Alexander Leslie

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

PRSSA (16 September 1844 – 7 December 1893) was a Scottish civil engineer. He served as President of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts from 1890 until his premature death in 1893. He specialised in harbour works and reservoirs.

Life

He was born in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

on 16 September 1844 the son of the civil engineer James Leslie and his wife Jane Hunter (1804-1887). He was educated at the Edinburgh Institution (now Stewarts Melville) then studied mathematics at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. In 1862 he joined the offices of

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and

Thomas Stevenson Thomas Stevenson President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, PRSE MInstCE FRSSA FSAScot (22 July 1818 – 8 May 1887) was a pioneering Scottish civil engineer, lighthouse designer and meteorologist, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and ...

as a trainee lighthouse and harbour engineer. He worked here for three years and his projects included a new breakwater at Wick. He then briefly gained extra experience as a land surveyor with a Mr Macbey of

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

before joining the firm of Morkle & Prodham working on the Blaydon and Conside Railway. From 1865 he was also partially employed in his father's office, and in 1871 he was created a Partner, and came to aid his father in several projects, the firm thereafter being called J & A Leslie. In 1882 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

his proposers being

and

Peter Guthrie Tait Peter Guthrie Tait (28 April 18314 July 1901) was a Scottish Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook ''Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he ...

. In 1881, prior to his father's death (in 1889) a further partnership was created with his brother-in-law,

Robert Carstairs Reid Robert Carstairs Reid (6 December 1845–4 March 1894) was a 19th-century Scottish civil engineer. He specialised in harbour works and water supply. Life He was born in Kingskettle, Kettle, Fife on 6 December 1845, the second son of Ameli ...

(1845–1894), to create Leslie & Reid. Robert had earlier been a school friend and probably through this connection met his sister, Charlotte Leslie (1846–1935). On Reid's death he took on William Archer Porter Tait. He died on 7 December 1893 aged 49. He is buried with his parents in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

Projects

* Alnwickhill Reservoir (1875) plus second phase in 1888 *Water Tower in

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Pala ...

(1879) *

Gladhouse Reservoir Gladhouse Reservoir, formerly known as Moorfoot Loch, is a reservoir in Midlothian, Scotland, five miles (8 km) south of Penicuik. It is the most southerly reservoir in Midlothian, as well as being the largest area of freshwater in the Lothi ...

(1879) * Edgelaw Reservoir (1880) *Rosebery Reservoir (1880) * Paisley water supply (1881) *Williamwath Bridge,

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...

(1882) *Reservoir on the Gask Burn in

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

(1887) * Alnwickhill Reservoir (1888) created a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in 1996City of Edinburgh Council: Listed Building Records *Reservoir serving Leven in

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

(1889)

Family

He was married to Mary Marjoribanks (1845–1912). His great uncle was the eminent mathematician John Leslie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Alexander 1844 births 1893 deaths Scottish civil engineers Engineers from Dundee Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh