Alexander Campbell Cormack
Alexander Campbell Cormack (1873-1926)
1927 Obituary [1]
ALEXANDER CAMPBELL CORMACK was born on the 20th May, 1873, the third son of Alexander Cormack, of Dumbarton.
At an early age he showed keenness in science studies and gained the Denny Gold Medal for science in Dumbarton Academy.
Thereafter he began an apprenticeship as an electrical engineer with Messrs. Wm. Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton, and during it he acted for six months as electrician on board the s.s. "Ruahine" when she went on her maiden voyage to Australia and back. The dynamos were driven by Tower spherical engines, an interesting and novel type which has not survived.
He continued his studies in the evenings and was for a year at Glasgow University under Lord Kelvin.
In 1895 he went to Messrs. John Fowler and Co., Leeds, to get experience in alternating-current machinery, and two years later was appointed a charge engineer in the Edinburgh Corporation electricity works.
An attack of pleurisy there greatly affected his health and after a period of recuperation he was appointed engineer for a district under the National Telephone Co.
When the National Boiler Insurance Co. took up the insurance of electrical machinery he was appointed head of the new department and carried out his increasing duties for a period of more than 25 years.
The years of the War were a heavy drain on his strength and when he relaxed, in November 1924, although he entered a sanatorium at once, it was too late to regain health and he passed away on the 9th July, 1926.
He will be remembered for his originality, skill and devotion to his work, his readiness to help others, his knowledge and skill in sport, his gifts as a raconteur, and his cheerfulness and considerateness as a friend.
He was elected an Associate in 1898, an Associate Member in 1899, and a Member in 1905.