What is Benjamin Baker?

Sir Benjamin Baker (March 31, 1840 - May 19, 1907), English engineer, was born near Bath in 1840, and, after receiving his early training in a South Wales ironworks, became associated with Sir John Fowler in London. He took part in the construction of the Metropolitan railway (London), and in designing the cylindrical vessel in which Cleopatra's Needle, now standing on the Thames Embankment, London, was brought over from Egypt to England in 1877-1878. He published a timely book on Long Railway Bridges in the 1870's which advocated the introduction of steel, and showed that much longer spans were possible using this material. In 1880, he was called as an expert witness to the inquiry into the Tay Rail Bridge disaster. His testimony was against the theory that the bridge was simply blown over by the wind that fateful night. He said in his statement to the court that he had built over 12 miles of railway viaduct, referring to his design of the elevated railroad in New York in 1868, some of which still survives in Manhattan (unused). By this time he had already made himself an authority on bridge construction, and shortly afterwards he was engaged on the work which made his reputation with the general public: the design and erection of the Forth Bridge.

On the completion of this undertaking in 1890 he was made K.C.M.G., and in the same year the Royal Society recognized his scientific attainments by electing him one of its fellows. Twelve years later at the formal opening of the Aswan Dam, for which he was consulting engineer, he was created K.C.B. Sir Benjamin Baker.

Baker also had a large share in the introduction of the system widely adopted in London of constructing intra-urban railways in deep tubular tunnels built up of cast iron segments, obtained an extremely large professional practice, ranging over almost every branch of civil engineering, and was more or less directly concerned with most of the great engineering achievements of his day. He was also the author of many papers on engineering subjects. He died at Pangbourne, Berkshire.

References

• B Baker, Long Span Railway Bridges, E and F N Spon (1873)

External links

• Sir Benjamin Baker information at Structurae

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