William Anton Gottleib Schonheyder (1836-1907)
1907 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM ANTON GOTTLIEB SOHONHEYDER was born at Randers in Denmark, on 9th March 1836, and was educated at the Polytechnic School in Copenhagen.
At the age of twenty he came to London, where he resided for the greater part of his life. For three years after his arrival he worked in the shops of Messrs. Maudslay, Sons and Field, and in 1860 went to the works of Messrs. James Simpson and Co., of Pimlico, London, where he afterwards had charge of the drawing-office, under the management of Mr. Henry Shield, and was responsible for the design of important pumping machinery for the Lambeth Water Works, Chelsea Water Works, and for several foreign water works.
While with this firm he designed the cartridge-making machinery for Messrs. Eley's new works, at King's Cross, London, where he was manager from 1871 to 1876.
Subsequently he was employed by Messrs. Fawcett, Preston and Co. of Liverpool, on the designs of the machinery for the Calcutta Water Supply, and designed a governor for regularising the flow of water in a long main of the Anglo-Chilian Nitrate and Railway Co.
Since 1878 he practised as a consulting engineer, and brought out several inventions. The one he will be best remembered by was his "Imperial" water meter, which was described in a Paper on "Water Meters of the present day," which he contributed to this Institution.
Another invention of later date was his "Evertite" self-grinding parallel-slide stop-valve.
Up to within the last few months of his life he was a very regular attendant at the Institution Meetings, and frequently took part in the discussions.
His death took place at his residence at Clapham Park, London, on 27th November 1907, in his seventy-second year.
He became a Member of this Institution in 1883.