32 Facts About Alexander Kennedy

Sir Alexander Blackie William Kennedy FRS, FRGS, better known simply as Alexander Kennedy, was a leading British civil and electrical engineer and academic.

Alexander Kennedy was born in Stepney, London to Rev John Alexander Kennedy, MA, and Helen Stodart Blackie, both from Aberdeen.

Alexander Kennedy received his early education at the City of London School, before taking a short course at the Royal School of Mines, Jermyn Street to give him a basic grounding in engineering.

Alexander Kennedy spent the next four years there working as a draughtsman and had a hand in the construction of the first ships with compound engines and twin screws.

Alexander Kennedy put this understanding to good use when he joined Palmers' Engine Works of Jarrow on Tyne upon completion of his apprenticeship, he became the leading draughtsman and designed the first compound engine to be built in the north.

Alexander Kennedy wrote a series of articles on several designs for the journal Engineering which were later reprinted in the official report on the exhibition made by the British Royal Commission.

Alexander Kennedy set about a series of changes that were to reform the way engineering was taught worldwide.

Alexander Kennedy insisted that all of his students received not only lectures in engineering principles but a firm grounding in mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology and the other sciences upon which engineering is based.

Alexander Kennedy asked that an engineering laboratory be built so that the students could have first hand experience of the applications of their theoretical studies.

Alexander Kennedy used the laboratory to carry out experiments to determine the strength and elasticity of various materials and was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society for this work in 1887.

Alexander Kennedy found time outside of his academic works to establish an extensive consultancy business.

Alexander Kennedy's designs include the steel arched pier at Trouville-sur-Mer, the concrete structure and steelwork of the rebuilt Alhambra Theatre and the steelwork of the first Hotel Cecil.

Alexander Kennedy made great use of his laboratory to test his materials and his designs were always valued for the hours of research he had invested in them.

Alexander Kennedy had no riding experience and knew little about horses, however he immediately accepted the job and set about arranging riding classes in the mornings before he started lecturing.

Alexander Kennedy soon became a very proficient rider and the trip to California proved a great success for Kennedy and the concession owners.

In 1889, Alexander Kennedy resigned his professorship and left the University turning to electrical engineering, which he had researched during his academic career.

Alexander Kennedy worked for the Central Electric Company and the St James and Pall Mall Electric Light Company.

Alexander Kennedy was contracted to build two hydroelectric stations for the British Aluminium Company, their first at the Falls of Foyers in 1896 and a second at Kinlochleven in 1909.

Alexander Kennedy acted as a consultant to several railway companies in the London area, particularly in regard to electrification and tram systems.

Alexander Kennedy advised the London County Council with regard to their tram network and instigated their use of unusual underground conduits for their electricity supply.

Alexander Kennedy held consultancy contracts with the London and Home Counties Electricity Authority, London Power Company, Edinburgh Corporation and the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation.

Alexander Kennedy hired as his Assistant Engineer at the firm another climber, Sydney Donkin, who was made a partner in the business in 1908 and became senior partner in 1934 upon the retirement of the son of the founder.

In 1900 Alexander Kennedy was asked by The Admiralty to serve as a member of the Belleville Boiler Committee to investigate the installation of French designed Belleville boilers on Diadem class cruisers.

Alexander Kennedy was a member of The Camera Club and served as their president in 1890.

Alexander Kennedy maintained a keen interest in mountaineering, in particular the Alps mountain range, and was a member of the Alpine Club.

Alexander Kennedy used his inaugural presidential address to the Institution of Civil Engineers to highlight the impact the profession had upon the environment.

Alexander Kennedy returned for a third and final time in 1924 and was made a Pasha by the Emir.

Alexander Kennedy published an account of the history of the area in his book Petra: its history and monuments published in 1925.

Alexander Kennedy married Elizabeth Verralls Smith on 8 September 1874, in Cromdale, Inverallan and Advie, Inverness, Scotland.

Alexander Kennedy was widowed in 1911 and died at his home at 7a The Albany in London, on 1 November 1928.

Alexander Kennedy's great-grand-son is Christopher Kennedy, British photographer and sculptor, creator of the Photo Luminism photographic technique.

The Alexander Kennedy Chair was previously held by the university's Professor of Civil and Mechanical Engineering but is the title of UCL's Professor of Mechanical Engineering.