William Matthews (engineer)

William Matthews

Matthews in 1911
Born 8 March 1844
Died 8 January 1922(1922-01-08) (aged 77)
Nationality English
Education Glenalmond College and King's College London

Engineering career

Discipline Civil,
Institutions Institution of Civil Engineers (president),
Projects Port of Dover, Grand Harbour
Awards Order of St Michael and St George (knight commander),
Belgian Order of Leopold (officer)

Sir William Matthews KCMG (8 March 1844 8 January 1922)[1] was a British civil engineer.

He was educated at Glenalmond College and King's College London.

Matthews was born in Penzance to John and Alice Matthews, John Matthews was, at that time, the borough surveyor for Penzance. William spent a few years working for his father as an assistant surveyor before gaining work as chief assistant to John Coode. He was eventually made a partner in Coode's firm which became Coode, Son and Matthews.[1]

His most notable works with the firm were harbours and docks, many of which were undertaken for the Admiralty, and include works on Dover Harbour, Singapore Docks and the Grand Harbour in Valletta, Malta. He also undertook inspections of Cape Colony, Ceylon, Cyprus, Hong Kong and Malta harbours for the British Admiralty.[1] On 9 July 1906 he was appointed to a Royal Commission to investigate tidal and coastal flooding in the United Kingdom.[2]

He became an associate member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1870, a full member in 1876 and served as president between November 1907 and November 1908.[3] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1901,[4] and a Knight Commander (KCMG) of the same order in 1906. He was also made an officer of the Belgian Order of Léopold in 1894 in recognition of his work on Zeebrugge Harbour.[1]

His brother, Thomas Matthews, was from 1892 the Engineer-in-Chief of Trinity House, the British lighthouse authority.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Times Obituary, 10 January 1922
  2. The London Gazette: no. 27930. p. 4714. 10 July 1906. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
  3. Watson, Garth (1988), The Civils, London: Thomas Telford Ltd, p. 252, ISBN 0-7277-0392-7
  4. The London Gazette: no. 27261. p. 2. 1 January 1901.
Professional and academic associations
Preceded by
Alexander Kennedy
President of the Institution of Civil Engineers
November 1907 – November 1908
Succeeded by
James Charles Inglis
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