William Charles Kernot (16 June 1845 – 14 March 1909), was an Australian engineer, first professor of engineering at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

and president of the

Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in Victoria, Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science (found ...

Early life and family

William Charles Kernot, eldest son of Charles Kernot,S. Murray-Smith
"Kernot, William Charles (1845 - 1909")
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 5,

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text ...

, 1974, pp. 20-22. Retrieved 23 August 2009 chemist, formerly member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

for Geelong, was born at

Rochford Rochford is a town and civil parish in the Rochford (district), Rochford District in Essex, England, north of Southend-on-Sea, from London and from Chelmsford. At the 2011 census, the Civil parishes in England, civil parish had a population ...

, Essex, England. Kernot migrated to Australia with his family in 1851 and was educated at the National Grammar School,

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

, and matriculated at the

in 1861. He qualified for the degree of M.A. in 1864 and entered the Victorian mining department in 1865. He also qualified as a civil engineer in 1866.

Commercial career

In 1867 joined the water-supply department, and in 1868 was appointed a lecturer in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

at the University of Melbourne. He left the water-supply department in 1875, and during the next three years acted as consulting engineer to

Louis Brennan Louis Brennan (28 January 1852 – 17 January 1932) was an Irish-Australian mechanical engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the Brennan Torpedo, one of the earliest wire-guided torpedoes, which was adopted by the British Army i ...

in connexion with his torpedo. In 1882 Kernot became chairman of directors of the first company to introduce electric lighting to Melbourne.

Academic career

From 1 January 1883, Kernot was the first professor of engineering at the University of Melbourne. When he started there was little in the way of either buildings or equipment, but during the following 26 years he worked up a fine engineering school, and was an inspiring teacher and friend to the many students who qualified for engineering degrees during this period. In 1887 he gave £2,000 to the university to found scholarships in natural philosophy and chemistry, and in 1893 gave £1,000 for the fittings for the metallurgical laboratory. Kernot also assisted

Francis Ormond Francis Ormond (23 November 1827 – 5 May 1889) was a Scottish-born Australian pastoralist, member of the Parliament of Victoria and philanthropist in the areas of education and religion. Ormond is notable for founding the Working Men's Coll ...

in the organization of the

Working Men's College of Melbourne The Working Men's College was an Australian college of further education located in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1887 by a prominent Victorian parliamentarian and philanthropist, Francis Ormond. The college was the predecessor to the ...

, and was president of this institution from 1889 to 1899. Kernot was president of the

1895-1900 and of the Victorian Society of Engineers in 1897-8 and 1906-7. Kernot wrote many papers for technical journals; an important work was ''On Some Common Errors in Iron Bridge Design'', which appeared in 1898, an enlarged second edition was published in 1906. A younger brother, Wilfred Noyce Kernot, born in 1868, was for many years a lecturer at the University of Melbourne, and from 1932 to 1936 was professor of engineering.

Personal life

Kernot was president of the Wallaby Club in 1901. He was also interested in astronomy, member of the British Astronomical Association from 26 May 1897 until his death.

Late life and legacy

Kernot died at

Parkville, Victoria Parkville is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Merri-bek, M ...

on 14 March 1909. He never married. The Kernot Memorial Medal, awarded to Australian engineers, was instituted in his honour.

References

External links

Kernot, William Charles
in the Bright Sparcs Biographical Database.
Work
i
Open Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kernot, William Charles Australian civil engineers Engineers from Melbourne 19th-century Australian engineers People from the Colony of Victoria 1845 births 1909 deaths Australian Baptists 19th-century Baptists