George Houghton
George Houghton (1841-1870)
1871 Obituary [1]
MR. GEORGE HOUGHTON was born in London in the year 1841.
He entered King’s College in January, 1858, and remained in the Department of Applied Sciences until December, 1860, when he obtained an associateship of the college.
From an early period he showed a decided predilection for mechanical and engineering pursuits. He was accordingly articled to Mr. G. B. Bruce, M. Inst. C.E., and entered upon his professional duties with such ardour that before the expiration of his pupilage he occupied the position of Assistant Engineer on the Tilsit-Insterburg railway, in East Prussia, where he was in charge of a length of 33 English miles, and subsequently he became Resident Engineer on the same work for eighteen months.
After this he was appointed Resident Engineer of a length of 46 miles of the Berlin-Gorlitzer railway, between Gorlitz and Spremberg, which appointment he held for a year and a half.
He was elected an Associate of the Institution on the 5th of March, 1867.
In the following year he went to Hungary and acted as Secretary to the management, for the execution of the works of the Groswardein and East Hungarian railways, taking also as a portion of his work the control of the drawing office. In these capacities his general professional knowledge as well as his special experience in the construction of German railways was constantly exercised.
In 1869 he was appointed first class Assistant Engineer on the Great Southern of India railway; but he had not been in India more than six months when he was attacked with cholera near Palamcottah, in the Madras Presidency, and after two days’ illness died on the 24th of June, 1870.