John Smeaton FRS was born on June 8, 1724, and died on October 28, 1792. He was an English civil engineer who helped design bridges, canals, harbors, and lighthouses. He was also a skilled mechanical engineer and a well-known expert who used scientific methods in engineering. Smeaton was the first person to call himself a "civil engineer" and is often called the "father of civil engineering." He was the first to use hydraulic lime in concrete, mixing it with pebbles and powdered brick. Smeaton was connected to the Lunar Society.

Law and physics

John Smeaton was born in Austhorpe, Leeds, England. After attending Leeds Grammar School, he worked in his father’s law firm but later left to become a mathematical instrument maker. He partnered with Henry Hindley and created tools such as a pyrometer, which measured how materials expand. In 1750, his workshop was located in the Great Turnstile in Holborn.

In 1753, Smeaton was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1759, he received the Copley Medal for his studies on waterwheels and windmills. His paper, titled "An Experimental Enquiry Concerning the Natural Powers of Water and Wind to Turn Mills and Other Machines Depending on Circular Motion," explored how pressure and speed affect objects moving through air. He noted that the table of data used in his research was provided by "my friend Mr. Rouse," an intelligent man from Harborough, Leicestershire, who conducted experiments to create it. His findings later helped develop the 'Smeaton Coefficient.' Smeaton tested small models of waterwheels over seven years, testing different designs. His improvements in water power efficiency supported the Industrial Revolution.

Between 1759 and 1782, Smeaton conducted more experiments on waterwheels. His results supported the vis viva theory, an early idea about energy conservation proposed by German scientist Gottfried Leibniz. This caused disagreements with some academics who believed Leibniz’s theory conflicted with Sir Isaac Newton’s ideas about the conservation of momentum.

Smeaton coefficient

In his 1759 paper titled "An Experimental Enquiry Concerning the Natural Powers of Water and Wind to Turn Mills and Other Machines Depending on Circular Motion," Smeaton created the ideas and information that formed the foundation for the Smeaton coefficient, a lift equation later used by the Wright brothers. The equation is written as:

The Wright brothers used wind tunnels to discover that the Smeaton coefficient value of 0.005 was wrong and should instead be 0.0033. In modern studies, the lift coefficient is adjusted using the dynamic pressure rather than the Smeaton coefficient.

Civil engineering

John Smeaton played a key role in the history, rediscovery, and development of modern cement. He identified the ingredients needed to create "hydraulicity" in lime, which is the ability to harden underwater. This work helped lead to the invention of Portland cement. Portland cement made concrete a popular building material again, largely because of Smeaton's contributions.

Recommended by the Royal Society, Smeaton designed the third Eddystone Lighthouse, built between 1755 and 1759. He was the first to use "hydraulic lime," a type of mortar that sets underwater. He also developed a method to fit granite blocks together using a technique called dovetailing. In designing the lighthouse, Smeaton combined knowledge from many areas, including geology, electrical research, weather studies, and classical learning.

The lighthouse was used until 1877, when the rock beneath it began to erode. It was then taken apart and rebuilt in part at Plymouth Hoe, where it is now called Smeaton's Tower. In 2020, a bust of Smeaton made of Cornish granite was placed inside the tower’s lantern chamber before it reopened. The bust was based on a plaster model donated by the Institution of Civil Engineers in about 1980, but it was removed later for safety reasons.

After deciding to focus on civil engineering, Smeaton worked on many projects, including:

• The Calder and Hebble Navigation (1758–70)
• Coldstream Bridge over the River Tweed (1763–66)
• Improvements to the River Lee Navigation (1765–70)
• Smeaton's Pier in St Ives, Cornwall (1767–70)
• Perth Bridge over the River Tay in Perth (1766–71)
• Ripon Canal (1766–1773)
• Smeaton's Viaduct, which carries the A616 road over the River Trent between Newark and South Muskham (1768–70)
• The Forth and Clyde Canal from Grangemouth to Glasgow (1768–77)
• Langley on Tyne smelt mill, with Nicholas Walton (1768)
• Banff Harbour (1770–75)
• Lower North Water Bridge (1770–75)
• Aberdeen Bridge (1775–80)
• Peterhead Harbour (1775–1881)
• Nent Force Level (1776–77)
• Cardington Bridge (1778)
• Harbour works at Ramsgate (retention basin 1776–83; jetty 1788–1792)
• Hexham Bridge (1777–90); completed by Robert Mylne in 1793
• The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal (1782–89)
• St Austell’s Charlestown Harbour in Cornwall (1792)

Smeaton is considered the first expert witness to appear in an English court. He testified in a legal case about the silting-up of the harbor at Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk in 1782. He also advised on the New Harbour at Rye, a project meant to solve problems with the port of Winchelsea. This project is sometimes called "Smeaton's Harbour," but he was only involved later, more than 30 years after work began. The harbor closed in 1839.

Mechanical engineer

Using his knowledge as a mechanical engineer, he created a water-powered machine for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in 1761 and a watermill at Alston, Cumbria, in 1767. Some people believe he invented the strong iron parts used in water wheels. In 1782, he built the Chimney Mill at Spital Tongues in Newcastle upon Tyne, which was the first 5-sailed smock mill in Britain. He also improved Thomas Newcomen’s atmospheric engine. He installed one at Chacewater mine, Wheal Busy, in Cornwall in 1775. This engine was very efficient and the most powerful of its time.

In 1789, Smeaton used an idea from Denis Papin to build a diving bell for the Hexham Bridge project. This bell was not designed for underwater work, but in 1790, the design was changed to allow it to be used underwater at Ramsgate Harbour. Smeaton also explained the key differences and advantages of two types of water wheels: overshot and undershot. He tested Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine and made important improvements around the time James Watt was building his first engines in the late 1770s.

Legacy

John Smeaton died after having a stroke while walking in the garden of his family home in Austhorpe. He was buried in the parish church at Whitkirk, West Yorkshire. His surviving daughters built a memorial for him and his wife, which is located on a wall inside the church.

The Eddystone Lighthouse had to be replaced because the rock beneath it was decaying. When the top part of Smeaton’s lighthouse (which included the lantern, storage, and living and watch rooms) was being removed, someone suggested bringing some parts to Whitkirk to create a memorial. However, the plan was not completed because it was estimated to cost about £1800, which was considered too expensive.

Smeaton was respected by other engineers. He helped form the Lunar Society and started the Society of Civil Engineers in 1771. He created the term "civil engineers" to help distinguish them from military engineers who graduated from the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. The Society of Civil Engineers was a predecessor to the Institution of Civil Engineers, which was founded in 1818. In 1830, the society was renamed the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers. Some of his students included William Jessop, a canal engineer, and Benjamin Latrobe, an architect and engineer.

A key constant that shows how pressure changes with speed in air was named Smeaton’s coefficient in his honor. This concept helped the Wright brothers build the first successful heavier-than-air aircraft.

From 1860 to 1894, the back of the old penny coin showed an image of Smeaton’s Eddystone Lighthouse.

Smeaton is one of six civil engineers shown in the Stephenson stained glass window, designed by William Wailes and placed in Westminster Abbey in 1862. A memorial stone honoring Smeaton was placed in the Abbey on November 7, 1994, by Noel Ordman, President of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers.

John Smeaton Academy, a secondary school in the suburbs of Leeds near Austhorpe, is named after him. He is also honored at the University of Plymouth, where the Mathematics and Technology Department is in a building named after him. A viaduct in the final stage of the Leeds Inner Ring Road, opened in 2008, was named after him.

Smeaton is mentioned in the song "I Predict a Riot" by the indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs. The song references him as a symbol of a more peaceful time in Leeds history and also mentions a Junior School House at Leeds Grammar School, which the band’s lead singer, Ricky Wilson, attended.

Works

• A study about how wind and water can power mills and machines that use circular movement. Published in Paris by Louis Courcier in 1810.
• A story about building and describing the construction of the Edystone Lighthouse using stone. Published in London by H. Hughs in 1791.
• An account of improvements to the mariners’ compass to make the card and needle more widely useful. Written by John Smeaton, a philosophical instrument-maker, in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 46 (1749), pages 513–517.
• A letter from Mr. J. Smeaton to Mr. John Ellicott, F. R. S., about improvements he made to an air-pump. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 47 (1751), pages 415–428.
• A description of a new water-raising engine using fire, an improvement of Savery’s design. Invented by Mr. De Moura of Portugal, F. R. S., and described by Mr. J. Smeaton. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 47 (1751), pages 436–438.
• A description of a new tackle or pulley system by Mr. J. Smeaton. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 47 (1751), pages 494–497.
• An account of experiments on a machine to measure a ship’s position at sea. By Mr. J. Smeaton, F. R. S. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 48 (1753), pages 532–546.
• A description of a new pyrometer and experiments using it. By Mr. J. Smeaton, F. R. S. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 48 (1753), pages 598–613.
• An account of the effects of lightning on the steeple and church of Lestwithiel, Cornwall. In a letter to the Right Honourable the Earl of Macclesfield, President of the R.S. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 50 (1757), pages 198–204.
• Remarks on the difference in air temperature at Edystone compared to Plymouth between July 7 and 14, 1757. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 50 (1757), pages 488–490.
• A study about how water and wind can power mills and machines that use circular movement. By Mr. J. Smeaton, F. R. S. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 51 (1759), pages 100–174.
• A discussion about the menstrual parallax caused by Earth and Moon gravity and its influence on observations of the Sun and planets. By J. Smeaton, F. R. S. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 58 (1768), pages 156–169.
• A description of a new method for observing heavenly bodies outside the meridian. By J. Smeaton, F. R. S. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 58 (1768), pages 170–173.
• An observation of a solar eclipse on June 4, 1769, at the Austhorpe Observatory near Leeds, Yorkshire. By J. Smeaton, F. R. S. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 59 (1769), pages 286–288.
• A description of a new hygrometer. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 61 (1771), pages 198–211.
• An experimental study on the amount of mechanical power needed to move heavy objects from rest. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 66 (1776), pages 450–475.
• New basic experiments on the collision of objects. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S., in a letter to Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. P. R. S. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I, vol 72 (1782), pages 337–354.
• Observations on the graduation of astronomical instruments and a method invented by Henry Hindley, a clockmaker, to divide circles into parts. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S.; communicated by Henry Cavendish, Esq. F. R. S. and S. A. Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series I,