Wikijunior:Famous Inventors/Inventors in Transportation/Thomas Telford

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When, Where, and to whom was he or she born?

Thomas Telford was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland on 9 August 1757.

What was his or her childhood like?

Did You Know?

He had no formal training and was self-taught.
His most notable works include the Menai Strait suspension bridge, the longest of its time, and the Caledonian Canal.
He was the first president (and founder) of the Institute of the Civil Engineers, a post he held until his death.
He used boiled sugar and roman cement in construction.

A few months after he was born, his father, a shepherd, died and he was raised in poverty by his mother, Janet Jackson.

Why did this person become interested in science?

In 1780s, the patronage of Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet, enabled him to self-train as an architect and work on Somerset House.

Where did this person go to school?

At 14, he was first apprenticed as a stonemason.

What problem did he or she uncover that needed solving?

The 19th century Scottish Highlands were depressed and no shipping route from East to West existed in the late 18th century. Improved communications between London, England and Dublin, Ireland were also needed in the early 19th century.

What solutions had already been tried that did not solve the problem? Why wasn't it working?

The Highland Clearances had depopulated the Scottish Highlands.

What did this person invent that solved the problem?

Telford's Lothian Bridge.

The Caledonian Canal in the late 18th century and the London-Holyhead road in the early 19th century, the first major civilian state-funded road building project in Britain since Roman times

How did the invention solve the problem?

Ships could traverse Scottish Highlands east coast to west coast also with over 920 miles (1,480 km) of new roads and over a thousand new bridges in the Scottish Highlands. The London-Holyhead road was the first major civilian state-funded road building project in Britain since Roman times.

How has this inventor changed people and the world?

Menai suspension bridge

The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct viewed from the valley below

He became known as the colossus of roads. His Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was designed a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019.

What happened to this inventor in the end?

Telford died in 1834.

If you could ask this inventor one question, what would you ask?

What he thinks of modern bridge building and the longest bridges. How much did William Jessop chief engineer contribute?

If you could bring this inventor to today and tell him or her one thing, what would you tell him or her about the effect of his or her invention?

Bridges got longer. Telford had claimed the Menai Bridge at 579 feet was the maximum length for suspension bridges due to the effect of winds.