Alexander Beazeley (1830-1905) Civil Engineer.
1906 Obituary [1]
ALEXANDER BEAZELEY, who died on the 1st December, 1905, was the eldest son of the late Commander George Beazeley, R.N.
Born at Brighton, on the 6th August, 1830, he was articled in 1846 to the late Mr. John Wright, and while yet a pupil was employed by him in setting out the Portsmouth Direct Railway.
In 1852 Mr. Beazeley went out to New South Wales, and became an Assistant, and afterwards Executive Engineer in the Public Works Department of the Colony, in which capacity he supervised the construction of lighthouses at Sydney, Cape Howe, and Gabo Island, Moreton Bay, and of various bridges and other works.
In 1863 be returned home, and subsequently acted as Resident Engineer on the Kidwelly Branch of the Cardigan and Carmarthen Railway.
In 1865 he entered the service of the Trinity House as assistant to the Chief Engineer, and had charge of the construction of various lighthouses round the coast. He was an authority on fog-signals, and was the author of a Paper on the subject read before this Institution in 1871, for which he was awarded a Telford medal and premium.
In 1873 he went to Sweden as Resident Engineer on the Halmstad and Jonkoping line and afterwards on the North of Europe Railway. On his return from Sweden he became Librarian to the Royal Institute of British Architects, an appointment which he held for many years.
He was the Author of 'Tables of Tangential Angles and Multiples for setting out Curves,' and of 'The Reclamation of Land from Tidal Waters.' He edited and practically rewrote Usill’s 'Practical Surveying' and was also one of the earliest and most constant contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary, having furnished over 30,000 words to that work. He was an accomplished linguist in French, German, Italian and Swedish, the last named of which he spoke and wrote with exceptional fluency and ease.
Mr. Beazeley was elected a Member of the Institution on the 4th December, 1860.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Institution of Civil Engineers Minutes of the Proceedings