Froude William

Froude, William, brother of both the foregoing, was born in 1810, and, after being educated at Westminster and Oriel, where he took a first class in mathematics, adopted the profession of civil engineer. As Mr. Brunei's assistant, he helped to make the Bristol and Exeter Railway, but retired in 1846 from the active exercise of his profession, and devoted himself to investigating the laws that govern the stability of ships and the best means of overcoming the resistance to speed offered by the friction of water or air. A long series of experiments led him to conclusions that have been of the highest value to naval constructors. He was consulted by the Admiralty, especially as regards the building of the Devastation and the Inflexible, and served on the committee of 1871 to inquire into the designs of ships of war. He died in 1879.