Basic Biographical Details Name: | William Tregarthen Douglass (erroneously spelt Douglas) | Designation: | | Born: | 1857 | Died: | 10 August 1913 | Bio Notes: | William Tregarthen Douglass (sometimes erroneously spelt Douglas) was born in 1857, the eldest son of Sir James Nicholas Douglass FRS, and his wife Mary, daughter of Captain James Tregarthen, ship-owner of St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly. He was educated at Dulwich College before becoming a pupil to his father who was Engineer-in-Chief to the Trinity House from 1862-1892.
In the early 1880s the younger Douglass acted as site engineer for the Eddystone Lighthouse and most of his subsequent professional activities related to matters of marine safety, including his appointment as inspecting engineer to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (from c.1880) and consulting engineer to the Public Works, Loan Board, Lighthouse and Harbour Authorities. Publications included “The New Eddystone Lighthouse”, “The More Efficient Lighting of Estuaries” and “Coastal Erosion”. He was also a contributor to the 1911 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Notable lighthouses that he designed outwith Scotland included the Round Island Light, Isles of Scilly, built 1887, the second lighthouse, Rottnest Island and Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, both in Western Australia, built 1894-96, though the details were altered by the local engineer who supervised their construction.
Outwith his engineering work, Douglass had commercial interests as Chairman of General Petroleum Properties of Trinidad Limited and Chairman of the Maikop Shirvansky Oil Company Limited.
William Tregarthen Douglass drowned in a boating accident off Start Point near Dartmouth on 10 August 1913 at the age of 56 while visiting his mother.
Publications:
“The New Eddystone Lighthouse” “The More Efficient Lighting of Estuaries” and “Coastal Erosion”
Contributor Encyclopaedia Britannica - Lighthouses
The Bishop Rock lighthouses. Paper by William Tregarthen Douglas... [Excerpt minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Vol. cviii. Session 1891-92. Part ii]
| Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | 15, Victoria Street, Westminster, London, England | Business | c. 1899 | 1913 | DSA originally had 10 Victoria Street, but it is unclear which source this came from. | | 11, Airlie Gardens, Camden Hill, London, England | Private | 1913 * | | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Buildings and Designs
ReferencesPeriodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Builder | 15 August 1913 | | | p180 - obituary | | Building News | 15 August 1913 | | | p222 - obituary | | The Times | 25 May 1910 | | | p19 Prospectus of the Maikop Shirvansky Oil Company Ltd. | | The Times | 11 August 1913 | | | p5, column A | | The Times | 12 August 1913 | | | p1 (death notice) | | The Times | 1 September 1913 | | | p3, column D (inquest) |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Courtesy of Neil Darlington | Information sent via DSA website | | Sent August 2009 |
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