Amazing Engineers by Charles Margerison

Author:Charles Margerison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amazing People Worldwide
Published: 2015-04-17T00:00:00+00:00

Lalla Rookh

Its purchase, enabled me to sail the oceans and study navigation

A new compass was required for the iron hull ships

I designed and patented one

It was 1888 before the British Admiralty at last adopted it

Invention was a continual challenge, at sea and on the land

A mechanical tide predictor was useful

Also, my water depth sounding machine worked

Other inventions followed, including one to measure electricity

But my life was about to change in an unexpected direction

Whilst at sea, a problem occurred during the laying of telegraphic cables

We returned to Madeira, the nearest port, where we waited for repairs

There, I met Fanny Blandy, daughter of a major landowner

We got on well and enjoyed each other’s company

But after a while, I had to set sail again and we said goodbye

Should I leave it at that, or not?

We exchanged letters and I came to a major decision

In my schooner, Lalla Rookh, I returned and proposed to Fanny

She was 36, and I was 50, when we married in 1874

It was a new start, and my life became more balanced

Work continued at a fast pace and the days seemed to race past

Other researchers were making major claims

Charles Darwin published a major work

As a devout Christian, it challenged my thinking

I attended church each day and prayed for guidance

Could science and religion co-exist?

Indeed, the facts could, and should, support one’s faith

Theistic evolution was close to my approach

Yet, my travels showed me many denominations

My work took me across the Atlantic to the USA and Canada

There, I gave lectures and shared in scientific discussion

In 1893, I was asked to be involved in a major work

The design of the Niagara Falls Power Station was a significant project

Also, seeing the AC power transmission was an experience

That was developed by Nikola Tesla

A brilliant man, he convinced me it was the new way to go

Indeed, I was about to meet other outstanding people

In 1892, I became the first scientist to sit in the House of Lords

The political, economic and social issues were complex

In comparison, science seemed relatively easy

In 1896, I celebrated 50 years as a Professor at the University

When I retired, three years later, I enrolled as a student

My commitment to research continued

Mathematics, physics, navigation, oceanography

Seventy patents were awarded for my work

Those subjects fascinated me

As did religion, linked to my Christian beliefs

Attendance at church and prayer were a daily routine

Science and religion, I felt, went together

However, I was more a prophet of the material world

“The life and soul of science is its practical application,” I wrote

To me, there should be a strong link between science and commerce

With James White I ensured this and established 70 patents

That is how I was able to afford my sailing hobby

Albeit, on a number of occasions, I could not see the future

“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible,” I said

Likewise, I thought ‘radio had no future’

I should have known better, as I had one guiding thought

“You can understand perfectly, if you give your mind to it”

Many people did give their minds to the challenges of the age

I lived to see miraculous developments

May they long continue.

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