James Douglass (d.1827)
1800 With Thomas Telford, submitted plans for iron bridges over the Thames
1827 April. Died. 'At Paris, on the 25th February last, Mr James Douglass, civil engineer, a native of Langholm. He went to France during the short-lived peace, where his extraordinary mechanical powers attracted the notice of the Emperor Napoleon, who presented him with an elegant gold medal. Placed in a situation that gave full scope to his enterprising genius, he soon realized a fortune, which enabled him to live in splendour in that gay and luxurious capital; still he was mindful of his friends at home, who partook largely of his munificent liberality. When the British army was en-camped in the vicinity of Paris, his house was a home to many of his countrymen who declared him to be the most hospitable of men. To him England is indebted for the valuable machine for shearing and dressing of cloth. He was never married; and his fortune, which is handsome, will be equally divided among his brothers and sisters, according to the line of succession in France.'[1]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Caledonian Mercury - Saturday 07 April 1827
- Biographies of Civil Engineers, 1500-1830, by A. W. Skempton.