David Stevenson MICE

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 letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This so ...

FRSSA (11 January 1815 – 17 July 1886) was a Scottish lighthouse designer, who designed over 30 lighthouses in and around

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, and helped continue the

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

of lighthouse engineering founded by his father.

Life

He was born on 11 January 1815 at 2 Baxters Place at the top of

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchange ...

in Edinburgh, the son of Jean Smith and engineer

Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engli ...

. He was brother of the lighthouse engineers

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

and

Thomas Stevenson Thomas Stevenson 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 around Scotland, as well as the Stevenson ...

. He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh then studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. In 1838 he became a partner in his father's (and uncle's) firm of R & A Stevenson. In 1844 he was elected a 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 ...

his proposer being

David Milne-Home David Milne-Home of Milne Graden FRSE FGS PGSE LLD (1805–1890) was a Scottish advocate, geologist and meteorologist. He was the founder of the Scottish Meteorological Society in 1855, and served as its chairman. From 1874 to 1889 he served as ...

. In 1853 he moved to the

Northern Lighthouse Board The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for marine navigation aids around coastal areas. History The NLB was formed by Act of ...

. Between 1854 and 1880 he designed many lighthouses, all with his brother Thomas. In addition he helped Richard Henry Brunton design lighthouses for Japan, inventing a novel method for allowing them to withstand earthquakes. His sons

David Alan Stevenson David Alan Stevenson (21 July 1854 in Edinburgh – 11 April 1938) was a lighthouse engineer who built 26 lighthouses in and around Scotland. Life He was born on 21 July 1854 the son of David Stevenson and his wife, Elizabeth Mackay. His ...

and Charles Alexander Stevenson continued his work after his death, building nearly thirty further lighthouses. In the 1860s he lived at 25 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh. Non-lighthouse engineering included the Edinburgh and Leith Sewerage Scheme and the widening of North Bridge in Edinburgh. In 1868 and 1869 he served as President of the Royal Scottish Society of the Arts. He died in

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable ...

on 17 July 1886. He is buried 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 ...

in west Edinburgh. The grave lies on the north wall of the original cemetery backing onto the first northern extension.

Publications

*''Sketch of the Civil Engineering of North america'' (1838) *''Canal and River Engineering'' (c.1870) *''The Life of

'' (1878)

Family

In 1840 he married Elizabeth Mackay (1816-1871). Their children included Charles Alexander Stevenson and

. His daughter Jane Stevenson (d.1909) married William Mackintosh, Lord Kyllachy. His nephew 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 ...

Lighthouses designed by David Stevenson

* Whalsay Skerries (1854) *

Out Skerries The Out Skerries are an archipelago of islets, some inhabited, in Shetland, Scotland, and are the easternmost part of Shetland. Locally, they are usually called Da Skerries or just Skerries. Geography The Out Skerries lie about northeast of ...

(1854) * Muckle Flugga (1854) * Davaar (1854) * Ushenish (1857) * South Rona (1857) * Kyleakin (1857) *

Ornsay Ornsay is a small tidal island to the east of the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Description The island provides good shelter to a natural harbour which is overlooked by the village of Isleornsay. The ...

(1857) * Sound of Mull (1857) * Cantick Head (1858) *

Bressay Bressay ( sco, Bressa) is a populated island in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland. Geography and geology Bressay lies due south of Whalsay, west of the Isle of Noss, and north of Mousa. With an area of , it is the fifth-largest island in S ...

(1858) * Ruvaal (1859) *

Corran Point Corran ( gd, An Corran) is a former fishing village, situated on Corran Point, on the west side of the Corran Narrows of Loch Linnhe, in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. There are three small settlements set apart from the main cluster of houses: ...

(1860) *

Fladda There are many small islands in Scotland called Flodday (Scots Gaelic: Flodaigh) or similar and this list provides a guide to their location. The derivation of the name is from the Old Norse ''floti'' meaning "raft" or "float". The similar island n ...

(1860) * McArthur's Head (1861) *

St Abb's Head St Abb's Head is a rocky promontory by the village of St Abbs in Scottish Borders, Scotland, and a national nature reserve administered by the National Trust for Scotland. St Abb's Head Lighthouse was designed and built by the brothers Davi ...

(1862) * Butt of Lewis (1862) * Holborn Head (1862) * Monach Islands (1864) * Skervuile (1865) * Auskerry (1866) * Lochindaal (1869) *

Scurdie Ness Scurdie Ness is a headland located on the South side of the River South Esk estuary, Montrose, Angus, Scotland. The River leads from the North Sea into Montrose Harbour and then into Montrose Basin. The headland has also been referred to as Sc ...

(1870) * Stoer Head (1870) *

Dubh Artach Dubh Artach (; ) is a remote skerry of basalt rock off the west coast of Scotland lying west of Colonsay and south-west of the Ross of Mull. A lighthouse designed by Thomas Stevenson with a tower height of was erected between 1867 and 1872 ...

(1872) * Turnberry (1873) * Chicken Rock (1875) *

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

(1877, 1880)

References

External links

''Life of Robert Stevenson: Civil Engineer''
(1878), by David Stevenson. From

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...