Edward Tomkins
Edward Tomkins (1845-1876)
1877 Obituary [1]
EDWARD TOMKINS was born in Manchester on 17th September 1845, and after serving an apprenticeship in the works and drawing office of Messrs. W. Collier and Co., Manchester, was engaged in several works connected with railway plant and machine tools, in and near Manchester.
In 1866 he retired partially from practical work, and resumed the theoretical study of civil and mechanical engineering; and in 1869 he was awarded a Whitworth exhibition, and in the following year a Whitworth scholarship.
From 1866 to 1874 he lectured in Manchester and surrounding towns on subjects connected with engineering; and in 1872 was appointed lecturer on civil and mechanical engineering at Queen's College, Liverpool; but in 1873 failing health compelled him to abandon his profession almost entirely. In that year he published an elementary work on machine construction and drawing; and was engaged upon a more advanced work on the same subjects up to the time of his death, which took place at Buxton on 16th July 1876 in the 31st year of his age.
He became a Member of the Institution in 1873.