David Stevenson (engineer)

David Stevenson MICE FRSE FRSSA (11 January 1815 – 17 July 1886) was a Scottish civil engineer and lighthouse designer who designed over 30 lighthouses in and around Scotland, and helped continue the dynasty of lighthouse engineering founded by his father, Robert Stevenson.

He was born on 11 January 1815 at 2 Baxters Place at the top of Leith Walk in Edinburgh, the son of Jean Smith and engineer Robert Stevenson. He was brother of the lighthouse engineers Alan and Thomas Stevenson. He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh then studied at the University of Edinburgh. In 1838 he became a partner in his father's (and uncle's) firm of R & A Stevenson. He acquired practical skills in millwright workshops, which inspired him to advocate for hands-on training for engineers in later life.

In 1835, he was asked by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to join his staff at the Thames Tunnel works, an offer which he could not accept as he had been appointed to superintend the construction of other works.

In 1844 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposer being David Milne-Home. He was elected as a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1844, and subsequently acted as a member of its council from 1877 until 1883, when he retired due to ill health. He was also a member of the Société des ingénieurs civils de France.

In 1853 he moved to the Northern Lighthouse Board. Between 1854 and 1880 he designed many lighthouses, all with his brother Thomas. In addition he helped Richard Henry Brunton design lighthouses for Japan, inventing a novel method for allowing them to withstand earthquakes. His sons David Alan Stevenson and Charles Alexander Stevenson continued his work after his death, building nearly thirty further lighthouses.

In 1836 he made a tour of the United States and Canada, subsequently publishing a book on North American civil engineering in 1838. In 1842 he published A treatise on the application of Marine Surveying and Hydrometry to the practice of Civil Engineering, which focused on how engineers could acquire accurate data on which to form designs for harbour and river improvements.

In 1858, his book The principles and practices of canal and river engineering was published. It was re-issued in a second expanded edition in 1872. The book provided a detailed overview of various aspects of inland navigation, including the history, construction, and maintenance of barge and ship canals.

The book also focused on the engineering challenges of canal construction and explored the physical characteristics of rivers, their compartments, and the various engineering works for their improvement, such as tidal flow, removal of obstructions, dredging, and the reclamation and protection of land.