Charles Alexander Stevenson MICE MIEE

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". ...

(23 December 1855, – 9 May 1950) was a Scottish

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

engineer who built twenty-three lighthouses in and around Scotland.

Life

He was born at 8 Forth Street in the east part of Edinburgh's New Town The family moved to 20 Royal Terrace on

Calton Hill Calton Hill (; ) is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and f ...

shortly after his birth. Born into the famous Stevenson family of lighthouse engineers, son of David Stevenson and his wife Elizabeth Mackay, brother of David Alan Stevenson, and nephew of

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 ...

, he was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

1866 to 1872 then studied mathematics and engineering 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 ...

where he graduated BSc. He joined the family business of lighthouse design in 1875 remaining unpaid as a family member until 1887 when his uncle, Thomas Stevenson died, after which he became a partner. Between 1887 and 1937 he built 23 lighthouses with his brother, David, and is noted for his experiments with

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

. He also improved

foghorn A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. ...

s and created his own wireless communication system prior to Marconi's wireless. In 1886, 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 were Sir John Murray,

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 ...

George Chrystal George Chrystal FRSE FRS (8 March 1851 – 3 November 1911) was a Scottish mathematician. He is primarily known for his books on algebra and his studies of seiches (wave patterns in large inland bodies of water) which earned him a Gold Meda ...

and Alexander Buchan. In 1889 he published an account of recent earthquakes in Scotland, with tabulations and a map, based largely on the accounts of lighthouse keepers. In March 1895, he was appointed examiner of

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

students at

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

. He lived at 9 Manor Place in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

with Ernest Maddox as his neighbour at 7 Manor Place.Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1891-92 He died on 9 May 1950. He is buried in the first northern extension to

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 ...

in western

. The grave lies on the north path towards the north-east corner. His son David Alan Stevenson lies alongside.

Family

He married Margaret Sherriff (1863–1945). With her he had two daughters and a son, David Alan (1891–1971), who was the last of the family to enter the profession of lighthouse design. His cousin was

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

, and grandfather was the lighthouse engineer,

Robert Stevenson Robert, Rob, or Bob Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), Scottish writer ("Treasure Island"), grandson of lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenso ...

Lighthouses of Charles A Stevenson

* Skroo,

Fair Isle Fair Isle ( ; ), sometimes Fairisle, is the southernmost Shetland island, situated roughly from the Shetland Mainland and about from North Ronaldsay (the most northerly island of Orkney). The entire archipelago lies off the northernmost coa ...

(1892) *

Helliar Holm Helliar Holm is an uninhabited island off the coast of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. It is home to a lighthouse, which was built in 1893 and automated in 1967. It is a tidal island that used to be connected to Shapinsay. It is still ...

(1893) *

Sule Skerry Sule Skerry is a remote skerry in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland. Geography Sule Skerry lies west of the Orkney Mainland at . Sule Skerry's sole neighbour, Sule Stack, lies to the southwest; the remote islands of Rona ...

(1895) *

Rattray Head Rattray Head (), historically Rattray Point, is a headland in Buchan, Aberdeenshire, on the north-east coast Scotland. To north lies Strathbeg Bay and Rattray Bay is to its south. The dunes at Rattray Head beach can be up to high and stretch ...

(1895) * Stroma (1896) * Tod Head (1897) * Noup Head (1898) * Flannan Isles (1899) *

Tiumpan Head Tiumpan Head (, meaning "promontory of the hill") is the northeastern end of the Point peninsula on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United King ...

(1900) * Killantringan (1900) originally including a gigantic foghorn *

Barns Ness A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. ...

(1901) *

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcanic plug, at its highest point, and is home ...

(1903) *

Hyskeir Hyskeir () or Heyskeir is a low-lying rocky islet (a skerry) in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. The Hyskeir Lighthouse marks the southern entrance to the Minch. Geography Hyskeir lies in the southern entrance to the Minch, 10 kilometres south ...

(1904) * Trodday (1908) * Neist Point (1909) * Sandaig Light, Glenelg (1910) * Rubh Re (1912) * Milaid Point (1912) *

Maughold Head Maughold Head is the easternmost point of the Isle of Man and the closest point in the Isle of Man to England, being from St. Bees Head in Cumbria. Maughold Head lies in the northeast of the island, some from Ramsey, at the southern end of ...

(1914) *

Copinsay Copinsay () is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying off the east coast of the Orkney Mainland. The smaller companion island to Copinsay, Horse of Copinsay lies to the northeast. The Horse is uninhabited, and is managed as a bird rese ...

(1915) * Clyth Ness (1916) *

Duncansby Head Duncansby Head ( or Dùn Gasbaith) is the most northeasterly part of both the Scottish and British mainlands, slightly northeast of John o' Groats. It lies approximately 20 km (12 mi) east-southeast of Dunnet Head, the northernmost ...

(1924) *

Esha Ness Esha Ness, also written Eshaness, is a peninsula on the west coast of Northmavine, on the island of Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. Esha Ness Lighthouse is located on the west coast of the peninsula, just south of Calder's Geo. The lighthouse was ...

(1929) * Tor Ness (1937)

References

http://www.worldwidelighthouses.com/Lighthouses/Scottish-Lighthouses/Privately-Owned/Sandaig {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Charles Alexander Lighthouse builders Scottish civil engineers Engineers from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 1855 births 1950 deaths 19th-century Scottish people Stevenson family (Scotland)