Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice CMG (11 May 1861–17 November 1924) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

civil engineer. He was apprenticed to Benjamin Baker and worked with him on the

Forth Railway Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

before going to

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to build the

Aswan Dam The Aswan Dam, or more specifically since the 1960s, the Aswan High Dam, is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. Its significance largely eclipsed the previous Aswan L ...

for which he was appointed both a member of the Ottoman

Order of the Mejidiye Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in f ...

and a companion of the

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Order of St Michael and St George. Following this Fitzmaurice was Chief Engineer to the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

and was responsible for the Blackwall,

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...

and Woolwich tunnels. In later life his consultancy advised on docks and harbours across the

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as well as the Sennar Dam in Sudan and he was recognised with the prestigious honour of the presidency 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 ...

for the 1916-17 session.

Early life and apprenticeship

Fitzmaurice was born in

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Count ...

, County Kerry,

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in 1861. He received an education at

The Royal School, Armagh The Royal School, Armagh is a co-educational voluntary grammar school, founded in the 17th century, in the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. It has a boarding department with an international intake. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Hea ...

prior to studying

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

at Trinity College, Dublin from 1878. He graduated in 1882 and was articled (a form of

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 Benjamin Baker where his first project was the construction of the south pier and railway approaches to the

. This work finished in 1888 and he spent the next three years working on the aborted construction of the

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.University of New Brunswick biography
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London County Council

Fitzmaurice left Baker in 1892 and joined

as a resident engineer where his first project was the

Blackwall Tunnel The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south ...

; he worked with David Hay and the two authored a paper on the project published by the

in 1897. Watt Medals and Telford Premiums were awarded to David Hay, M. Inst. C.E., and Maurice Fitzmaurice, B.E., M. Inst. C.E., for their joint Paper on " The Blackwall Tunnel." He was then appointed chief resident engineer in 1898 by the

ian government for the construction of the Old Aswan Dam. In recognition of his work he was made a member of the Ottoman

Order of Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in fi ...

(second class) in December 1901, during a visit by the Khedive to the building site; and also appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) on 12 December 1902. In 1901 he became the Chief Engineer to the

and amongst his works for them was the Rotherhithe Tunnel,

Vauxhall Bridge Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a southeast–northwest direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank. Opened in 1906, i ...

and the Woolwich foot tunnel. Upon his retirement from the Council in 1912 he received a knighthood.

Later works

From 1912 he was a partner in John Coode's firm of engineers and worked extensively on docks, including designs for harbours in Australia,

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, Ceylon,

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

, Malaya,

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and 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 ...

. From 1922 Fitzmaurice was also an advisor to the Sudanese government on irrigation of the

Blue Nile The Blue Nile (; ) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the water to ...

including the plans for the Sennar Dam, which was built after his death. During this time he was also a member of the

Engineer and Railway Staff Corps The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers in the British Army Reserve. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army at a senior level. Following its work creating the NHS Nighti ...

, a voluntary Territorial Army unit providing engineering advice to the British Armed Forces, holding the rank of

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. He married Ida Dickinson in 1911 and died at his home 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 17 November 1924.

Professional recognition

Fitzmaurice first became involved with the

in 1883 as a student member, becoming an associate in 1887 and a full member in 1893. He served on the Institution's Council from 1905 and was elected President for the 1916-7 session. In 1919 he was elected as a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and was an honorary member of the

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and the Royal Engineers Institution and an honorary fellow of the Society of Engineers. He received an honorary

doctorate of law 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 ...

from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

in 1909. He is buried in

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regi ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzaurice, Maurice Irish civil engineers Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers 1861 births 1924 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Fellows of the Royal Society Engineer and Railway Staff Corps officers Harbour engineers Burials at Brookwood Cemetery