John Smeaton 1724-1792. The Making of an Engineering Genius

Tue Dec 02 2025 at 07:45 pm to 09:15 pm UTC+00:00

Dagnall Street Baptist Church | St Albans

SAHAAS Events Team
Publisher/HostSAHAAS Events Team
John Smeaton 1724-1792.  The Making of an Engineering Genius
Advertisement
Dr Julia Elton highlights the achievements of John Smeaton and explains his pre-eminence as an engineer.
About this Event

John Smeaton founded the British engineering profession, conferring upon a hitherto disparate group of practitioners an identity and a status which has lasted to this day. His career covered a greater range of projects than any of his contemporaries, and included lighthouses, canals and river training, docks and harbours, fen drainage and bridge building. In all these fields he advanced the understanding of technical issues, improved manufacturing skills, well-thought out project management and economy of materials. These remain necessary attributes for engineers today. This lecture considers the reasons for his pre-eminence and highlights some of his achievements.

Julia Elton FSA is an engineering historian, a past president of the Newcomen Society for the History of Engineering and Technology and an honorary member of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers. She has recently gained a PhD on the history of lighthouse illumination.


This lecture will be available in person at Dagnall Street Baptist Church and also online via Zoom. Attendance is free to SAHAAS members; £5 for non-members.

Please click on the button above right to register. You will then receive confirmation of your registration by email return. Registration closes at 3.30pm on Tuesday 2 December.

All those registered will be emailed the Zoom joining instructions by 4pm on the day of the lecture. If you have not received this by 5pm, please contact us using the email address below. NB. If you are registering two or more members to attend via Zoom, and want each of them to receive the link in their own email inbox, these details need to be entered at registration.

It is important to note that SAHAAS operates hybrid talks relying on two volunteers who work very hard behind-the-scenes on the technology to ensure we can offer this service to those unable to attend at the church. Occasionally despite our best efforts technology works against us. There may be a delay in acknowledging an issue but this is only because we are working out how to resolve it.

If you have any questions, please email Gill Girdziusz via [email protected]


Photo above: John Smeaton with Eddystone Lighthouse in the background (Wikipedia)

Advertisement

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Dagnall Street Baptist Church, 1 Cross Street, St Albans, United Kingdom

Tickets

GBP 0.00 to GBP 5.00

Icon
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

Discover more events by tags:

Workshops in St Albans

Ask AI if this event suits you:

More Events in St Albans

Wreath Making
Tue, 02 Dec at 10:00 am Wreath Making

Gorhambury House

Christmas Sashiko  - Fabric Gift Bags Workshop - St Albans
Tue, 02 Dec at 06:30 pm Christmas Sashiko - Fabric Gift Bags Workshop - St Albans

Jefferson Eco CIC

Jazz by the Fireside
Wed, 03 Dec at 07:00 pm Jazz by the Fireside

Gorhambury House

Champagne Hurricanes |The New Real | Nine Mile Burn | House of Fire |The Horn, St Albans
Wed, 03 Dec at 08:00 pm Champagne Hurricanes |The New Real | Nine Mile Burn | House of Fire |The Horn, St Albans

The Horn, Victoria Street, AL1 3TE Saint Albans, United Kingdom

Festive Lunch and Christmas Market
Thu, 04 Dec at 11:00 am Festive Lunch and Christmas Market

Hemel Hempstead Rd, AL3 7AF Saint Albans, United Kingdom

Christmas wreath making at the Lower Red Lion St Albans
Thu, 04 Dec at 07:00 pm Christmas wreath making at the Lower Red Lion St Albans

Lower Red Lion

St Albans meet up -Handling \u2018advice\u2019 and opinions
Fri, 05 Dec at 10:00 am St Albans meet up -Handling ‘advice’ and opinions

Marshalswick Family Centre in Sherwood Park, off Sherwood Avenue, St Albans, AL4 9QL

St Albans is Happening!

Never miss your favorite happenings again!

Explore St Albans Events