Smeaton

Smeaton, JOHN, was born in 1724. In 1750 he had set up in business as a maker of mathematical instmments, and he soon began to send ppapers on scientific subjects to the Royal Society, winning the gold medal in 1759. He had gradually been drawn towards hydraulic engineering, and, when the Eddystone lighthouse was burned down in 1775, was consulted as to its rebuilding. In 1759 he completed the stone structure, which was used until 1879, when the rock beneath it was declared unsafe. Smeaton now obtained an enormous practice as an engineer, especially in the building of bridges, but he did not neg1ect mechanics, and brought the atmospheric steam-engine to high perfection. He died at Leeds, 1792.