James Dredge Jr.

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James Dredge (29 July 1840 – 15 August 1906) was an English civil engineer and journalist of engineering. He is best known for being co-editor of Engineering, illustrating, photographing and surveying many bridges in Britain in the latter part of the 19th century.

Early years[edit]

He was born in Bath to an engineer and architect father, James Dredge Sr., a brewer originally, who designed suspension bridges and piers. His father designed the Victoria Bridge in Bath in 1836,[1] and the Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare in 1845, among over 50 others. His mother was Anne Vine.[2] His elder brother, William, also became an engineer.[3] There was also a sister, Elizabeth. James Dredge junior was educated at Bath Grammar School.

Career[edit]

Dredge was employed from 1858 to 1861 as an engineer in the office of Daniel Kinnear Clark.[3] In 1862, he was employed by John Fowler, and worked on the District Railway in London.[3] In January 1866, he ventured into engineering journalism, joining the weekly journal Engineering.[3] In the late 1860s, he mainly illustrated for the journal, writing the occasional article, attending the great Paris Exhibition of 1867, where the journal writers "discovered a fund of new technology on which to report".[4] However, in 1870, on the death of editor Zerah Colburn, he became a co-editor of the journal with William Henry Maw.[3][5][6] Maw not only considered Dredge to be a friend, but also his senior in technical matters.[7] As editor of Engineering, Dredge was a surveyor, documenting numerous bridges and photographing them in the 1890s; a notable contribution was his Thames Bridges, from the Tower to the Source (1897).[8] In 1901, he founded a monthly supplement to Engineering, a journal named Traction and Transmission, but it only lasted for three years.[3]

Dredge had an interest in the various international exhibitions held both in the UK and abroad. As early as 1851, he served on the Royal Exhibition Commission.[9] He authored several works on them, notably on the Vienna Universal Exhibition (1873) with Maw and Alexander Kennedy, as well as the Paris International Exhibition (1878).[3][5] He served as British commissioner at exhibitions at Chicago (1893), Antwerp (1894), Brussels (1897), and Milan (1906). He was created a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George for his services as Commissioner-General for Great Britain at the 1897 Brussels Exhibition.[3][5] Dredge was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers from 1874, the Institution of Civil Engineers from 4 February 1896, and several other engineering societies, and was appointed an honorary member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1886.[3][5] Dredge was also a member of the council of the Society of Arts from 1890 until 1893.[3] Dredge was a contributor to the Dictionary of National Biography, providing the extensive article on Henry Bessemer in 1901.

Personal life[edit]

Dredge's participation in the management of Engineering ended in May 1903 due to paralysis.[10] He died at Pinner Wood Cottage in Pinner, (then Middlesex, now northwest London) on 15 August 1906, survived by Marie Louise, his only child.[3] His tomb lies in Kensal Green Cemetery in Kensal Green, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, west London.

Selected written works[edit]

  • The Paris International Exhibition of 1878 (1878)
  • The Pennsylvania Railroad, its organisation, construction, and management (1879)
  • Electric illumination (2 volumes, 1882 & 1885)
  • Modern French artillery (1892)
  • A record of the transportation exhibits at the World's Columbian exposition of 1893 (1894)
  • Thames Bridges, from the Tower to the Source (1897)

References[edit]

Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: The Times' obituary (18 August 1906)
  1. ^ "Analysis of James Dredge's Victoria Bridge, Bath" (PDF). Bath.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  2. ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1912). "Dredge, James" . Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 522.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Gooday, Graeme J. N. "Kennedy, Sir Alexander Blackie William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34278. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ "Engineering Magazine started in 1866". Zerahcolburn.com. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d "Obituary: Mr. James Dredge, C.M.G. (1906)". The Times. 18 August 1906. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  6. ^ Sharp, Robert. "Maw, William Henry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/50363. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  7. ^ Advertising & Selling. Advertising & Selling Co., Inc. 1920. p. 30. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  8. ^ "Culham Cut Footbridge". Thames.me.uk. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  9. ^ Edwards, Anthony David (June 2008). The Role of International Exhibitions in Britain, 1850–1910: Perceptions of Economic Decline and the Technical Education Issue. Cambria Press. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-60497-530-7. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  10. ^ Brake, Laurel; Demoor, Marysa (2009). Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism: In Great Britain and Ireland. Academia Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-90-382-1340-8.

External links[edit]

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