Na[pier (marine engineer)">David Napier who ran an existing paddle-steamer the Euphrosyne (ship)">Euphrosyne Euphrosyne (; grc, Εὐφροσύνη), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, was one of the Charites, known in ancient Rome as the ''Gratiae'' (Graces). She was sometimes called Euthymia (Εὐθυμία) or Eutychia (Εὐτυχία). Fa ...

Life

Family

Artistic recognition

References