Civil engineer. Born Devon. Worked for Smeaton, first as an apprentice and then as assistant until 1772. Promoted cast iron as a constructional material. Built the Grand Canal in Ireland. Built the Surrey Iron Railway which opened in 1803. Worked on the West India docks in London. Died Derbyshire.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
William Jessop
Commemorated ati
Skempton Building plaques
2018: Eamonn Doyle has written to correct our "east to west", saying that the...
Other Subjects
Jim Marshall
Businessman and pioneer of guitar amplification. Born in London. An electrical engineer he built a portable amplification system, which he used in his evening job as a singer and drummer. On 7 Jul...
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
This foundry is the oldest manufacturing company in the UK and is still making bells at 32/34 Whitechapel Road. Probably their most famous creation is Big Ben (we thank Alice, a member of a childre...
William Oxtoby, A.M.I.C.E.
Appointed Surveyor/Engineer for the Borough of Camberwell c.1898. William Oxtoby was born on 7 February 1862 in Hull, Yorkshire. He was the fourth of the five children of Robert Oxtoby (1823-1874)...
Royal Engineers
A corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces. Known as 'sappers' apparently from the French 'sappe' meaning 'spadework' or '...
Sir Harry Ricardo
Born 13 Bedford Square, son of Halsey Ricardo. Mechanical engineer specialising in developing the internal combustion petrol and diesel engine. Died King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, following a ...