James Simpson (1799–1869) was a British

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

. He was president of the Institution of Civil Engineers from January 1853 to January 1855. James Simpson was the fourth son of Thomas Simpson, engineer of the

Chelsea Waterworks The Chelsea Waterworks Company was a London waterworks company founded in 1723 which supplied water to many central London locations throughout the 18th and 19th centuries until its functions were taken over by the Metropolitan Water Board i ...

. James succeeded his father in both this post and that of engineer of the Lambeth Waterworks Company. It was under Simpson's instruction that the Chelsea Waterworks became the first in the country to install a

slow sand filtration Slow sand filters are used in water purification for treating raw water to produce a potable product. They are typically deep, can be rectangular or cylindrical in cross section and are used primarily to treat surface water. The length and brea ...

system to purify the water they were drawing from the River Thames. This filter consisted of successive beds of loose brick, gravel and sand to remove solids from the water. He also designed waterworks at Windsor Castle and Bristol as well as The Wooden Pier at Southend on Sea. Simpson established J. Simpson & Co., a manufacturer of steam engines and pumps, making several improvements to their design.

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English civil engineers Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers 1799 births 1869 deaths 19th-century British engineers Fellows of the Royal Society {{civil-engineering-stub