Col. David Carnegie (15 February 1868 – 14 March 1949), was a British scientist, engineer and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

politician who worked for the Canadian government.

Background

He was the son of David Carnegie and Margaret Bogue of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

. He was educated at

Gordon's College, Aberdeen Robert Gordon's College is a co-educational Independent school (UK) for day pupils in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery through to S6. History Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant, made his fortune in 18th century ...

and at the

Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1896, he married Frances Ellen Lloyd of Leicester, and they had three sons. Carnegie was a member of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

and the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 membe ...

, and was elected an Ordinary Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh 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 established i ...

in 1910.

Engineering career

Before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Carnegie worked at the

Royal Laboratory The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...

of the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Br ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thro ...

, and later at Samuel Osborn & Company in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and

Carnegie Brothers and Company Carnegie Brothers & Company, Ltd. was created by the consolidation of the Steelmaking, steel businesses owned by Andrew Carnegie in the early 1880s. Those steel and Coke (fuel), coke works that were consolidated were: *Sciota Ore Mines *Union Iron ...

in London. In 1916, he was described as "a

consulting engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the ...

of high standing". In September 1914 he was appointed as Ordnance Adviser to the Shell Committee in Canada, on which he also sat as a member. When the Committee was replaced by the

Imperial Munitions Board The Imperial Munitions Board (IMB) was the Canadian branch of the British Ministry of Munitions, set up in Canada under the chairmanship of Joseph Wesley Flavelle. It was formed by the British War Cabinet to alleviate the Shell Crisis of 1915 du ...

in December 1915, he was appointed as one of its members, and continued to serve as such until 1919. In 1915 he was appointed by the Canadian Government to chair a Commission to inquire into the feasibility of refining zinc and copper in Canada, and he also conducted an inquiry into what

coke oven Coke is a grey, hard, and porous coal-based fuel with a high carbon content and few impurities, made by heating coal or oil in the absence of air—a destructive distillation process. It is an important industrial product, used mainly in iron ...

capacity existed in Canada for the production of

toluol Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon. It is a colorless, water-insoluble liquid with the smell associated with paint thinners. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, consisting of a methyl group (CH ...

(a key component of

trinitrotoluene Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reag ...

). He was Chairman of the Inventions Committee in Canada. He was appointed an Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the Canadian Militia in 1915, and became an Honorary Colonel in 1916, on his appointment as Consulting Technical Ordnance Adviser to the

Department of Militia and Defence The Department of Militia and Defence was the department responsible for military land forces in Canada from 1906 to 1921. The Minister of Militia and Defence was in charge of this department. The department was created in 1906 when the Brit ...

Public service

At the end of the War he returned to the UK and settled at

Seasalter Seasalter is a village (and district council ward) in the Canterbury District of Kent, England. Seasalter is on the north coast of Kent, between the towns of Whitstable and Faversham, facing the Isle of Sheppey across the estuary of the River Sw ...

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of 3 ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, but returned in 1919 as a delegate to the National Industrial Conference in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, where he spoke about the UK experience in establishing the

Whitley Council Whitley may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom * Whitley, Berkshire, a suburb of Reading * Whitley, Cheshire, a village near Warrington * Whitley, Coventry, a suburb of Coventry, West Midlands *Whitley, Essex, near Birdbrook * Whitley, Wigan, Great ...

s. In 1920 he was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. In 1922 he was appointed to substitute for

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

James Murdock at that year's meetings of the

International Labour Conference The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

.Results: Orders-in-Council for "Carnegie"
/ref> He was a Canadian employers' representative to the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

who was also named by the ILO to sit on the Temporary Mixed Commission for the Reduction of Armaments at the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by ...

from 1921–24. Carnegie took a particular interest in international affairs through the

League of Nations Union The League of Nations Union (LNU) was an organization formed in October 1918 in Great Britain to promote international justice, collective security and a permanent peace between nations based upon the ideals of the League of Nations. The League of N ...

which was formed in 1918. In 1925 he was elected a Member of its Executive Committee, on which he remained for the next nine years. He was also interested in serving the local community and was a Justice of the peace.

Political career

He was the Liberal candidate for the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

division of Kentin which his Whitstable residence was locatedat the 1924 General Election. It was a safe Unionist seat that had not elected a Liberal since 1868. In November 1927 he was again Liberal candidate for the 1927 Canterbury by-election. He was Liberal candidate for the third time at Canterbury for the 1929 General Election. He did not stand for parliament again.

Bibliography

He published a number of works: * * * * The Arms Industry, 1936 * * World Economics and Peace, 1939 * The International Labour Organization in World Affairs, 1943 *

References