Sir Frederick Joseph Bramwell, 1st Baronet FRS FRSA (17 March 1818 – 30 November 1903) was a British civil and mechanical engineer. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1873[1] and served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers between December 1884 and May 1886[2] and the president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1888. He was knighted in 1881 and created a baronet on 25 January 1889.[1]

Sir Frederick Bramwell, Bt
Born(1818-03-17)17 March 1818
Died30 November 1903(1903-11-30) (aged 85)
United Kingdom
OccupationEngineer
Engineering career
DisciplineCivil, mechanical
InstitutionsInstitution of Civil Engineers (president), Institution of Mechanical Engineers (president), Royal Society of Arts (president), Royal Society, (fellow)

Bramwell trained as an engineer and studied steam propulsion. In 1843 he constructed a locomotive for the Stockton and Darlington Railway; set up his own business concentrating on legal and consultative work (1853). He was the first engineer to practise as a technical advocate and later was adviser to the London water companies.

Family

edit
 
A caricature of Frederick Bramwell by Leslie Ward, published in Vanity Fair in 1892

He was the son of George Bramwell, a partner in Dorrien and Co. Bankers, and his wife Harriet, and the younger brother of Sir George William Wilshere Bramwell. He married on 29 March 1847, Harriet Leonara Frith (his cousin), daughter of Joseph Frith. There were three daughters to the marriage,[3] with Eldred marrying the scientist, Sir Victor Horsley.

Bramwell died of a cerebral haemorrhage on 30 November 1903, in London, and was buried at Hever, Kent.[1]

Works

edit
  • "On the Steam-engine". Science Lectures at South Kensington. Vol. I. London: Macmillan & Company. 1878. pp. 111–172.
  • Our big guns (1886, address to the Birmingham and Midland Institute) from his work as a civilian member of the Ordnance Committee.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c The Royal Society (12 June 1873). "Bramwell; Sir; Frederick Joseph (1818–1903)". Fellows. London: Royal Society. Retrieved 22 September 2008. Election Date: 12/06/1873 [dead link]
  2. ^ Watson, Garth (1988). The Civils. London: Thomas Telford Ltd. p. 251. ISBN 0-7277-0392-7.
  3. ^ 1881 England census Class: RG11; Piece: 22; Folio: 67; Page: 61; Line:  ; GSU roll: 1341005.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainWood, James, ed. (1907). The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

edit
Professional and academic associations
Preceded by President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
1874–1875
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Institution of Civil Engineers
December 1884 – May 1886
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
1888
Succeeded by
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baronet
(of Hyde Park Gate)
1889–1903
Extinct