Angus Robertson Fulton (1871–1958) was a Scottish engineer and academic who served as 'Interim' Principal of University College Dundee for seven years.

Life and career

Angus Fulton was born and raised 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 ...

. In 1903 he matriculated at University College, Dundee, which was then a part of the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, graduating with BSc.1907 After graduation he joined the college's engineering department as an assistant to Professor Thomas Claxton Fidler. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served in the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

, and subsequently in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, investigating aircraft accidents caused by mechanical problems. In 1920, he became Professor of Engineering and Drawing, a post he held until his retirement in 1946. In 1939 he was appointed as the acting principal of University College, a post he held until 1946. The historian of the University of Dundee, Donald Southgate describes him as modest in character. Michael Shafe's history of the university argues that he was " a good choice for Principal at a difficult moment - he had no enemies, was cheerful and kind and full of commonsense."

Archives and legacy

Some of Professor Fulton's papers are held by Archive Services, University of Dundee. The university's Fulton Building, which houses School of Engineering, Physics and Maths is named for him. Construction on the building began in 1960 and it was opened in 1964. His sons both followed in their father's footsteps. John Fulton, Baron Fulton was also a university administrator, holding a variety of senior positions in academia. Angus Anderson Fulton was a noted engineer and graduate of University College who served as Dundee Corporation water engineer. His daughter Dr Annie Alexander Fulton (1898-1977) also entered academia. She was an instructor at the Medical School at University College, Dundee from 1926 to 1930 and again from 1944. Dr Annie Fulton also served as Assistant Medical Officer of Health for

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

and was an assistant in child welfare in Dundee. A portrait of Principal Fulton by James McIntosh Patrick is part of the University of Dundee's fine art collections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulton, Angus Academics of the University of Dundee Academics of the University of St Andrews Principals of the University of Dundee 1871 births 1958 deaths Scottish scholars and academics Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Dundee Royal Flying Corps soldiers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Engineers from Dundee Royal Air Force officers British Army personnel of World War I Members of the Order of the British Empire